Millions of turkeys are set to be prepped, cooked and devoured today as the UK celebrates Christmas. December 25 is finally here, with many of us eagerly anticipating arguably the most looked-forward-to meal of the year.
It wouldn’t be a proper Christmas dinner without all the trimmings and, of course, turkey centre-stage. Millions of turkeys are eaten across the country every Christmas, but it hasn’t always been this way.
Here’s a look at why we eat turkey at Christmas, and the origins of this tradition. Prior to the arrival of the first turkey in the UK in the mid-1500s, beef and goose were the main features of traditional Christmas dinners.
However, many farmers realised that eating turkey was more practical, allowing cows and chickens to be used for milk and egg production. Some believe that we Brits borrowed the idea of eating turkey from North Americans celebrating Thanksgiving, but this isn’t the case.
It was Henry VIII who popularised turkeys, as it was after seeing the King feast on it at Christmas that many others followed suit. Henry swapped his usual goose for a Norfolk Black bird, and by 1573, turkey was commonly served, before gaining even more popularity throughout England in the 17th century.