1. Most folks know that Americans celebrate a Thanksgiving Day, but they aren’t alone. What event is celebrated in The Virgin Islands on Oct. 25?
A. A Thanksgiving Day to rejoice in the end of the hurricane season
B. A Thanksgiving Day to celebrate the end of the harvest season
C. A Thanksgiving Day to mark the beginning of the harvest season
D. There is no such event except in The QuizQueen’s imagination.
A. A Thanksgiving Day to rejoice in the end of the hurricane season
QQ: The Virgin Islands observe a Thanksgiving Day on Oct. 25 to rejoice in the end of the hurricane season. That is certainly something to celebrate alright!
2. Where did turkeys come from?
A. Turkey
B. Europe
C. South America
D. Antarctica
C. South America
QQ: Turkeys weren’t introduced into Europe from the Spanish colonies in South America until 1523. However, by 1524, turkeys, imported from South America, were eaten at the court of King Henry VIII of England.
3. Thanksgiving is also a legal holiday in Canada. When does it fall?
A. Second Monday in October
B. Second Thursday in October
C. Second Monday in November
D. Second Thursday in November
A. Second Monday in October
QQ: Because Canada is north of the United States, its harvest comes earlier in the year. Accordingly, the Thanksgiving holiday falls earlier in Canada than in the United States. The Canadian Parliament set aside Nov. 6 for annual Thanksgiving observances in 1879. In 1957 the date was shifted to an even earlier day, to the second Monday in October.
4. Who originally domesticated the turkey?
A. The Turks
B. The Mexicans
C. The Chinese
D. The Vulcans
B. The Mexicans
QQ: The turkey was originally domesticated in Mexico. The ocellated turkey is native to the Yucatán Peninsula of Mexico and adjacent Guatemala and Belize.
5. What month is National Turkey Lovers’ Month?
A. May
B. June
C. November
D. December
B. June
QQ: Hah, bet lots of people got that one wrong! June is National Turkey Lovers’ Month, after all, June is the month for lovers, isn’t it?
6. Benjamin Franklin, who proposed the turkey as the official United States’ bird, was dismayed when the bald eagle was chosen over the turkey. Why?
A. He loved to eat turkey and wanted everyone to love it, too
B. He thought the turkey much more respectable
C. He said the bald eagle had a bad moral character
D. The turkey was a true native of America
E. All are true
F. None are true
G. A, B, and C are true
H. B, C, and D are true
H. B, C, and D are true
QQ: He may have loved to eat turkey, but after the selection was made, Franklin wrote to his daughter, referring to the eagle’s “bad moral character,” saying, “I wish the bald eagle had not been chosen as the representative of our country! The turkey is a much more respectable bird, and withal a true original native of America.”
7. What Thanksgiving Day image can be traced back to ancient harvest festivals?
A. Candle
B. Cornucopia
C. Pilgrim hat
D. Turkey
B. Cornucopia
QQ: The cornucopia (a horn-shaped basket overflowing with fruits and vegetables) is a typical emblem of Thanksgiving abundance that dates to ancient harvest festivals. Many of the images commonly associated with Thanksgiving are derived from much older traditions of celebrating the autumn harvest.
8. Can turkeys fly?
A. Only the domestic ones
B. Only the wild ones
C. All turkeys can fly
D. No turkeys can fly
B. Only the wild ones
QQ: Domesticated turkeys cannot fly. Wild turkeys can fly for short distances up to 55 miles per hour and can run 20 miles per hour.
9. Although the U.S. is tops when it comes to turkey consumption (who knows if it is Thanksgiving that puts us over the top), what country is a close second?
A. France
B. Italy
C. Germany
D. UK
A. France
QQ: This was a tough question, because according to the USDA the French, the Italians, the Germans, and the British all follow US consumption of turkey (in that order).
10. Although often linked to Christmas, Kwanzaa is actually more closely tied with which holiday?
A. St. Patrick’s Day
B. Halloween
C. Thanksgiving
D. Valentine’s Day
C. Thanksgiving
QQ: Come on, even if you didn’t know that Kwanzaa was Swahili for “first fruits” this is a Thanksgiving-theme quiz! Kwanzaa has its roots in the ancient African first-fruit harvest celebrations from which it takes its name. However, its modern history begins in 1966 when it was developed by African American scholar and activist Maulana Karenga.
11. When Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin sat down to eat their first meal on the moon, their foil food packets contained what?
A. Roasted turkey and all of the trimmings
B. Spaghetti and meatballs
C. Hot dogs and beans
D. Peanut butter and jelly
A. Roasted turkey and all of the trimmings
QQ: If you got this wrong, refer to the title of the quiz!
12. What Jewish holiday could be associated with Thanksgiving?
A. Shabuoth
B. Passover
C. Hanukah
D. Yom Kippur
A. Shabuoth
QQ: Shabuoth or Shavuoth, also Feast of Weeks or Pentecost, is celebrated in the late spring during the Hebrew month of Sivan, seven weeks after Passover. In biblical times the festival was a thanksgiving for the grain harvest. Later tradition associates the holiday with the giving of the Law on Mount Sinai.
13. Who gobbles in the turkey family?
A. Everyone
B. Only adult turkeys, not chicks
C. Only tom turkeys
D. Only hen turkeys
C. Only tom turkeys
QQ: Only tom turkeys gobble. Hen turkeys make a clicking noise. Click. Click.
14. The custom of watching football games on Thanksgiving Day also evolved during the early decades of the 20th century. Many Americans digest their holiday meal while watching football games on television. Traditionally, which two National Football League (NFL) teams host games on Thanksgiving Day?
A. Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys
B. Carolina Panthers and Miami Dolphins
C. Jacksonville Jaguars and Cincinnati Bengals
D. Houston Oilers and Cleveland Browns
A. Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys
QQ: High viewership of these holiday games has made football an American Thanksgiving tradition. Yet another retail strike against America! And for your football trivia, The Carolina Panthers, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Houston Oilers could not be part of any long-standing tradition as the Panthers and Jaguars were part of the 1995 expansion of the NFL and the Oilers moved to Tennessee in 1997 to become the Titans.
15. What is the turkey trot?
A. A ragtime dance
B. The gait of a horse
C. A card game
D. The way a turkey runs
A. A ragtime dance
QQ: The turkey trot ragtime dance is characterized by a springy walk with the feet well apart and a swinging up-and-down movement of the shoulders.