Thanksgiving Quiz: Pilgrims, Parades, Turkey and Football

This Thanksgiving quiz covers the American holiday from the 1621 harvest feast at Plymouth with the Wampanoag to Sarah Josepha Hale's campaign, Abraham Lincoln's proclamation, the Macy's parade, which marks its 100th edition in 2026, Detroit Lions football, the turkey pardon and Canada's own Thanksgiving.

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🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 90 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 90s

History
The 1621 harvest feast often called the first Thanksgiving took place at which colony?
History
Which Wampanoag leader attended the 1621 feast with about 90 of his men?
Presidents
Which president proclaimed Thanksgiving a national holiday in 1863, during the Civil War?
History
Which magazine editor, also the author of Mary Had a Little Lamb, campaigned for decades for a national Thanksgiving?
Dates
Thanksgiving in the United States is held on which day?
Parade
In which year was the first Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade held in New York?
Football
Which NFL team has hosted a Thanksgiving Day game almost every year since 1934?
White House
What does the U.S. president traditionally do with a turkey each Thanksgiving?
Canada
When do Canadians celebrate Thanksgiving?
Food
Which tart red berry is usually served as a sauce with Thanksgiving turkey?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: The 1621 harvest feast often called the first Thanksgiving took place at which colony?
Answer: Plymouth
About 50 English colonists shared the three-day feast with around 90 Wampanoag people. The meal probably included deer and wildfowl.
Q2: Which Wampanoag leader attended the 1621 feast with about 90 of his men?
Answer: Massasoit
Massasoit had made an alliance with the Plymouth colonists earlier that year. The Wampanoag brought five deer to the celebration.
Q3: Which president proclaimed Thanksgiving a national holiday in 1863, during the Civil War?
Answer: Abraham Lincoln
Lincoln set the holiday for the last Thursday of November. He was persuaded by a long letter-writing campaign.
Q4: Which magazine editor, also the author of Mary Had a Little Lamb, campaigned for decades for a national Thanksgiving?
Answer: Sarah Josepha Hale
Hale wrote to five presidents over 17 years. She is sometimes called the Mother of Thanksgiving.
Q5: Thanksgiving in the United States is held on which day?
Answer: The fourth Thursday of November
Congress fixed the date in 1941 after Franklin D. Roosevelt had moved it a week earlier to lengthen the shopping season. In 2026 it falls on November 26.
Q6: In which year was the first Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade held in New York?
Answer: 1924
The first parade featured animals from the Central Park Zoo. Giant balloons arrived in 1927, and 2026 brings the 100th parade.
Q7: Which NFL team has hosted a Thanksgiving Day game almost every year since 1934?
Answer: Detroit Lions
The Dallas Cowboys began their own Thanksgiving tradition in 1966. A third, evening game was added in 2006.
Q8: What does the U.S. president traditionally do with a turkey each Thanksgiving?
Answer: Pardon it
The pardon ceremony was made an official yearly event by George H. W. Bush in 1989. The pardoned birds live out their lives on farms.
Q9: When do Canadians celebrate Thanksgiving?
Answer: The second Monday of October
Canada's earlier date reflects its shorter growing season. The holiday was fixed on the second Monday of October in 1957.
Q10: Which tart red berry is usually served as a sauce with Thanksgiving turkey?
Answer: Cranberry
Cranberries are one of the few fruits native to North America. Wisconsin and Massachusetts grow most of the U.S. crop.

Thanksgiving Quiz – The Story of an American Holiday

Thanksgiving is one of the most important holidays in the United States. Every year on the fourth Thursday of November, families gather for a large meal, often with turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie. Many people also watch parades and football, and the holiday marks the start of the busy winter season.

The holiday is traced back to 1621, when English colonists at Plymouth, in present-day Massachusetts, held a harvest feast with Wampanoag people led by Massasoit. The colonists had survived a harsh first winter with help from Native people such as Tisquantum, also known as Squanto. Today, many Native Americans also mark the day as a time of mourning and remembrance.

For centuries, days of thanksgiving were declared locally. The writer and editor Sarah Josepha Hale campaigned for a national holiday, and in 1863, during the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln proclaimed one. In 1939, Franklin D. Roosevelt moved the date a week earlier, causing confusion, so in 1941 Congress set it on the fourth Thursday of November.

Modern traditions include the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York, first held in 1924 and celebrating its 100th parade in 2026, the Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys football games and the presidential turkey pardon. Canada has its own Thanksgiving in October, and the day after American Thanksgiving has become the shopping event known as Black Friday.

This quiz covers the history, traditions and food of Thanksgiving.

What This Quiz Teaches

This quiz is perfect for students, families and anyone preparing for Thanksgiving dinner trivia.

What happened at the 1621 harvest feast
Who campaigned for a national holiday
How the date was fixed
The history of the Macy's parade
Football and turkey traditions
How Canada's Thanksgiving differs

Quick Facts About Thanksgiving

Americans eat tens of millions of turkeys at Thanksgiving each year.
Snoopy has appeared as a Macy's parade balloon more times than any other character.
Benjamin Franklin once praised the turkey as a more respectable bird than the bald eagle.
Pumpkin pie was probably not served at the 1621 feast.
The busiest travel period of the year in the U.S. is around Thanksgiving.
Liberia, in West Africa, also celebrates a national Thanksgiving Day.