Wish Bones

The other day Jesse was de-boning the turkey that we cooked the Saturday after Thanksgiving; and he came upon the "wish bone." He held it out to me to grab one side, and it got me wondering: WHY DO WE WISH ON A BONE??? And, how did this become a holiday tradition? So I did a little research, amd this is what I found out...

First, the "wish bone" is actually the collar bone of a bird. Second, back in the day, people believed that chickens were fortune tellers, and capable of granting wishes. Third, when the pilgrims migrated to what is now the United States, they brought the idea with them. Fourth, since turkeys also have wish bones the tradition eventually crossed over to them. Fifth, and I did not know this, the two wishers are supposed to pull with their pinky fingers, and neither should press their thumb against the "head," as this is considered cheating. Sixth, the winner of the pull is the one who gets the bigger piece of the bone, or the piece with the head. And, aseventh, never, ever tell anyone what you wished for, cuz if you do you will not get your wish, and according to some, it could give the "loser" their wish!