Thanksgiving History
The Pilgrims held the first Thanksgiving in November 1621
False. Thanksgiving/Harvest festivals have been happening as long as there have been people.
The first American president to recognize Thanksgiving as a national holiday
Who was Abraham Lincoln in 1863?
Did the Pilgrims land at Plymouth Rock in 1620?
There is actually no mention of Plymouth Rock in any primary texts from the 1600s. No one had even heard of it until the elderly Thomas Faunce, the son of an original pilgrim, coined the legend in 1741. During the Revolutionary War, the Massachusetts colonists rallied around the dramatic tale — that is, until the legendary rock fell off a wagon and broke in half.
A male turkey is called a
1. Tom
2. Kevin
3. Allen
What/Who is Tom
A key that has legs and can't open a door.
What is a Tur-key?
The dinner with the English Pilgrims and the Indigenous peoples in the area was to give thanks.
Falseish. It was a part of a three day celebration at the end of the harvest.
The name of the magazine which popularized the idea of Thanksgiving as a holiday
What is Godey's Lady Book?
About how long had the Wampanoag been living in the Cape Cod area before the English showed up?
1. 100,000 years
2. 10,000 years
3. 1,000 years
The first crop harvested for the Harvest Home Festival
What is corn?
The term for a female turkey
What is a hen?
The English pilgrims invited the local Wampanoag to the feast to say thank you for teaching them about New England agriculture.
False. The English were hunting for game in the woods, and some local Wampanoags heard gunfire. When they came to investigate the sounds, the English told them about the celebration and invited them to join. The Wampanoag decided to stay so they could form a negotiating relationship with the English. (And also to keep an eye on them.)
The year of the first Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
What is 1924?
The name of the Wampanoag man who helped the English Pilgrims
Tisaquantum
Can turkeys have seasonal allergies?
Yes
Is a pumpkin a fruit or a vegetable?
What is Fruit!
The Pilgrims and the Wampanoag shared turkey, mashed potatoes, and pumpkin pie.
False. They did eat turkey, but also goose, duck, and deer (brought by the Wampanoag). No pumpkin pie. The "traditional" menu of turkey, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie, etc., did not come until much later, after the Civil War.
Lincoln created the idea of Thanksgiving
False. A woman named Sarah Josepha Hale (editor of the Godey's Lady Book) petitioned Lincoln until he agreed.
Who is Emily Kinsser? She played the drums in a marching band!
Turkeys need glasses: True or False
False! Turkeys' eyesight is three times as good as human's eyesight
About how many pounds of glitter are used in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade?
Spell the name of the Indigenous peoples at the first Thanksgiving
Wampanoag
Thanksgiving is always on a Thursday because that was the day of the "original" Thanksgiving
False. We only know that the Harvest Home Festival was in the fall. It was Lincoln that decreed it should be on a Thursday, but not until 1941, when Congress passed a law making it the fourth Thursday in November.
The name/title of the Wampanoag leader who sent some of his men to spy on the English community.
What is Massasoit?
Turkey's are nature's mood rings. True or False
True! You can tell a turkey’s emotions by the color of their heads. Colors can change from red to blue to white, depending on how excited or calm they are. The more intense the colors are, the more intense their emotions.
The term for a group of turkeys gathered together
What is a flock, a gaggle, a rafter, a posse, or a gang?