During the first Thanksgiving feast, it is unlikely that turkeys were
served as the table centerpieces. While meat of the deer and wild fowls
have been noted down as a part of the menu for the feast of the Pilgrim
colonists in 1621, in their harvest festival and autumn celebration with
Native Indians known as Wampanoags, other foods that may have been
served as the main courses of the feast could include lobster, goose,
duck, seal, eel and cod because they were plentiful at the time.
However, there is an interesting story behind how turkeys came to be
associated with modern-day Thanksgiving.
According to a legend, in the 16th century, Queen Elizabeth of England
was participating in a harvest festival and eating a roast goose, when
she received the news that the Spanish Armada on its way to attack
England has sunk. She was so please that she immediately ordered one
more goose for the celebration of the good news. Later, geese became the
favorites at the tables during the harvest time in England. When
Pilgrims reached Plymouth in America, they found that wild turkeys were
more easily available than the geese and hence, roasted turkey replaced
roasted goose in their celebrations.
