Thanksgiving Trivia Quiz

In the United States, Thanksgiving is celebrated on which day?

• The last Monday of November
• The fourth Thursday of November
• The first Thursday of December
• 25 November every year

Answer: The fourth Thursday of November. US Thanksgiving is fixed by federal law as the fourth Thursday of November, so its date moves between 22 and 28 November.

When do Canadians celebrate Thanksgiving?

• The second Monday of October
• The fourth Thursday of November
• The first Sunday of September
• 11 November

Answer: The second Monday of October. Canada's Thanksgiving falls on the second Monday of October, closer to its earlier northern harvest.

What was the name of the ship that carried the Pilgrims to North America in 1620?

• Santa Maria
• Endeavour
• Mayflower
• Golden Hind

Answer: Mayflower. The Mayflower sailed from Plymouth, England, and reached Cape Cod in November 1620.

The Plymouth Colony, site of the 1621 harvest feast, was in which present-day US state?

• Virginia
• New York
• Pennsylvania
• Massachusetts

Answer: Massachusetts. Plymouth is on the coast of Massachusetts, south of Boston.

The 1621 harvest celebration is often called the first Thanksgiving. Which Native American people shared it with the Pilgrims?

• The Wampanoag
• The Cherokee
• The Sioux
• The Apache

Answer: The Wampanoag. About 90 Wampanoag men led by Massasoit joined the colonists for the three-day feast.

Which Native American man, who had learned English, helped the Plymouth colonists plant corn and survive?

• Pocahontas
• Sitting Bull
• Squanto (Tisquantum)
• Geronimo

Answer: Squanto (Tisquantum). Tisquantum had been kidnapped and taken to Europe years earlier, so he spoke English and could teach farming and fishing.

Which of these foods was most likely NOT served at the 1621 harvest feast?

• Venison
• Wildfowl
• Corn
• Pumpkin pie

Answer: Pumpkin pie. The colonists had no ovens or much sugar or butter for pies. A first-hand account mentions fowl and five deer brought by the Wampanoag.

Which president proclaimed Thanksgiving a national holiday in 1863, during the Civil War?

• George Washington
• Abraham Lincoln
• Thomas Jefferson
• Ulysses S. Grant

Answer: Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln set the last Thursday of November 1863 as a national day of thanksgiving, and it has been held every year since.

Which magazine editor campaigned for 17 years for a national Thanksgiving and also wrote "Mary Had a Little Lamb"?

• Louisa May Alcott
• Harriet Beecher Stowe
• Emily Dickinson
• Sarah Josepha Hale

Answer: Sarah Josepha Hale. Sarah Josepha Hale wrote letters to five presidents, and her 1863 letter to Lincoln helped persuade him.

Which president moved Thanksgiving a week earlier in 1939, a change critics nicknamed "Franksgiving"?

• Franklin D. Roosevelt
• Herbert Hoover
• Harry Truman
• Woodrow Wilson

Answer: Franklin D. Roosevelt. Roosevelt hoped a longer Christmas shopping season would help the economy, but many states refused to follow.

In which year did Congress pass the law fixing Thanksgiving as the fourth Thursday of November?

• 1863
• 1921
• 1941
• 1957

Answer: 1941. After the Franksgiving confusion, Congress settled the date in 1941 and Roosevelt signed it in December that year.

Which department store has run the famous New York Thanksgiving Day Parade since 1924?

• Macy's
• Bloomingdale's
• Saks Fifth Avenue
• Sears

Answer: Macy's. The first Macy's parade in 1924 included live animals from the Central Park Zoo. The giant balloons arrived in 1927.

Every year the US President "pardons" which animal before Thanksgiving?

• A pig
• A turkey
• A goose
• A cow

Answer: A turkey. The pardoned turkey is spared from the dinner table and sent to live on a farm or at a university.

Which NFL team has hosted a Thanksgiving Day game almost every year since 1934?

• Green Bay Packers
• New York Giants
• Detroit Lions
• Miami Dolphins

Answer: Detroit Lions. The Detroit Lions began the tradition in 1934. The Dallas Cowboys have also hosted a Thanksgiving game most years since 1966.

Which tart red berry, native to North America, is the classic Thanksgiving sauce made from?

• Raspberry
• Strawberry
• Redcurrant
• Cranberry

Answer: Cranberry. Cranberries grow in bogs in states such as Wisconsin and Massachusetts and are harvested in autumn, just in time.