Cranberries are the fruit from the evergreen shrub of the same name. Unusually for fruit with "berry" in the name, they are actually berries. So many are not. Given how tiny cranberries are, eating merely one in celebration of this day is not really useful.
There are different species of cranberry plants. Although some do grow outside North America, the berries were first eaten by North American natives, and the United States and Canada are still the biggest producers of the berry. The first reference to Native Americans eating cranberries dates back to the fifteenth century; it is probable that they were consumed before that.
Cranberries can be eaten raw - and have been marketed as a "superfruit" when raw, as they are high in antioxidants and nutrients - they are usually eaten processed in other forms. This is because the raw cranberry is hard and bitter. Commercially, they are sweetened and sold as cranberry juice, cranberry sauce (a popular condiment with turkey at Thanksgiving and Christmas) and dried. Even dried cranberries are sweetened.
Although cranberries do seem to have health benefits, there are some people who are advised against taking them, namely those taking warfarin as a medicine, as it seems they react badly together.
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