Question 1 of 20Pilgrims and PlymouthEasy
Thanksgiving trivia quiz
Before the leftovers come out, put your family's holiday know-how to the test. These 20 Thanksgiving trivia questions and answers run from the 1621 harvest gathering and presidential proclamations to parade balloons, football and favorite side dishes, so everyone at the table gets a turn to shine.
A free quiz from Megan Moran.
Question 2 of 20Food and recipesEasy
Which pie, with a spiced orange custard filling, is the classic Thanksgiving dessert?
Question 3 of 20Pilgrims and PlymouthMedium
Which Patuxet man, who had learned English after being kidnapped and taken to Europe, served as an interpreter for the Plymouth colonists and taught them how to plant corn?
Question 4 of 20The 1621 harvestHard
In his letter describing the 1621 harvest celebration at Plymouth, what did colonist Edward Winslow record the visiting Wampanoag men contributing?
Question 5 of 20FootballMedium
Which NFL team has hosted a game on Thanksgiving Day every year since 1945, a tradition it began in 1934?
Question 6 of 20The paradeEasy
In which city does the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade take place?
Question 7 of 20Pop cultureMedium
In A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving (1973), the makeshift feast Snoopy helps cook up includes toast, pretzel sticks, jelly beans and which other snack?
Question 8 of 20Making it a holidayHard
Which writer and magazine editor, who also wrote "Mary Had a Little Lamb," spent decades lobbying for Thanksgiving to become a national holiday?
Question 9 of 20Making it a holidayEasy
In 1863, during the Civil War, which president proclaimed a national day of Thanksgiving for the last Thursday of November?
Question 10 of 20Making it a holidayMedium
In 1939, President Franklin D. Roosevelt moved Thanksgiving one week earlier than usual. What was his main reason?
Question 11 of 20Turkey factsMedium
Which Founding Father wrote in a 1784 letter that, compared with the bald eagle, the turkey was "a much more respectable bird"?
Question 12 of 20Turkey factsHard
What is the name of the fleshy flap that hangs from a turkey's forehead down over its beak?
Question 13 of 20Turkey factsEasy
What is an adult male turkey commonly called?
Question 14 of 20CanadaMedium
In Canada, Thanksgiving is celebrated on which day?
Question 15 of 20The White HouseMedium
In 1989, which president began the yearly tradition of formally "pardoning" the National Thanksgiving Turkey at the White House?
Question 16 of 20The paradeHard
Which famous cartoon cat floated down the street when giant balloons first appeared in the Macy's parade in 1927?
Question 17 of 20Food and recipesEasy
Classic green bean casserole is made with green beans, cream of mushroom soup and a crunchy topping of fried what?
Question 18 of 20Black FridayMedium
The shopping nickname "Black Friday" is widely traced to police in which city, who used it in the 1950s for the crowds and traffic chaos the day after Thanksgiving?
Question 19 of 20The 1621 harvestHard
Since 1970, Native Americans and their supporters have gathered on Cole's Hill in Plymouth every Thanksgiving Day for which observance?
Question 20 of 20Pop cultureMedium
In the 1987 comedy Planes, Trains and Automobiles, Steve Martin's character battles travel chaos trying to get home to which city for Thanksgiving?
Answer all 20 to see your score.
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Show all the answers, with the facts behind them
- The Pilgrims who sailed on the Mayflower in 1620 founded Plymouth Colony in what is now which US state? MassachusettsA full-size replica, Mayflower II, was built in Brixham, England, and sailed across the Atlantic to Plymouth in 1957.
- Which pie, with a spiced orange custard filling, is the classic Thanksgiving dessert? Pumpkin pieIllinois grows about 90% of the pumpkins canned in the US, according to a 2020 University of Illinois Extension estimate.
- Which Patuxet man, who had learned English after being kidnapped and taken to Europe, served as an interpreter for the Plymouth colonists and taught them how to plant corn? Tisquantum (Squanto)Seized by English captain Thomas Hunt in 1614 and sold into slavery in Spain, he returned in 1619 to find his village emptied by an epidemic.
