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It Wasn’t Always About Eating and Shopping

How Thanksgiving became the consumption holiday that we know and love.

By , a deputy editor at Foreign Policy.
An illustration of price tags in the shape of a Thanksgiving turkey.
An illustration of price tags in the shape of a Thanksgiving turkey.
An illustration of price tags in the shape of a Thanksgiving turkey. Mark Harris illustration for Foreign Policy

Americans celebrate Thanksgiving this week. Like with most holidays, the origin story is a little fuzzy. What we do know is that Americans tend to do a lot of traveling, eat a lot of turkey, and buy a lot of consumer goods over the holiday—making Thanksgiving a time of spending.

Cameron Abadi is a deputy editor at Foreign Policy. Twitter: @CameronAbadi

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Tags: Economics, United States

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