Thanksgiving Trivia Quiz
Pilgrims, the Macy's parade, Lions football and turkey pardons: 15 Thanksgiving questions for the table.
On which Thursday of November is Thanksgiving celebrated in the United States?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Fourth
A 1941 act of Congress fixed Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday of November, so it falls between 22 and 28 November each year. Earlier proclamations had used the last Thursday, which caused confusion in years with five Thursdays.
The Friday after, Black Friday, is not an official holiday but has become one of the busiest shopping days of the year.
What was the name of the ship that carried the Pilgrims to America in 1620?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Mayflower
The Mayflower left Plymouth, England, in September 1620 carrying 102 passengers and reached Cape Cod in November after 66 days at sea. The Susan Constant and Discovery were ships of the earlier Jamestown expedition of 1607.
A second ship, the Speedwell, set out with the Mayflower but leaked so badly it had to turn back, forcing some passengers to be left behind.
Which department store has sponsored New York's famous Thanksgiving Day parade since 1924?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Macy's
The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade began in 1924 as the Macy's Christmas Parade, organised by store employees, many of them immigrants, who wanted a festival like those in Europe. It still ends at the store's flagship on 34th Street.
Gimbels ran an even older Thanksgiving parade in Philadelphia from 1920, which continues today under a different sponsor.
The 1621 harvest feast often called the First Thanksgiving took place in which colony?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Plymouth
The Pilgrims of Plymouth Colony, in present day Massachusetts, held a three-day harvest celebration in the autumn of 1621 after surviving a brutal first winter that killed about half of them. Jamestown in Virginia was founded earlier, in 1607.
The only firsthand account is a short letter by colonist Edward Winslow, which mentions fowl and venison but never says the word turkey.
Which president proclaimed a national day of Thanksgiving in 1863, starting the unbroken annual tradition?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Abraham Lincoln
In October 1863, in the middle of the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln proclaimed the last Thursday of November a national day of Thanksgiving, and every president since has issued a proclamation. Washington had declared a one-off day of thanks in 1789.
Lincoln's proclamation was drafted by Secretary of State William Seward, and the original manuscript was sold to raise money for Union soldiers.
Which NFL team has hosted a game on Thanksgiving Day every year since 1934, apart from the Second World War?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions began hosting on Thanksgiving in 1934, when owner George Richards used the holiday game and a national radio broadcast to build interest in his newly relocated team. The series paused only from 1941 to 1944.
The Dallas Cowboys became the second regular Thanksgiving host in 1966, and the two games are now a fixture of the holiday.
Which Native American people shared the 1621 harvest feast with the Pilgrims at Plymouth?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Wampanoag
About 90 Wampanoag men led by the sachem Massasoit joined the roughly 50 surviving colonists for the feast, bringing five deer. The Wampanoag had made a peace treaty with Plymouth earlier that year.
Tisquantum, better known as Squanto, who taught the Pilgrims to plant corn, was a Patuxet man who had learned English after being kidnapped and taken to Europe.
When does Canada celebrate its Thanksgiving?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Second Monday in October
Canadian Thanksgiving falls on the second Monday in October, a date fixed by Parliament in 1957. The earlier timing reflects Canada's shorter growing season and harvest. The first Monday in September is Labour Day.
Canada's holiday is a quieter affair than its American cousin, with no big parade or football tradition, though turkey and pumpkin pie are still on the menu.
Which 1987 John Hughes comedy follows Steve Martin's desperate attempt to get home to Chicago for Thanksgiving?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Planes, Trains and Automobiles
Planes, Trains and Automobiles pairs Steve Martin's uptight ad executive with John Candy's chatty shower-curtain-ring salesman on a disastrous journey from New York to Chicago. It has become the definitive Thanksgiving film.
Home for the Holidays, directed by Jodie Foster in 1995, is the other Thanksgiving classic, while Uncle Buck and The Great Outdoors also star John Candy.
Which president moved Thanksgiving a week earlier in 1939, sparking a row that newspapers nicknamed Franksgiving?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt shifted Thanksgiving from the last Thursday to the second to last in 1939 to lengthen the Christmas shopping season during the Depression. Half the states refused to follow, so Congress settled the date in 1941.
For two years some families ate two Thanksgiving dinners, one on the Roosevelt date and one on the traditional day, depending on which their state recognised.
According to colonist Edward Winslow's letter, how many days did the 1621 harvest celebration last?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Three
Winslow wrote that the colonists and their Wampanoag guests feasted and entertained for three days, with the men shooting fowl and the Wampanoag bringing deer. It was a harvest festival rather than a religious thanksgiving.
The feast was probably held between late September and early November, not in late November as the modern holiday suggests.
