Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Thanksgiving

A new form of entertainment and a wandering trainload of frozen turkey triggered a convenience food boom.

A Brief History of the TV Dinner

Thanksgiving’s most unexpected legacy is heating up again

First Lady Grace Coolidge and Rebecca, the raccoon she and her family kept as a pet

Raccoon Was Once a Thanksgiving Feast Fit for a President

Calvin Coolidge refused to cook the raccoon sent to him, but the critter was a beloved staple for many Americans

Food, Glorious Food

Food, Glorious Food

Smithsonian magazine’s coverage of food, drink and their role in our culture

The Patents Behind Pumpkin Pie

This Thanksgiving, when you take a bite of the traditional pie, take a moment to think about the inventions that have gone into the making of it

It took thousands of years, but the pumpkin went from one squash among many to American icon.

How the Formerly Ubiquitous Pumpkin Became a Thanksgiving Treat

The history of Cucurbita pepo has a surprising connection to the abolitionist cause

Dorcas Reilly preparing her famous green bean casserole at the Campbell Soup corporate kitchen in 2005.

The Woman Who Invented the Green Bean Casserole

Dorcas Reilly came up with the iconic American dish in the 1950s

Thanksgiving tells the story of a landmark moment of coexistence, multiculturalism and even neighborliness (above: The First Thanksgiving, 1621, Jean Leon G. Ferris) when Native Americans taught Pilgrims to farm, and shared a meal with them after a successful harvest in 1621.

How an Unremarkable ‘Brunch in the Forest’ Turned Into the Thanksgiving We Know

A new Sidedoor podcast dives into the holiday’s origins

Gourds come in all shapes and sizes—some sweet and delicious, some stiff and bitter, and some that are just plain odd.

Halloween

The Science Behind Decorative Gourd Season

Gourds are the runts of their family of fruits, too tough and bitter to eat, but they remain one of the most popular crops of fall

Virginians may have celebrated early Thanksgivings with wild turkey, like this one. Other historical accounts say the first Thanksgiving was scraped together from ship rations, oysters, and ham.

The Pilgrims Weren’t the First to Celebrate Thanksgiving

Virginia has a claim to an earlier Christian Thanksgiving celebration

Thanksgiving in the 19th century was less Norman Rockwell, more Mardi Gras.

The First Thanksgiving Parades Were Riots

The Fantastics parades were occasions of sometimes-violent revelry

"Plymouth Rock is part of who we are as a people,” says Smithsonian curator Larry Bird.

The True Story Behind Plymouth Rock

Curator Larry Bird weighs in on the significance of Plymouth Rock—and the two pieces in the Smithsonian collections

A vintage Thanksgiving postcard featuring pardoned turkeys.

Presidents From Lincoln to FDR Kept the Thanksgiving Tradition Going

Lincoln started the process of making it a federal holiday in 1863, crystallizing something that had been around since the days of the Pilgrims

The marshmallows are essential, but the sweet potato is the heart of this classic dish.

How Marshmallow-Topped Sweet Potato Casserole Became a Thanksgiving Classic

Sweet potato pudding has been a part of American cuisine for a century

Headed for export?

Why Don’t We Eat Turkey Tails?

The strange story speaks volumes about our globalized food system—you’ll be surprised where the unwanted parts end up

Turkey eggshells and bones from an offering 1,500 years ago in Oaxaca, Mexico.

New Research

Researchers Dig Into the Juicy History of Taming the Turkey

Archaeologists talk turkey in two recent studies

Portrait of Edward Winslow

The Plymouth Hero You Should Really Be Thankful for This Thanksgiving

Without Edward Winslow, we probably wouldn’t even be celebrating the holiday

Cool Finds

What Pilgrims Heard When They Arrived in America

They came to America seeking religious freedom, but what did their prayers, and those of the local Native Americans, sound like?

A holiday postcard from 1908.

Your Thanksgiving Turkey Is a Quintessentially American Bird: An Immigrant

The turkeys common on U.S. tables descended from a Mexican species and were originally bred for Maya rituals

Five Ways to Reinvent Traditional Thanksgiving Dishes

Why have plain old pumpkin pie when you could be eating a pumpkin-filled chocolate balloon?

An assortment of squash

Beyond the Butternut: A Guide to Selecting a Great Winter Squash

They all taste great with a simple bake in the oven, but each has some characteristics that make it unique

Page 2 of 3