On This Day

Swanson sells its first TV dinner, a turkey meal with cornbread dressing, peas, and sweet potatoes

The centerpiece of contemporary Thanksgiving in the United States and Canada is Thanksgiving dinner, a large meal generally centered on a large roasted turkey.

The centerpiece of contemporary Thanksgiving in the United States and Canada is Thanksgiving dinner, a large meal generally centered on a large roasted turkey. Thanksgiving is the largest eating event in the United States as measured by retail sales of food and beverages and by estimates of individual food intake. In a 2015 Harris Poll, Thanksgiving was the second most popular holiday in the United States (after Christmas), and turkey was the most popular holiday food, regardless of region, generation, gender, or race.

Along with attending church services, Thanksgiving dinner remained a central part of celebrations from the holiday's early establishment in North America.

Historical Significance

The centerpiece of contemporary Thanksgiving in the United States and Canada is Thanksgiving dinner, a large meal generally centered on a large roasted turkey.

Events Before

  1. Dmitri Shostakovich completes his 5th string quartet and premieres it in Leningrad in 1953

    The 24 Preludes and Fugues, Op. 87 by Dmitri Shostakovich are a set of 24 musical pieces for solo piano, one in each of the major and minor keys of the chromatic scale.

  2. "Today Show" premieres with Dave Garroway & Jack Lescoulie on NBC-TV

    Today (also called The Today Show) is an American morning television show that airs weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952.

  3. Jawaharlal Nehru's Indian National Congress wins India's first general election

    The Indian National Congress (INC), also known as the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a big tent political party in India.

  4. First TV detector van begins operating in the UK to identify users of unlicensed television sets

    First TV detector van begins operating in the UK to identify users of unlicensed television sets

  5. Queen Elizabeth II succeeds King George VI to the British throne and is proclaimed Queen of the United Kingdom and the o

    Queen Elizabeth II succeeds King George VI to the British throne and is proclaimed Queen of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms, including Canada, Australia, and New Zealand

Events After

  1. KSLA TV channel 12 in Shreveport, Louisiana (CBS) begins broadcasting

    KSLA (channel 12) is a television station in Shreveport, Louisiana, United States, serving as the CBS affiliate for the Ark-La-Tex region.

  2. Georgetown-IBM experiment, the first public demonstration of a machine translation system, is held at IBM headquarters i

    Georgetown-IBM experiment, the first public demonstration of a machine translation system, is held at IBM headquarters in New York City

  3. "The Nutcracker" ballet choreographed by George Balanchine with Maria Tallchief as the Sugar Plum Fairy opens in New Yor

    "The Nutcracker" ballet choreographed by George Balanchine with Maria Tallchief as the Sugar Plum Fairy opens in New York, establishes its popularity in the US

  4. First mass inoculation against polio with the Jonas Salk vaccine takes place at Arsenal Elementary School in Pittsburgh,

    First mass inoculation against polio with the Jonas Salk vaccine takes place at Arsenal Elementary School in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

  5. US explodes Castle Bravo, a 15-megaton hydrogen bomb at Bikini Atoll, which accidentally becomes the most powerful nucle

    US explodes Castle Bravo, a 15-megaton hydrogen bomb at Bikini Atoll, which accidentally becomes the most powerful nuclear device ever detonated by the US

More from the 1950s

Frequently Asked Questions

What happened on September 10, 1953?
The centerpiece of contemporary Thanksgiving in the United States and Canada is Thanksgiving dinner, a large meal generally centered on a large roasted turkey. Thanksgiving is the largest eating event in the United States as measured by retail sales of food and beverages and by estimates of individual food intake. In a 2015 Harris Poll, Thanksgiving was the second most popular holiday in the United States (after Christmas), and turkey was the most popular holiday food, regardless of region, generation, gender, or race.
Why is Swanson sells its first TV dinner, a turkey meal with cornbread dressing, pea... significant?
The centerpiece of contemporary Thanksgiving in the United States and Canada is Thanksgiving dinner, a large meal generally centered on a large roasted turkey.

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