Americans are getting ready to celebrate Thanksgiving, the middle entry in the Halloween-Thanksgiving-Winter holidays trifecta. Plate up with some table talk about the origins of the holiday, the reason we eat turkey, and what really makes people so sleepy after the annual meal. Extra fixings: all stories contain free links to the supporting academic research on JSTOR. Happy Thanksgiving!
What Does Thanksgiving Look Like in Prison?
November 23, 2021
Our American Prison Newspapers collection provides a peek at Thanksgiving celebrations in prisons throughout the decades.
Translating Corn
November 22, 2023
To most of the world, “corn” is “maize,” a word that comes from the Taíno mahizwas. Not for British colonists in North America, though.
The Modern Invention of Thanksgiving
November 26, 2014
Thanksgiving as we know it was deliberately invented in the nineteenth century.
Seven Things You Might Not Know About Cranberries
November 21, 2018
They're red, tart, and mostly eaten at Thanksgiving. Love them or hate them, here are seven things you might not have known about the humble cranberry.
Thanksgiving Is a Feast of Things Forgotten
November 22, 2016
Thanksgiving is a feast so complex and semiotically dense that things are very often forgotten and rarely go according to plan.
Vegetarian Thanksgiving Dates Back to the 1900s
November 25, 2019
Tofu Turkey was created in 1990, but some Americans celebrated Thanksgiving with veggie dishes over a century ago.
Thanksgiving Has Been Reinvented Many Times
November 1, 2019
From colonial times to the nineteenth century, Thanksgiving was very different from the holiday we know now.
Considering the Sweet Potato
November 21, 2015
The sweet potato is a New World food that spread around the world, including across the Pacific before the Europeans got there.
Why the Pilgrims Were Actually Able to Survive
November 28, 2019
If you were reading Bradford's version of events, you might think that the survival of the Pilgrims' settlements was often in danger.
When Actions Are Words
November 24, 2015
How certain speech acts perform actions and alter our social reality.
Returning Corn, Beans, and Squash to Native American Farms
November 24, 2020
Returning the "three sisters" to Native American farms nourishes people, land, and cultures.
It’s Time to Reinvent Food Waste!
November 13, 2018
Startups worldwide convert refuse into energy, biomaterials, and more food.
Meat and Potatoes: The Reminiscences of Alonzo Davis
December 5, 2014
In April 1863, the men of the 4th California infantry were hungry. They were posted at Drum Barracks ...
Editor’s Note: This story is updated periodically. It was last updated on November 25, 2024.
