History
What was the name of the ship the pilgrims came over on?
The Mayflower
What always comes at the end of Thanksgiving?
The letter "g"!
The dangling skin under a turkey's neck is called?
Wattle. These pieces fill up with blood and turn bright red when a tom wants to attract a hen but they can also turn blue if the turkey is scared.
In America, they celebrate Thanksgiving in what month?
November, because our harvest season is earlier in Canada, as we get colder sooner.
Canadian Thanksgiving has coincided with Columbus Day in the US since 1971. Our harvest season is earlier in Canada, as we get colder sooner.
True or False? Only Male turkeys Gobble?
False! Male “tom” turkeys and female “hen” turkeys both “gobble”, but typically male turkeys “gobble” while female turkeys make a sound more like “yelp”
True or False? Cranberry leaves were even used as a substitute for tobacco by the Inuktitut-speaking peoples of Canada.
True! But its real value was as an ingredient in pemmican, where the berries would be mixed in with animal meat and fat, then dried. The result would keep for months at a time, a real boon for anyone travelling long distances.
What are unhappy cranberries called?
Blueberries!
True or False? Turkeys can run up to 25 miles per hour and fly as fast as 55 miles per hour.
True! Turkeys can run up to 25 miles per hour and fly as fast as 55 miles per hour.
True or False? The Thankgiving holiday is a Busy Time for both Bartenders and Plumbers?
True!
For bars and taverns, the night before Thanksgiving is reportedly the busiest night of the year. And according to plumbing company Roto-Rooter, the day after Thanksgiving is the busiest day of the year for plumbers. “Holiday guests put a strain on the plumbing system because toilets are flushed more often and extra showers are taken,”
True or False:In 2007, two turkeys earned a trip to Disney World on Thanksgiving Day.
True! President George W. Bush pardoned two turkeys, named May and Flower, who were flown to Orlando to serve as honorary grand marshals for the Disney World Thanksgiving Parade.
In 1947, a weird tradition known as the National Thanksgiving Turkey Presentation was founded under the Truman administration. However, Ronald Reagan was actually the first present to formally "pardon" one of the turkeys given to him. Truman, Eisenhower, and several other presidents actually ate the turkeys presented to them. In 1988, George H.W. Bush instituted the turkey pardon as a national tradition while he was in office.
What year was Thanksgiving proclaimed an OFFICIAL national holiday in Canada?
Canada officially started the Thanksgiving traditions in 1879, when November 6 of that year was Thanksgiving was proclaimed a national holiday. But even then, confusion reigned, with the day falling anywhere in October or November until 1921.
That year, it was combined with Remembrance Day, and the two celebrations remained paired until 1930, when Thanksgiving was moved to a Monday in October. It wasn’t until 1957 that the holiday was formally declared for the second Monday in October.
Today is Monday, November 8th 2018!
The very first Canadian Thanksgiving is thought to have happened in 1578 after the explorer Martin Frobisher’s third expedition to Canada.
After a particularly treacherous journey that saw Frobisher lose one of his ships, the sailor decided to have a feast to celebrate his safe passage after landing in Nunavut.
The holiday became codified in the Canadian calendar in the 19th century, when Canadian Protestants petitioned for an official Thanksgiving day in 1859 to thank God for the good harvests.
It became a national holiday that year but only became Thanksgiving officially on the second Monday of October in 1957.
Another suggestion has been that Canadian Thanksgiving came about because the country was thankful, as historian Peter A. Stevens says, because they ‘spared the bloodshed’ of the US Civil War.
Americans feel ownership over this holiday, believing it grew, organically, out of a specific historical event that took place on “American” soil. After all, the Plymouth Rock story, which frames a congenial harvest feast shared by Wampanoag peoples and the Pilgrim settlers in November 1621 as America’s first Thanksgiving, is taught early and often.
What would you get if you crossed a turkey with an ghost?
A Poultrygeist!
According to Turkey Farmers of Canada, How many whole turkeys were purchased by Canadians for Thanksgiving in 2017?
a. 1.4 Million?
b. 2.2 Million?
c. 5.4 Million?