The green bean casserole, a Thanksgiving staple, was created in 1955 in the test kitchen of which company?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Campbell's
Dorcas Reilly invented the green bean casserole in 1955 while working in the Campbell's Soup Company home economics department, combining green beans, cream of mushroom soup and fried onions. Her original recipe card is now in the National Inventors Hall of Fame.
Campbell's estimates that around 40 percent of the cream of mushroom soup it sells each year goes into green bean casserole.
Which character was the first giant balloon in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, in 1927?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Felix the Cat
A Felix the Cat balloon, filled with air and held up on sticks, appeared in 1927 and replaced the live animals borrowed from the Central Park Zoo that had frightened children in earlier parades. Mickey Mouse followed in 1934.
In the early years the balloons were released into the sky at the end of the parade, with a reward offered to anyone who returned them.
Which president made the pardoning of the National Thanksgiving Turkey an official annual ceremony in 1989?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
George H. W. Bush
George H. W. Bush formally pardoned the turkey in his first year in office, 1989, and every president since has repeated the ceremony. Reagan had joked about pardoning his turkey in 1987, but Bush made it a permanent part of the event.
John F. Kennedy spared his turkey in November 1963, just days before his assassination, telling reporters he would let this one grow.
Which magazine editor campaigned for 17 years to make Thanksgiving a national holiday, finally persuading Lincoln in 1863?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Sarah Josepha Hale
Sarah Josepha Hale, editor of Godey's Lady's Book, wrote editorials and letters to five presidents urging a national Thanksgiving before Lincoln agreed in 1863. She is often called the Mother of Thanksgiving.
Hale is also the author of the nursery rhyme Mary Had a Little Lamb, published in 1830.
Your results
More to explore
All General Knowledge quizzes →About the Thanksgiving Trivia Quiz
The first Macy's parade had live zoo animals instead of balloons, the Detroit Lions have played on Thanksgiving since 1934, and the green bean casserole was invented in a soup company's test kitchen. Thanksgiving is full of stories worth knowing before the turkey comes out.
This quiz serves up 15 questions on the history of the holiday, from the Mayflower and the Wampanoag to Lincoln's proclamation and the Franksgiving row of 1939, along with the parade, the football, the food and the films families watch every year. The early questions are easy for everyone around the table, and the last few will decide who gets the final slice of pie. Each answer comes with a quick explanation and a bonus fact.
You will find 15 multiple choice questions here, each with four options. Difficulty: Medium. Most people finish in about 6 minutes, and every answer comes with a short explanation and one extra fact worth keeping.
How to play
Read the question and pick one of the four answers. The correct answer is revealed straight away with a short explanation, then press Next question to keep going. At the end you get your score out of 15 and a full review of your round. Play again any time and the questions arrive in a fresh order. There is no timer and no account.
Good to know before you play
What does the Thanksgiving Trivia Quiz cover?
The 1621 harvest feast, the Mayflower, Lincoln's 1863 proclamation, the Macy's parade, NFL Thanksgiving games, the presidential turkey pardon and classic dishes such as green bean casserole.
Is the quiz only about American Thanksgiving?
Mostly, but one question covers Canadian Thanksgiving, which falls on the second Monday in October, and the explanations add context for players outside the United States.
How difficult is the quiz?
It is rated Medium: the first five questions are easy for most Americans, while the last five dig into names and dates that reward real holiday history fans.
Answer key: all 15 questions with explanations
- On which Thursday of November is Thanksgiving celebrated in the United States?
Fourth A 1941 act of Congress fixed Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday of November, so it falls between 22 and 28 November each year. Earlier proclamations had used the last Thursday, which caused confusion in years with five Thursdays. The Friday after, Black Friday, is not an official holiday but has become one of the busiest shopping days of the year. - What was the name of the ship that carried the Pilgrims to America in 1620?
Mayflower The Mayflower left Plymouth, England, in September 1620 carrying 102 passengers and reached Cape Cod in November after 66 days at sea. The Susan Constant and Discovery were ships of the earlier Jamestown expedition of 1607. A second ship, the Speedwell, set out with the Mayflower but leaked so badly it had to turn back, forcing some passengers to be left behind. - Which department store has sponsored New York's famous Thanksgiving Day parade since 1924?
Macy's The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade began in 1924 as the Macy's Christmas Parade, organised by store employees, many of them immigrants, who wanted a festival like those in Europe. It still ends at the store's flagship on 34th Street. Gimbels ran an even older Thanksgiving parade in Philadelphia from 1920, which continues today under a different sponsor. - The 1621 harvest feast often called the First Thanksgiving took place in which colony?
Plymouth The Pilgrims of Plymouth Colony, in present day Massachusetts, held a three-day harvest celebration in the autumn of 1621 after surviving a brutal first winter that killed about half of them. Jamestown in Virginia was founded earlier, in 1607. The only firsthand account is a short letter by colonist Edward Winslow, which mentions fowl and venison but never says the word turkey. - Which president proclaimed a national day of Thanksgiving in 1863, starting the unbroken annual tradition?
