Thanksgiving

​Thanksgiving

​Celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November.

First Thanksgiving

In 1621, the Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Native Americans shared an autumn harvest feast that is thought to be the first Thanksgiving celebrations in the colonies.

Multiple Choice

In what year did the first Thanksgiving take place?

• 1999

• 1621

• 1543

• 1853

National Holiday

For more than two centuries, days of thanksgiving were celebrated by individual colonies and states. It wasn’t until 1863, in the midst of the Civil War, that President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national Thanksgiving Day to be held each November.

Multiple Choice

Which President declared Thanksgiving a national holiday?

• George Washington

• Andrew Jackson

• Thomas Jefferson

• Abraham Lincoln

The Mayflower

In September 1620, a small ship called the Mayflower left Plymouth, England, carrying 102 passengers who were seeking a new home where they could freely practice their faith

Multiple Choice

How many passengers were on the Mayflower?

• 102

• 25

• 77

• 1,932

A pilgrim is a person who makes a long journey to a foreign land, sometimes for religious reasons.

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​Pilgrim

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Landing at Plymouth

After a difficult journey that lasted 66 days, they dropped anchor near the tip of Cape Cod. One month later, the Mayflower crossed Massachusetts Bay, where the Pilgrims, as they are now commonly known, began the work of establishing a village at Plymouth.

Multiple Choice

After 66 days where did the Mayflower drop anchor?

• Jamestown

• Hudson River

• Cape Cod

• St Augustine

Multiple Choice

Was anyone living in Plymouth before the Pilgrims came?

• Yes

• No

​The Wampanoag

The Native Americans of the region around Plymouth Colony were the various tribes of the Wampanoag people, who had lived there for some 10,000 years before the Europeans arrived. 

Subject | Subject

First Winter

Throughout that first brutal winter, most of the colonists remained on board the ship, where they suffered from exposure, scurvy and outbreaks of contagious disease.

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Only half of the Mayflower’s original passengers and crew lived to see their first New England spring. In March, the remaining settlers moved ashore. Native Americans helped teach them how to grow crops. 

Multiple Choice

What percentage of pilgrims survived the first winter?

• 100%

• 95%

• 0%

• 50%

First Thanksgiving

In November 1621, after the Pilgrims’ first corn harvest proved successful, Governor William Bradford organized a celebratory feast and invited a group of Native American allies, including the Wampanoag chief Massasoit. Now remembered as American’s “first Thanksgiving”—the festival lasted for three days.

Multiple Choice

How many days did the first Thanksgiving last?

• 10

• 3

• 1

• 30

Food

Historians believe most of the dishes were likely prepared using traditional Native American spices and cooking methods. Because the Pilgrims had no oven and the Mayflower’s sugar supply had dwindled by the fall of 1621, the meal did not feature pies, cakes or other desserts.

​They ate wildfowl and deer, eels and shellfish, such as lobster, clams and mussels. chestnuts, walnuts and beechnuts, flint corn (multicolored Indian corn), beans, and different sorts of pumpkins or squashes.”

Multiple Choice

Which type of food was probably NOT at the first Thanksgiving?

• Berries

• Corn

• Deer

• Pie

​Thanksgiving Trivia!

Multiple Choice

Turkey was the main meat dish at the first Thanksgiving in 1621

• True

• False

Multiple Choice

Benjamin Franklin thought the national bird of the US should be the turkey

• True

• False

Multiple Choice

Which of these carols was originally a Thanksgiving song?

• Jingle Bells

• Baby, It´s Cold Outside

• Sleigh Ride

• Holy Night

Multiple Choice

What is the wobbly red piece of flesh under the beak of a turkey?

• Gobbler

• Wattle

• Brisket

• Snood

Multiple Choice

What state raises the most turkeys?

• Nebraska

• Iowa

• South Dakota

• Minnesota

Multiple Choice

Approximately how many turkeys are eaten each year on Thanksgiving in the United States?

• 100 million

• 280 million

• 500 million

Multiple Choice

What is a baby turkey called:

• A chick

• A nestling

• A poult

Multiple Choice

Only male turkeys gobble: true or false?

• True

• False

Multiple Choice

How fast can wild turkeys run?

• 15 mph

• 55 mph

• 5 mph

• 25 mph

Multiple Choice

Thanksgiving occurs on the:

• Fourth Thursday in November

• Third Thursday in November

• November 26 each year

Multiple Choice

What utensil was not used by Pilgrims to eat Thanksgiving dinner?

• Knife

• Fork

• Spoon

Multiple Choice

All turkeys can fly: True or false

• True

• False

Multiple Choice

In what year was the first Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade?

• 1924

• 1833

• 1876

• 1955