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90 Thanksgiving Trivia Questions and Answers

Reviewed by Aleesha Rubinstein, Editor·Updated Sep 2026·11 min read

Whether you're a history buff, a holiday enthusiast, or just looking for some festive fun, this Thanksgiving trivia will enlighten and entertain.

Thanksgiving Trivia

  1. 1Which bird is most associated with Thanksgiving?

  2. 2On what day of the week is Thanksgiving celebrated in the United States?

  3. 3In which month is American Thanksgiving celebrated?

  4. 4In which month is Canadian Thanksgiving celebrated?

  5. 5What is the day after Thanksgiving commonly called?

  6. 6What type of pie is most commonly associated with Thanksgiving?

  7. 7What berry-based sauce is traditionally served alongside the turkey?

  8. 8What was the name of the ship that carried the Pilgrims to America?

  9. 9Which department store's Thanksgiving Day Parade is televised from New York City?

  10. 10Which sport is most closely associated with Thanksgiving Day in the United States?

  11. 11What do people traditionally pull apart from the turkey while making a wish?

  12. 12In what year was the first Thanksgiving harvest feast held at Plymouth?

  13. 13Which Native American people shared the 1621 harvest feast with the Pilgrims?

  14. 14What is a baby turkey called?

  15. 15Which compound found in turkey is popularly blamed for making people sleepy?

  16. 16What is the Monday after Thanksgiving known as?

  17. 17What bread-based dish is traditionally cooked inside the turkey?

  18. 18Which orange root vegetable is often mashed and topped with marshmallows?

  19. 19Which U.S. president made Thanksgiving a national holiday in 1863?

  20. 20How many days did the 1621 harvest celebration last?

  21. 21Which green vegetable is baked into a classic Thanksgiving casserole topped with fried onions?

  22. 22Which NFL team has hosted a Thanksgiving Day game almost every year since 1934?

  23. 23What is stuffing called when it is cooked outside the bird rather than inside it?

  24. 24Which country celebrates its Thanksgiving on the second Monday of October?

  25. 25What kind of meat, other than turkey, is a common Thanksgiving centrepiece?

  26. 26What is the fleshy red flap of skin hanging over a turkey's beak called?

  27. 27Roughly how many turkeys do Americans eat at Thanksgiving each year?

  28. 28What creamy white side dish is made from a starchy root vegetable, butter and milk?

  29. 29What is the name for the gravy-friendly liquid left in the roasting pan after cooking a turkey?

  30. 30Which autumn fruit is commonly baked into a Thanksgiving pie alongside pumpkin?

  31. 31What nut gives its name to a classic Southern Thanksgiving pie?

  32. 32What is the term for soaking a turkey in salted water before roasting?

  33. 33What does 'basting' a turkey mean?

  34. 34Which orange gourd is carved at Halloween and baked at Thanksgiving?

  35. 35What is the horn-shaped basket overflowing with fruit and vegetables, used as a Thanksgiving symbol, called?

  36. 36What sound is a male turkey famous for making?

  37. 37Which magazine editor campaigned for 17 years to make Thanksgiving a national holiday?

  38. 38Sarah Josepha Hale, who campaigned for Thanksgiving, also wrote which famous nursery rhyme?

  39. 39How long did the Mayflower's crossing to America take?

  40. 40Which meat did contemporary accounts say was actually served at the 1621 feast?

  41. 41Which U.S. president moved Thanksgiving a week earlier to lengthen the shopping season?

  42. 42What nickname was given to the earlier Thanksgiving that Franklin D. Roosevelt introduced?

  43. 43In what year did Congress fix Thanksgiving as the fourth Thursday in November?

  44. 44Which department store held the first Thanksgiving parade, in Philadelphia in 1920?

  45. 45In what year did the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade first take place?

  46. 46What did the first Macy's parade feature instead of giant balloons?

  47. 47In the early years of the Macy's parade, what happened to the giant balloons at the end?

  48. 48Which U.S. president issued the first national Thanksgiving proclamation, in 1789?

  49. 49Which U.S. president declined to declare Thanksgiving days, considering them improper for his office?

  50. 50Which U.S. state produces the most turkeys each year?

