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Historic photos of Thanksgiving dinner over the decades

Feasts through time
Back to the beginning
1600s-1800s: early Thanksgiving feasts
1800s: the political Thanksgiving table
1820s: popularizing the classic Thanksgiving meal
1870s: the bird man
 1890s: changing tastes
1900s: a great divide
1900s: pies bigger than your belly
1910s: masks for money (and food)
1910s: school dinners
1910s: a soldiers’ feast
1920s: grandma knows best
1920s: going electric
1930s: celebrity carve-up
1930s: a change of date
1940s: the bigger, the better
1940s: Thanksgiving away from home
1940s: Thanksgiving under rationing
1940s: battle of the birds
1940s: don’t forget the cranberries
1940s: spaghetti supper
1950s: trussed-up turkeys
1950s: table settings
1950s: the dawn of TV dinners
1950s: green bean casserole
1960s: epic preparations
1960s: garnishes get garish
1960s: dressing for dinner
1970s: an early Friendsgiving
1970s: Thanksgiving giving
1980s: talking turkey
1980s: presidential pardon
1990s: quality time
1990s: how do you cook yours?
1990s: turkey or Tofurky?
2000s: on a mission
2010s: different traditions
2010s: new favourites
2020s: celebrations interrupted
2020s: the future is Friendsgiving
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L. Fritz/ClassicStock/Getty Images

Feasts through time

To modern Americans, the fourth Thursday of November usually means three things: family, football, and feasting. But the centuries-old tradition of celebrating Thanksgiving with a big turkey dinner and plenty of pie has a fascinating history dating all the way back to the 1600s. We’ve scoured the photo archives to reveal how Thanksgiving dinners have changed throughout history.

Click or scroll through our gallery and feast your eyes on some of the oldest images of Thanksgiving meals that exist today.

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Ella Buchan

12 November 2024

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