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41 Thanksgiving trivia questions and answers

Thanksgiving history, proclamations, parades, foods, public observance, and the differences between American and Canadian calendars.

Updated · 41 questions

41 questions · Thanksgiving trivia questions and answers · answers included

Thanksgiving trivia questions and answers

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Showing 41 of 41

Questions 1–20

  1. On which weekday is U.S. Thanksgiving celebrated?

    easy

    Answer

    the fourth Thursday of November

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thanksgiving_(United_States)?oldid=1364510851

  2. In what year did the U.S. Thanksgiving date become uniform nationwide?

    medium

    Answer

    1941

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thanksgiving_(United_States)?oldid=1364510851

  3. What is the earliest possible calendar date for U.S. Thanksgiving?

    medium

    Answer

    November 22

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thanksgiving_(United_States)?oldid=1364510851

  4. What is the latest possible calendar date for U.S. Thanksgiving?

    medium

    Answer

    November 28

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thanksgiving_(United_States)?oldid=1364510851

  5. From what year does the modern U.S. national Thanksgiving celebration date?

    hard

    Answer

    1863

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thanksgiving_(United_States)?oldid=1364510851

  6. Which year supplied the harvest celebration later popularized as the first Thanksgiving?

    easy

    Answer

    1621

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thanksgiving_(United_States)?oldid=1364510851

  7. Where and when was the first known civil day of thanksgiving in the New England tradition?

    hard

    Answer

    Plymouth Colony in 1623

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thanksgiving_(United_States)?oldid=1364510851

  8. Which bird leads the source's list of New England Thanksgiving foods?

    easy

    Answer

    turkey

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thanksgiving_(United_States)?oldid=1364510851

  9. When is Canadian Thanksgiving held each year?

    easy

    Answer

    the second Monday in October

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thanksgiving_(Canada)?oldid=1351745839

  10. Since what date has Thanksgiving been an annual official holiday in Canada?

    hard

    Answer

    November 6, 1879

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thanksgiving_(Canada)?oldid=1351745839

  11. Which governor general issued Canada's 1957 Thanksgiving proclamation?

    hard

    Answer

    Vincent Massey

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thanksgiving_(Canada)?oldid=1351745839

  12. Which four countries does the source list as celebrating Thanksgiving nationally?

    hard

    Answer

    the United States, Canada, Saint Lucia, and Liberia

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thanksgiving?oldid=1358813808

  13. Which Australian territory also observes Thanksgiving?

    hard

    Answer

    Norfolk Island

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thanksgiving?oldid=1358813808

  14. What did Thanksgiving originally give thanks for?

    medium

    Answer

    the blessings of the harvest

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thanksgiving?oldid=1358813808

  15. What was the first permanent English colony in New England?

    medium

    Answer

    Plymouth Colony

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plymouth_Colony?oldid=1359126803

  16. In what year was Plymouth Colony founded?

    easy

    Answer

    1620

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plymouth_Colony?oldid=1359126803

  17. Who settled Plymouth Colony?

    easy

    Answer

    the passengers on the Mayflower

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plymouth_Colony?oldid=1359126803

  18. Who had previously surveyed and named Plymouth Colony's location?

    hard

    Answer

    Captain John Smith

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plymouth_Colony?oldid=1359126803

  19. Which Wampanoag chief made a treaty with Plymouth Colony?

    medium

    Answer

    Massasoit

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plymouth_Colony?oldid=1359126803

  20. With which colony did Plymouth merge in 1691?

    hard

    Answer

    the Massachusetts Bay Colony

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plymouth_Colony?oldid=1359126803

Questions 21–40

  1. What was Squanto's Wampanoag tribal affiliation?

    medium

    Answer

    the Patuxet tribe

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squanto?oldid=1361840059

  2. What was Squanto's original name?

    medium

    Answer

    Tisquantum

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squanto?oldid=1361840059

  3. Who kidnapped Tisquantum in 1614?

    hard

    Answer

    Thomas Hunt

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squanto?oldid=1361840059

  4. What language did Tisquantum learn during captivity?

    easy

    Answer

    English

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squanto?oldid=1361840059

  5. Which three roles did Tisquantum fill for the Pilgrims?

    hard

    Answer

    interpreter, guide, and advisor

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squanto?oldid=1361840059

  6. What crop skills did Tisquantum teach the settlers?

    medium

    Answer

    how to sow and fertilize native crops

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squanto?oldid=1361840059

  7. What type of ship was the Mayflower?

    hard

    Answer

    an English square-rigged merchant sailing ship

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayflower?oldid=1365650728

  8. How many passengers crossed on the Mayflower in 1620?

    easy

    Answer

    102 passengers

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayflower?oldid=1365650728

  9. How long was the Mayflower at sea before reaching Cape Cod Bay?

    medium

    Answer

    10 weeks

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayflower?oldid=1365650728

  10. What agreement established a rudimentary government before the passengers disembarked?

    easy

    Answer

    the Mayflower Compact

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayflower?oldid=1365650728

  11. How many living turkey species are there?

    medium

    Answer

    two

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkey_(bird)?oldid=1365991138

  12. What is the fleshy wattle above a male turkey's beak called?

    medium

    Answer

    a snood

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkey_(bird)?oldid=1365991138

  13. To which continents are turkeys indigenous?

    easy

    Answer

    the Americas

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkey_(bird)?oldid=1365991138

  14. Approximately how long ago was the turkey domesticated?

    hard

    Answer

    2,000 years ago

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkey_(bird)?oldid=1365991138

  15. What color does a ripe cranberry turn?

    easy

    Answer

    red

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cranberry?oldid=1364646636

  16. Which sauce traditionally accompanies Thanksgiving turkey in the U.S. and Canada?

    easy

    Answer

    Cranberry sauce

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cranberry?oldid=1364646636

  17. What type of filling does pumpkin pie have?

    easy

    Answer

    a spiced, pumpkin-based custard filling

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pumpkin_pie?oldid=1365499457

  18. Which four spices are named in pumpkin pie spice?

    medium

    Answer

    cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pumpkin_pie?oldid=1365499457

  19. Who created the green bean casserole recipe in 1955?

    medium

    Answer

    Dorcas Reilly

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_bean_casserole?oldid=1354893484

  20. In what year was the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade first held?

    medium

    Answer

    1924

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macy's_Thanksgiving_Day_Parade?oldid=1362034165

Questions 41–41

  1. What was the surname of the activist who campaigned for an American Thanksgiving holiday?

    hard

    Answer

    Hale

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Josepha_Hale?oldid=1363978243

How to play

Read dates, countries, and named proclamations carefully. When the source distinguishes a historical event from a later national observance, keep that distinction in the accepted answer.

Plan the round and team scores

8 turns × 60 seconds = 8 minutes of play, plus instructions and breaks.

60

Pause whenever the group needs more time.

Team Lime is acting

Team Lime: 0

Team Violet: 0