2.2 million whole turkeys were purchased by Canadians for Thanksgiving in 2017. This amounts to 31% of all whole turkeys that were sold throughout the country last year! At Christmas last year, we celebrated the season with the succulent help of 3.3 million turkeys, easily surpassing Thanksgiving with 47 per cent of the yearly total.
What part of the turkey is saved and snapped as a superstitious good luck custom?
The Wishbone! The ancient Romans used to pull apart chicken bones hoping for good fortune. The English picked it up in the 16th century, where it was referred to as “merrythought.” In the New World, Pilgrims played tug-of-war with the bones of wild turkeys. The term “wishbone” didn’t emerge until the 1800’s. Each person grabs an end and pulls it apart. It is believed that if you get the bigger piece, your wish will be granted.
True or False? ‘Jingle Bells’ Was Originally a Thanksgiving Song?
True! Published in 1857, the song — which was then titled “One Horse Open Sleigh” — was meant to be sung on Thanksgiving. It wasn’t until many years later the song became co-opted as a Christmas ditty, which necessitated a title change.
In 1939, what President issued a proclamation, shifting the date of American Thanksgiving one week earlier than usual?
President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued a proclamation, shifting the date of American Thanksgiving one week earlier than usual under the rationale that an extra week of shopping time between Thanksgiving and Christmas would cost the economy and help America recover from the Great Depression. Instead, what resulted was confusion and resistance to what became derided as “Franksgiving,” with the backlash so severe, the date hasn't moved since.
If the Pilgrims were alive today, what would they be most famous for?
Their Age!
True or Fale? Does eating turkey actually make you sleepy?
False!
According to experts, the real culprit behind post-dinner lethargy is the larger-than-usual amounts of carbs and alcohol consumed (aka overeating and drinking).
In what year did the first Macy's Thanksgiving parade take place?
1924! Felix the Cat was one of the first giant balloons to appear in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
True or False? In 1953, a Swanson employee miscalculated the number of frozen turkeys that would be sold at Thanksgiving that year, leaving the company with 260 tonnes leftover.
True! This forced the company to get creative, ordering 5,000 aluminum trays and setting up an assembly line to fill each with turkey, cornbread dressing, peas and sweet potatoes. Selling for 98 cents, the TV dinner became a huge hit, with Swanson selling 10 million in 1954.
In Ontario there is a conservation area with a path around a lake that has pictures and short stories of native people and their celebrations.
One of the stories is about thanksgiving; it starts with this sentence:
"Thanksgiving to native indians was a way of everyday life rather than a one-day celebration."
Can you name the Conservation area??
At the Crawford Lake conservation area (Milton, ON) a path around the lake has pictures and short stories of native people and their celebrations. One of the stories is about thanksgiving; it starts with this sentence:
"Thanksgiving to native indians was a way of everyday life rather than a one-day celebration."
Take a few minutes to think about this quote.
Who is not hungry at Thanksgiving?
A: The turkey because he's already stuffed!
How many calories do you think the average Thanksgiving meal contains?
Registered dietitian and nutritionist Stefanie Senior breaks down the calories of what is offered at a typical Thanksgiving dinner table.
Tells us about the strangest Thanksgiving tradition you do or have heard about?
1. At the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, their most popular Thanksgiving tradition is an event called Frozen Turkey Bowling where people hurl frozen, oiled-up turkeys down a grocery store aisle at a set of bowling pins. Their event raises money to combat smoking!
2. Every year, each person at the table uses a permanent marker to write one thing he or she is thankful for on the white tablecloth. After Thanksgiving, we wash the cloth on the gentle cycle and put it away until next year, when we bring it out and do the same thing. It’s fun to see how people change, and it’s a powerful way to remind us what the holiday is all about.
3. Turkey trot 5Ks happen all over the country. Thousands of full-grown adults each year don turkey costumes and go jogging before consuming billions of calories later that evening.
True or False? Canadian Thanksgiving is a statutory holiday EXCEPT in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, PEI, and Newfoundland and Labrador.
True!