Abraham Lincoln In October 1863, in the middle of the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln proclaimed the last Thursday of November a national day of Thanksgiving, and every president since has issued a proclamation. Washington had declared a one-off day of thanks in 1789. Lincoln's proclamation was drafted by Secretary of State William Seward, and the original manuscript was sold to raise money for Union soldiers. - Which NFL team has hosted a game on Thanksgiving Day every year since 1934, apart from the Second World War?
Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions began hosting on Thanksgiving in 1934, when owner George Richards used the holiday game and a national radio broadcast to build interest in his newly relocated team. The series paused only from 1941 to 1944. The Dallas Cowboys became the second regular Thanksgiving host in 1966, and the two games are now a fixture of the holiday. - Which Native American people shared the 1621 harvest feast with the Pilgrims at Plymouth?
Wampanoag About 90 Wampanoag men led by the sachem Massasoit joined the roughly 50 surviving colonists for the feast, bringing five deer. The Wampanoag had made a peace treaty with Plymouth earlier that year. Tisquantum, better known as Squanto, who taught the Pilgrims to plant corn, was a Patuxet man who had learned English after being kidnapped and taken to Europe. - When does Canada celebrate its Thanksgiving?
Second Monday in October Canadian Thanksgiving falls on the second Monday in October, a date fixed by Parliament in 1957. The earlier timing reflects Canada's shorter growing season and harvest. The first Monday in September is Labour Day. Canada's holiday is a quieter affair than its American cousin, with no big parade or football tradition, though turkey and pumpkin pie are still on the menu. - Which 1987 John Hughes comedy follows Steve Martin's desperate attempt to get home to Chicago for Thanksgiving?
Planes, Trains and Automobiles Planes, Trains and Automobiles pairs Steve Martin's uptight ad executive with John Candy's chatty shower-curtain-ring salesman on a disastrous journey from New York to Chicago. It has become the definitive Thanksgiving film. Home for the Holidays, directed by Jodie Foster in 1995, is the other Thanksgiving classic, while Uncle Buck and The Great Outdoors also star John Candy. - Which president moved Thanksgiving a week earlier in 1939, sparking a row that newspapers nicknamed Franksgiving?
Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin D. Roosevelt shifted Thanksgiving from the last Thursday to the second to last in 1939 to lengthen the Christmas shopping season during the Depression. Half the states refused to follow, so Congress settled the date in 1941. For two years some families ate two Thanksgiving dinners, one on the Roosevelt date and one on the traditional day, depending on which their state recognised. - According to colonist Edward Winslow's letter, how many days did the 1621 harvest celebration last?
Three Winslow wrote that the colonists and their Wampanoag guests feasted and entertained for three days, with the men shooting fowl and the Wampanoag bringing deer. It was a harvest festival rather than a religious thanksgiving. The feast was probably held between late September and early November, not in late November as the modern holiday suggests. - The green bean casserole, a Thanksgiving staple, was created in 1955 in the test kitchen of which company?
Campbell's Dorcas Reilly invented the green bean casserole in 1955 while working in the Campbell's Soup Company home economics department, combining green beans, cream of mushroom soup and fried onions. Her original recipe card is now in the National Inventors Hall of Fame. Campbell's estimates that around 40 percent of the cream of mushroom soup it sells each year goes into green bean casserole. - Which character was the first giant balloon in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, in 1927?
Felix the Cat A Felix the Cat balloon, filled with air and held up on sticks, appeared in 1927 and replaced the live animals borrowed from the Central Park Zoo that had frightened children in earlier parades. Mickey Mouse followed in 1934. In the early years the balloons were released into the sky at the end of the parade, with a reward offered to anyone who returned them. - Which president made the pardoning of the National Thanksgiving Turkey an official annual ceremony in 1989?
George H. W. Bush George H. W. Bush formally pardoned the turkey in his first year in office, 1989, and every president since has repeated the ceremony. Reagan had joked about pardoning his turkey in 1987, but Bush made it a permanent part of the event. John F. Kennedy spared his turkey in November 1963, just days before his assassination, telling reporters he would let this one grow. - Which magazine editor campaigned for 17 years to make Thanksgiving a national holiday, finally persuading Lincoln in 1863?
Sarah Josepha Hale Sarah Josepha Hale, editor of Godey's Lady's Book, wrote editorials and letters to five presidents urging a national Thanksgiving before Lincoln agreed in 1863. She is often called the Mother of Thanksgiving. Hale is also the author of the nursery rhyme Mary Had a Little Lamb, published in 1830.
Browse other categories
Every category has its own quizzes, each with instant explanations.