traditions

A friend of mine says her mom always hides a pickle ornament on the Christmas tree, and whoever can find it earns an extra Christmas gift.

This Thanksgiving, millions of Americans will sit down at the table and gawk over all the goodies they are planning to cram in their gullet. The holiday might seem as familiar as singing “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” during the “Seventh Inning Stretch” or packing a finger in ice that was blown off by a firework on the Fourth of July. However, like all traditions based on history and passed down through the ages, its genesis and story has been morphed and changed to fit the times.

If you're like most Americans, your Thanksgiving dinner table will include at least a few basic items — turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce and the like. But have you ever thought about why we eat those foods on Thanksgiv...