Colonial Context 🌎
The name of the settlement established by the Pilgrims in 1620.
What is Plymouth (or Plimoth)?
This type of acid is what gives cranberries their characteristic tart flavor.
What is Ascorbic Acid (or Citric Acid)?
The President who, in 1941, officially signed the bill establishing Thanksgiving as the fourth Thursday in November.
Who is Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR)?
The female turkey, which is generally smaller and doesn't gobble, is called this.
What is a Hen?
The famous poem that begins with the line, "Over the river and through the wood, To grandfather's house we go."
What is "The New-England Boy's Song about Thanksgiving Day" (or Over the River and Through the Wood is acceptable)?
The two Native American leaders who notably attended the 1621 feast were Squanto and this chief.
Who is Massasoit?
The minimum safe internal temperature, in degrees Fahrenheit, for cooked turkey.
What is 165*F
For decades before Lincoln, this determined magazine editor and writer led a campaign to have Thanksgiving declared a national holiday.
Who is Sarah Josepha Hale?
The small, loose piece of skin that hangs under the turkey's chin.
What is a Wattle?
The author of the 1952 book The Thanksgiving Story, a classic children's account of the Plymouth events.
Who is Alice Dalgliesh?
The Pilgrims left Europe seeking religious freedom from this state church of England.
What is the Anglican Church?
The process of brining a turkey works because salt water moves into the meat via this scientific process.
What is Osmosis (or diffusion)?
This President was the first to symbolically pardon a turkey, although it wasn't an official annual tradition yet.
Who is Harry S. Truman?
The primary food source for a wild turkey.
What are Acorns (or berries/seeds/insects)?
The short story where a man travels 1,100 miles on an epic journey to get home for Thanksgiving.
What is Planes, Trains and Automobiles?
This food item, a type of squash native to the Americas, was definitely part of the 1621 feast.
What is Plymouth Rock?
A common method to make pie crust flaky involves cutting cold pieces of this dairy product into the flour.
What is Butter (or shortening/lard)?
FDR moved the holiday up one week in 1939, creating a controversy that led the shorter holiday period to be nicknamed this.
What is Franksgiving?
The large, fan-shaped structure on the tail of a male turkey, which he displays to attract mates.
What is Strutting (or Gobbling/Fanning)?
This popular American novelist and essayist described a humorous and chaotic Thanksgiving in his 1956 story, "The Night the Ghost Got In."
Who is James Thurber?
The Pilgrims' original settlement was abandoned by this Native American group due to a devastating plague before the Pilgrims arrived.
What is the Patuxet?
The scientific process that occurs when you allow the turkey to rest after roasting, which results in juicier meat.
What is Carryover Cooking (or equilibration)?
While President Lincoln issued the official 1863 proclamation, the practice was lobbied for by his Secretary of State, who was this man.
Who is William H. Seward?
The term for the internal organ that helps the turkey mechanically grind up food, due to their lack of teeth.
What is the Gizzard?
This 1841 poem describes a Thanksgiving Dinner hosted by a family named the Cratchits, though not the original holiday.
What is A Christmas Carol?