55 Thanksgiving Trivia Questions with Answers

TL;DR. This page has 55 Thanksgiving trivia questions with answers about the US holiday, grouped into four rounds: history (16), food (13), parades, football and traditions (13), and an easy round for kids and families (13). The answers are in bold after each question. It is written for hosts, teachers and families planning a Thanksgiving quiz.

A note on the history round: very little about the 1621 feast was written down at the time. The questions below stick to what the surviving accounts say and to dates that are on the public record.

Thanksgiving history (16 questions)

1. 1In what year did the Plymouth colonists hold the harvest feast that is now often called the first Thanksgiving? 1621
2. 2Which ship carried the Pilgrims across the Atlantic in 1620? The Mayflower
3. 3In which present-day US state is Plymouth, the site of the colony? Massachusetts
4. 4Which Native people joined the colonists at the 1621 harvest feast? The Wampanoag
5. 5Who was the Wampanoag leader who came to the feast with his men? Massasoit, also known as Ousamequin.
6. 6Which colonist wrote the short eyewitness letter that is the main surviving description of the 1621 feast? Edward Winslow. It was printed in a booklet known as *Mourt's Relation*.
7. 7According to that letter, for how many days did the colonists and their guests feast together? Three days
8. 8Which governor of Plymouth Colony wrote the history *Of Plymouth Plantation*? William Bradford
9. 9Which Patuxet man, who spoke English, acted as interpreter for the colonists and showed them how to plant corn? Squanto, also known as Tisquantum.
10. 10What agreement did the male passengers sign aboard their ship in November 1620 to set up a government? The Mayflower Compact
11. 11Which president issued a national Thanksgiving proclamation in 1789? George Washington
12. 12Which writer and editor campaigned for years to make Thanksgiving a national holiday? Sarah Josepha Hale
13. 13Which Philadelphia magazine did Sarah Josepha Hale edit from 1837 to 1877? *Godey's Lady's Book*
14. 14Which president proclaimed a national day of Thanksgiving in 1863, during the Civil War? Abraham Lincoln. His proclamation set it on the last Thursday of November.
15. 15Which president moved Thanksgiving a week earlier in 1939 to lengthen the holiday shopping season? Franklin D. Roosevelt. Critics nicknamed the earlier date Franksgiving.
16. 16In what year did Congress pass the law that fixed Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday of November? 1941

Thanksgiving food (13 questions)

1. 1Which bird is the traditional centerpiece of the Thanksgiving meal? Turkey
2. 2Which tart red berry, grown in bogs that are often flooded for the harvest, is made into a sauce for the meal? Cranberry
3. 3What is the name of the fleshy red skin that hangs from a turkey's throat? Wattle
4. 4What is the fleshy growth that hangs over a turkey's beak called? Snood
5. 5What is a baby turkey called? Poult
6. 6What is the forked bone that two people pull apart to make a wish? The wishbone. Its anatomical name is the furcula.
7. 7Which nut fills a pie that is a Thanksgiving classic in the American South? Pecan
8. 8What is the bread-based mixture cooked inside the bird called? Stuffing. Cooked in a separate dish, many people call it dressing.
9. 9Which soft white sweets are often melted on top of sweet potato casserole? Marshmallows
10. 10Green bean casserole was created in 1955 in the test kitchen of which soup company? Campbell's. The recipe is credited to Dorcas Reilly.
11. 11A turducken is a turkey stuffed with a duck, which is stuffed with which other bird? Chicken
12. 12Which amino acid in turkey is often blamed for sleepiness after the meal? Tryptophan. Turkey has about as much as other poultry, so the size of the meal is the likelier cause.
13. 13Edward Winslow's letter says the Wampanoag guests brought five of which animal to the 1621 feast? Deer

Parades, football and traditions (13 questions)

1. 1Which department store has sponsored the Thanksgiving Day parade in New York City since the 1920s? Macy's
2. 2In what year was the first Macy's parade held? 1924
3. 3Which holiday was named in the title of that first Macy's parade? Christmas. It was called the Macy's Christmas Parade.
4. 4Which figure traditionally rides the final float of the Macy's parade? Santa Claus
5. 5During which war was the Macy's parade cancelled from 1942 to 1944? World War II
6. 6Which 1947 film opens at the Macy's parade and follows a store Santa who says he is the real one? *Miracle on 34th Street*
7. 7Which department store sponsored the Philadelphia Thanksgiving parade that began in 1920? Gimbels
8. 8Which NFL team has hosted a Thanksgiving Day game almost every year since 1934? The Detroit Lions
9. 9Which NFL team began hosting its own Thanksgiving Day game in 1966? The Dallas Cowboys
10. 10Which president made the pardoning of a turkey a formal annual White House ceremony in 1989? George H. W. Bush
11. 11Which singer recorded the 1967 song "Alice's Restaurant", which many US radio stations play on Thanksgiving? Arlo Guthrie
12. 12What name is given to the shopping day that follows Thanksgiving? Black Friday
13. 13What is the usual name for a fun run held on Thanksgiving morning? A turkey trot

Easy round for kids and families (13 questions)

This round is for parents and teachers to use with children. Read the questions aloud and let younger players answer first.

1. 1On which day of the week is Thanksgiving in the United States? Thursday
2. 2In which month is Thanksgiving in the United States? November
3. 3What sound does a turkey make? Gobble
4. 4What color are ripe cranberries? Red
5. 5Which big orange fruit is baked into the best-known Thanksgiving pie? Pumpkin
6. 6In which season does Thanksgiving fall in the United States? Autumn, also called fall.
7. 7What is the horn-shaped basket overflowing with fruit and vegetables called? A cornucopia, or horn of plenty.
8. 8True or false: wild turkeys can fly. True. They fly short distances and roost in trees at night.
9. 9In *A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving*, which dog helps make the holiday meal? Snoopy
10. 10Which part of the body do children trace on paper to draw a turkey? The hand
11. 11What do we call the food that is saved after the meal and eaten the next day? Leftovers
12. 12What is the name of the rock in Plymouth that tradition calls the Pilgrims' landing place? Plymouth Rock
13. 13True or false: Thanksgiving falls on the same date every year. False. It is always a Thursday, so the date moves between November 22 and November 28.

How to run this as a Thanksgiving quiz

At the table, the simplest format is one reader and teams of two or three, mixing ages so every team has an adult and a child. Play the easy round first while everyone is still settling in, then the food round during the meal, and keep history and parades for after dessert. Each round takes about ten minutes if the reader gives teams twenty seconds per question.

Score one point per correct answer and read the answers at the end of each round, not after each question. That keeps the pace up and gives teams something to argue about. For a tie-breaker, ask a number question and give the win to the closest guess: the year of the first Macy's parade (1924) or the year Congress fixed the date (1941) both work, as long as you leave them out of the main rounds.

In a classroom, the history round fits a single lesson and works as a short-answer worksheet. For guests in other cities, paste the questions into the AI quiz generator, or build the quiz by hand, and send one link. People answering do not need an account, and the answers are scored automatically. If you want paper copies for the table, the printable test maker lays the questions out for printing.

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