THANKSGIVING ODDITIES

In the November 2006 newsletter, I had an article about fun Thanksgiving facts. I’d like to augment that with a few oddities to reflect on as you give thanks for the wonderful bounty the Lord provided you and your family.

As I scanned the internet for ideas this month, I came across a lot of websites devoted to Thanksgiving. The best bit of trivia I found was how turkeys were so named. Some people went through a lot of work to come up with this:

It may have come from the noise a wild turkey makes when it becomes frightened: it sounds like 'turk - turc - turk.'

The original inhabitants of America called the bird a 'firkee.' It's not hard to see how firkee could become turkey.

Christopher Columbus, the explorer, took some of the wild turkeys of North America back to Europe. People enjoyed eating the meat. It is possible that traders along the Mediterranean casts, known as Turkes, may have brought some of these birds hence they came to be called 'turkey birds.'

In Spain, the turkey was often referred to as Indian fowl, an allusion which is repeated in the French 'dindon' formed with d'Inde which means 'from India'.

Some say Columbus thought the turkey was part of the peacock family. So he decided to call them 'tuka' which is the word for peacock in Tamil, a language spoken in southern India and Sri Lanka.

I remember reading one time that Ben Franklin wanted the wild turkey instead of the eagle as the national bird. His reasons were quite valid but Ben didn’t know this about turkeys:

Turkeys can have heart attacks. Groups of turkeys, sometimes known as a rafter of turkeys would drop dead when the Air Force was conducting test runs and breaking the sound barrier nearby.

Apparently turkeys can drown if they look up when it is raining.

I served alongside 101st Airborne Division, known by those who served as the “Screamin’ Eagles” because of the Eagle on their unit crest. They were a tough and feared unit. It would be a lot harder to follow the “Screamin’ Turkeys” into battle. I’m glad Ben was out-voted.

On average, it is reckoned that nearly 300 million turkeys are raised each year for Thanksgiving celebrations. I looked at the 2006 article I wrote and part of it talked about the actual foods that were available in the days of the Pilgrims. The most readily available main dish beside turkeys were mostly seafood, including choice lobsters. However, the Pilgrim Fathers would not eat lobster because they thought it was a giant insect. I could see that.

Pulling the wishbone is a tradition of Thanksgiving. Allow the wishbone to dry. Then, two people grasp each end of the wishbone. After making a silent wish, they pull it away. Whoever gets the joint portion of the wishbone gets their wish. I wonder if the Pilgrims did that and if so, what would their wishes be? Perhaps they would have wished for bigger waistbands on their pants. Don’t we all?

There appear to be several places in the USA named after this traditional meal: Turkey in Texas [population 489]; Turkey Creek, Louisiana [population 363]; and Turkey, North Carolina [population 270]. Three towns in Kansas also have the name Turkey. Do you know of any others?

There are also a few places named for the cranberry, which has become a favorite side dish with turkey. The biggest appears to be Cranberry in Butler County, Pennsylvania with 27,600 inhabitants.

Plymouth Rock, where the Pilgrim Father's landed, is celebrated by 28 sites in the US. Of course, England has the original Plymouth in Devon city, and this is where the Pilgrims set sail. However, Minnesota and Massachusetts have the biggest populations named Plymouth. There is also Pilgrim in Dade County, Missouri with a population of some 135 good folk. Perhaps you know some others I didn’t mention.

As I contemplate those facts, I will give a prayer of thanks to all those who came before and gave us a country where we are free to pray in the glorious name of Jesus.

Therefore will I give thanks unto thee, O Lord, among the heathen, and sing praises unto thy name.
Psalms 18:49