Quiz About Thanksgiving

Quiz Questions

1. Which American department store organizes the world famous Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City? Also, in which New York borough does it take place and in which decade was the first parade?
2. The first use of which word to describe the passengers of the Mayflower was used by fellow passenger William Bradford in his acount of the early years of the first colony?
3. When exactly is Thanksgiving celebrated? (the answer is in the form of the example 'second Tuesday in December' and not a date!)
4. Canada has it's own Thanksgiving; in which month do the Canadians celebrate this?





5. Traditionally eaten at Thanksgiving, in North America what are Yams?
6. Which popular Christmas song was written in the mid-19th century by James Pierpont originally as a Thanksgiving song?
7. The Mayflower sailed from which English port?
8. Which sauce is commonly served as a condiment with Thanksgiving dinner?
9. Sarah Hale, an American writer, is the individual most responsible for making Thanksgiving a national holiday after a tireless campaign in the mid-19th century - she is also the author of which nursery rhyme?
10. In a well known Thanksgiving tradition, what or who receives a Presidential pardon each year?
11. The Friday following Thanksgiving is one of the biggest shopping days of the year - what is its nickname?
12. Which town in Massachusetts is known as 'America's Hometown' and is the site of the colony founded in 1620 by the Pilgrims?
13. The 'First Thanksgiving' was celebrated by the Pilgrims after their first harvest in the New World in which year? (Hint: It was a year after the Mayflower sighted present-day Cape Cod)
14. What is the name of the loose red appendage that joins the underside of a turkey's beak and its neck?
15. It's a long tradition for two particular NFL American football teams to host games on Thanksgiving Day, can you name either?
16. Which classic film starts with Kris Kringle horrified to find that Santa in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is intoxicated?
17. Congress passed a law making Thanksgiving the fourth Thursday of November in which decade?
18. Members from which native American tribe were invited to the first Pilgrims' Thanksgiving celebration?
19. What do Americans call male turkeys? And what about a baby turkey?
20. Which film staring Steve Martin and John Candy is about advertising executive Neal Page trying to return to his family in Chicago for Thanksgiving?
21. Two desert pies starting with the letter 'p' are associated with a Thanksgiving dinner, name both?
22. What were a big feature of the first Macy's Parade: (a)large balloons, (b)zoo animals, (c)several Hollywood stars?

Answers:

1. Macy's. Manhattan. 1920s (1924 saw the first).
2. Pilgrims
3. Fourth Thursday of November
4. October (the second Monday of October)
5. Sweet potatos
6. Jingle Bells
7. Plymouth (N.B. the Mayflower took 66 days to reach America)
8. Cranberry sauce
9. Mary Had a Little Lamb
10. A turkey (which is spared from being eaten for Thanksgiving dinner)
11. Black Friday
12. Plymouth
13. 1621 (October, 1621)
14. A wattle





15. Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys
16. Miracle on 34th Street
17. 1940s (1941)
18. Wampanoag
19. Toms. A baby turkey is called a poult.
20. Planes, Trains and Automobiles
21. Pecan pie and pumpkin pie
22. Zoo animals (animals were borrowed from Central Park zoo)

Did you know that TV dinners were first developed by a frozen food firm called Swanson because they needed to use up the turkey they had over-ordered for Thanksgiving. Also, more TV dinners are sold in the U.S. on Thanksgiving than any other day!