Do you know what a wishbone is? A wishbone is an oddly shaped fork bone that’s the fusion of two clavicles called the furcula. Wishbones are found in poultry, such as the turkeys we eat on Thanksgiving. How did breaking the wishbone become a tradition? Well, the Ancient Romans were the first to see the wishbone as a symbol of luck, which eventually turned into a tradition of actually breaking it apart. When you break the wishbone apart, the person who has the bigger half’s wish will come true. The person who has the smaller half’s wish will not come true. If both halves are equal, both wishes are said to come true.

The wishbone has to be dried properly before you break it apart. If you don’t, the wishbone will not crack right. If you try to crack apart the wishbone that has just been taken out raw of from a  cooked bird, then it won’t crack right either. The wishbone needs to be dry and brittle before you can snap it in halves and it can take up to 3 days. Those are some facts about the wishbone, when to snap it, and how it became a tradition. I hope you and your family will snap a wishbone this Thanksgiving!

KEIRRA JONES