- In his letter describing the 1621 harvest celebration at Plymouth, what did colonist Edward Winslow record the visiting Wampanoag men contributing? Five deerWinslow also wrote that four colonists went "fowling"; the birds may have included ducks, geese or turkeys, but no detailed menu survives.
- Which NFL team has hosted a game on Thanksgiving Day every year since 1945, a tradition it began in 1934? Detroit LionsThe Dallas Cowboys joined the tradition in 1966 and have hosted a Thanksgiving game every year since, except 1975 and 1977.
- In which city does the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade take place? New York CityThe first parade, in 1924, featured floats, bands and live animals borrowed from the Central Park Zoo.
- In A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving (1973), the makeshift feast Snoopy helps cook up includes toast, pretzel sticks, jelly beans and which other snack? PopcornThe whole party happens because Peppermint Patty invites herself over to Charlie Brown's house for Thanksgiving dinner.
- Which writer and magazine editor, who also wrote "Mary Had a Little Lamb," spent decades lobbying for Thanksgiving to become a national holiday? Sarah Josepha HaleShe edited Godey's Lady's Book, one of the nation's most widely read magazines, and pressed her case in its pages and in letters to presidents.
- In 1863, during the Civil War, which president proclaimed a national day of Thanksgiving for the last Thursday of November? Abraham LincolnSecretary of State William Seward drafted the proclamation, which asked Americans to implore the Almighty to "heal the wounds of the nation."
- In 1939, President Franklin D. Roosevelt moved Thanksgiving one week earlier than usual. What was his main reason? To give stores a longer holiday shopping seasonCritics nicknamed it "Franksgiving," and that year states split, some celebrating on November 23 and others on November 30.
- Which Founding Father wrote in a 1784 letter that, compared with the bald eagle, the turkey was "a much more respectable bird"? Benjamin FranklinThe remark came in a private letter to his daughter, Sarah Bache. He never formally proposed the turkey as a national symbol.
- What is the name of the fleshy flap that hangs from a turkey's forehead down over its beak? SnoodMature males grow long snoods and can stretch them out even longer when strutting for hens. Hens and young males have only short stubs.
- What is an adult male turkey commonly called? TomGobbling is chiefly a male call, used especially in spring to attract mates and announce his presence.
- In Canada, Thanksgiving is celebrated on which day? Second Monday in OctoberCanada's Parliament fixed the date by proclamation in 1957. Before that, the date was set year by year and often moved around.
- In 1989, which president began the yearly tradition of formally "pardoning" the National Thanksgiving Turkey at the White House? George H. W. BushHarry Truman was the first president to receive a turkey from the National Turkey Federation and the Poultry and Egg National Board.
- Which famous cartoon cat floated down the street when giant balloons first appeared in the Macy's parade in 1927? Felix the CatIn the parade's early years, the balloons were released into the sky at the end of the route, fitted with slow-release valves.
- Classic green bean casserole is made with green beans, cream of mushroom soup and a crunchy topping of fried what? OnionsDorcas Reilly created the recipe in 1955 in the Campbell Soup Company's test kitchen in Camden, New Jersey.
- The shopping nickname "Black Friday" is widely traced to police in which city, who used it in the 1950s for the crowds and traffic chaos the day after Thanksgiving? PhiladelphiaBefore the shopping sense caught on, "Black Friday" named financial panics, including the crash of the US gold market on September 24, 1869.
- Since 1970, Native Americans and their supporters have gathered on Cole's Hill in Plymouth every Thanksgiving Day for which observance? National Day of MourningIt began after organizers of a 1970 state celebration of the Pilgrims' 350th anniversary censored the planned speech of Wampanoag leader Wamsutta Frank James.
- In the 1987 comedy Planes, Trains and Automobiles, Steve Martin's character battles travel chaos trying to get home to which city for Thanksgiving? ChicagoDirected by John Hughes, the film pairs Martin's uptight advertising executive with John Candy's chatty shower-curtain-ring salesman.
