Photo Credit: Yordy Turkey Farm, Morton, Ill.

As Thanksgiving approaches, Illinois families gather around tables filled with gratitude—and turkey. But behind every golden roast is a hardworking network of farmers, processors, and small businesses that make up Illinois’ proud turkey industry. While our state is often celebrated for corn and soybeans, turkey producers are quietly driving economic growth, supporting rural communities, and keeping America fed.

Thanksgiving Day is a national holiday in the U.S., and this year Thanksgiving is celebrated on Thursday, November 23. The Thanksgiving celebration dates back to 1621, when the Plymouth colonists from England, known as Pilgrims, and the Native American Wampanoag people shared an autumn harvest feast that is acknowledged as one of the first Thanksgiving celebrations in the colonies. 

For more than two centuries, days of thanksgiving were celebrated by individual colonies and states. It wasn’t until 1863, in the midst of the Civil War, that President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national Thanksgiving Day to be held each November. The holiday is not without controversy, however. Many Americans, including people of Native American ancestry, believe Thanksgiving celebrations mask the true history of oppression and bloodshed that underlies the relationship between European settlers and Native Americans.

Thanksgiving is a time to reflect upon all for which we are grateful. Here are a few quotes on gratitude and thanks to get your started:

"Thanksgiving, after all, is a word of action." ~W.J. Cameron

"Thanksgiving Day comes, by statute, once a year; to the honest man it comes as frequently as the heart of gratitude will allow." ~Edward Sanford Martin

“The unthankful heart… discovers no mercies; but let the thankful heart sweep through the day and, as the magnet finds the iron, so it will find, in every hour, some heavenly blessings!” ~Henry Ward Beecher