Menu
Thanksgiving Day Quiz
“The First Thanksgiving” by Jean Leon Gerome Ferris
Thanksgiving Day Quiz:
On what ship did the Pilgrims sail to “America”?
Where was the first Thanksgiving celebrated? What year?
Name the truce signed by the Pilgrims following the landing.
Name three foods served at the first Thanksgiving?
What Indian tribe was invited to spend Thanksgiving with the Pilgrims? Who was the tribal leader?
Name a Native American that was invited to the first Thanksgiving feast.
What is a female turkey called? a male turkey?
How many million turkeys are eaten each Thanksgiving Day? 10, 25, 45 or 95 million?
What other country celebrates Thanksgiving Day?
Which President established Thanksgiving Day as a national holiday? Why?
What sport has become “the” game to play on Thanksgiving Day?
Answers:
The Mayflower carried 101 souls -men, woman and children – across the Atlantic Ocean.
A 3-day celebration of thanksgiving took place in Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1621.
The Mayflower Compact was the first governing document of Plymouth Colony. It was written by the colonists, later together known to history as the Pilgrims, who crossed the Atlantic aboard the Mayflower. Almost half of the colonists were part of a separatist group seeking the freedom to practice Christianity according to their own determination. It was signed on November 11, 1620 by 41 of the ship’s 101 passengers while the Mayflower was anchored in what is now Provincetown Harbor.
Foods probably eaten at the first thanksgiving: turkey, fowl, game birds, corn, squash, dried fruit, clams, lobster, eel, venison, onions, pumpkin and Indian pudding.
The Wampanoags and their representative and translator Squanto joined in the first thanksgiving celebration.
Female turkeys are called hens and they cluck! Male turkeys are called Toms and they gobble, gobble!
These days 45 million turkeys are consumed on Thanksgiving Day – from frozen Butterball to fresh from Elm Farms.
Our neighbors to the North – our cousins in Canada – also celebrate Thanksgiving Day – but on the first second Monday in October.
President Abraham Lincoln first establish Thanksgiving Day as a national holiday in 1863 in thanksgiving for “general blessings.”
Are you ready for some football?
Have a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving Day – 2011!
Note: Questions and answers were updated at 9:30am.
I enjoyed the quiz, but disagree with a couple of the answers.
Ousamequin, better known by his title, Massasoit, was the leader of the Wampanoags.
Squanto taught the Pilgrims survival skills including farming and fishing. He also served as an interpreter.
Canadian Thanksgiving is celebrated on the second Monday of October, the same day we celebrate Columbus Day.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Denise
Thanks for taking the quiz.
You are absolutely correct about Thanksgiving in Canada – it is the second Monday. With ll my Nova Scotia connections – I know better. Let’s call it a a senior moment.
Re Squanto – I had two questions that I blended into one – Massasoit was indeed the leader of the Wamanoags – while Squanto – a Patuxet who spoke English – was the Native American who assisted the Pilgrims after their first winter in the New World and was integral to their survival. The Patuxet tribe was a tributary of the Wampanoag Confederacy. Massasoit was also helpful in the Pilgrims survival – and he entered into a mutual peace pact with the Pilgrims.