The traditional Thanksgiving meal consists of turkey with all the trimmings but did you know that the wishbone is seen as a symbol of good luck and that people snap the wishbone each year to see who gets the lucky break.
History of The Wishbone Good Luck Charm
The breaking of a wishbone goes back as far as 320 BC! It is a long standing belief that the person who ends up with the biggest part of the bone is the one who will get their wishes fulfilled.
Why the Wishbone Charm Brings Luck
The wishbone is said to hold the power of flight as it is the bone that releases the energy a bird needs to fly. The magic of flying is how the bone first became a sign of luck and it has grown over the years to become a well known symbol of luck in the United States of America.
How to Use the Wishbone Charm
The wishbone is removed from the turkey and left to dry out when the meal is eaten. When the meal is over two players pick a side of the wishbone, hold it and bend it until it snaps. The person with the longest piece will have their wish granted and good luck will be theirs. The other person will not get the luck that was held inside the bone.
How the Wishbone Charm Is Made
The charm is taken from a turkey bone traditionally but these days you can get wishbone jewelry to carry the luck with you wherever you go.
How to Make the Wishbone Charm at Home
If you want to try snapping the wishbone you will firstly need to roast and enjoy eating a turkey dinner! Carefully remove the wishbone from the carcass and let it dry thoroughly. The drier it is the easier it will be for it to snap.
Pick two players and make them each pick up one side of the bone. When you say go they both try to snap it whilst keeping a wish for luck in their mind.
Interesting and Fun Facts About the Wishbone Charm
- The first wishbones were left to dry out in the sun and passers-by would pick them up and make wishes upon them, hence the term ‘wishbone’.
- The science behind the wishbone may give us proof that turkeys are directly descended from dinosaurs!