Many people believe that turkey was eaten during the First Thanksgiving, but historians disagree with that and believe that the turkey's popularity comes from practical reasons such as its size and convenience. It all comes to that we eat turkey on Thanksgiving, accompanied by pumpkins and cranberry, caused by migration from New England. Turkey became a popular dish from Thanksgiving because over the years many foods of New England were consumed during traditional harvest festivals. making their way through the United States as Americans moved from east to west over time and it became a tradition everywhere. A Thanksgiving custom progress bar for YouTube with Turkey Run.