  51. 51Which country celebrates Erntedankfest, a harvest festival comparable to Thanksgiving?

  52. 52Which explorer is claimed by some Texans to have held a thanksgiving service in 1541?

  53. 53Which folk song, running over 18 minutes, is traditionally played on the radio at Thanksgiving?

  54. 54Who recorded the Thanksgiving folk song 'Alice's Restaurant Massacree'?

  55. 55In A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, what does Snoopy serve to the guests?

  56. 56Which annual televised event features a turkey being spared by the president?

  57. 57Which U.S. president formalised the turkey pardon as an annual tradition in 1989?

  58. 58What is the name for the Thanksgiving morning fun-runs held across the United States?

  59. 59What was the Pilgrims' original intended destination before they landed at Cape Cod?

  60. 60What agreement did the Mayflower passengers sign before going ashore?

  61. 61Which Wampanoag man, who spoke English, acted as interpreter for the Plymouth colonists?

  62. 62How had Tisquantum learned English before meeting the Pilgrims?

  63. 63Who was the Wampanoag leader who made an alliance with the Plymouth colonists?

  64. 64Which utensil, common today, was not used at the 1621 feast?

  65. 65Why could the Pilgrims not have eaten pumpkin pie in 1621?

  66. 66What drink was probably served at the 1621 feast in place of water?

  67. 67What is the correct term for a group of turkeys?

  68. 68How can you tell a male turkey from a female at a glance?

  69. 69What is the hanging flap of skin under a turkey's chin called?

  70. 70Can wild turkeys fly?

  71. 71Which Wampanoag man first walked into Plymouth and greeted the colonists in English?

  72. 72Roughly how many Wampanoag attended the 1621 harvest feast?

  73. 73Approximately how many Pilgrims were present at the 1621 feast?

  74. 74Under what name did Sarah Josepha Hale publish the magazine that campaigned for Thanksgiving?

  75. 75Which state is usually credited as the first to adopt an official annual Thanksgiving, in 1817?

  76. 76What was the name of the second ship that set out with the Mayflower but had to turn back?

  77. 77How many passengers were aboard the Mayflower when it sailed?

  78. 78How many of the Plymouth colonists survived their first winter in America?

  79. 79Which 1863 proclamation set Thanksgiving on the last Thursday of November?

  80. 80Benjamin Franklin is often said to have proposed the turkey as national bird. What did he actually do?

  81. 81What was the first meal eaten on the Moon, often linked to Thanksgiving lore?

  82. 82Which balloon character first appeared in the Macy's parade in 1927?

  83. 83Why were the Macy's parade balloons grounded between 1942 and 1944?

  84. 84What is the scientific name of the wild turkey?

  85. 85Wild turkeys were nearly wiped out in the U.S. by the 1930s. Roughly how many remained?

  86. 86Which continent is the turkey native to?

  87. 87Why is the turkey named after the country Turkey?

  88. 88What colour is the plumage of a wild turkey?

  89. 89What happens to a turkey's snood when the bird becomes excited?

  90. 90Which Thanksgiving side dish was popularised by a recipe developed at the Campbell Soup Company in 1955?

Answer Key

  1. 1. Turkey
  2. 2. Thursday
  3. 3. November
  4. 4. October
  5. 5. Black Friday
  6. 6. Pumpkin pie
  7. 7. Cranberry sauce
  8. 8. The Mayflower
  9. 9. Macy's
  10. 10. American football
  11. 11. The wishbone
  12. 12. 1621
  13. 13. The Wampanoag
  14. 14. A poult
  15. 15. Tryptophan
  16. 16. Cyber Monday
  17. 17. Stuffing
  18. 18. Sweet potato
  19. 19. Abraham Lincoln
  20. 20. Three days
  21. 21. Green beans
  22. 22. The Detroit Lions
  23. 23. Dressing
  24. 24. Canada
  25. 25. Ham
  26. 26. The snood
  27. 27. About 46 million
  28. 28. Mashed potatoes
  29. 29. Drippings
  30. 30. Apple
  31. 31. Pecan
  32. 32. Brining
  33. 33. Spooning juices or fat over it while it roasts
  34. 34. Pumpkin
  35. 35. A cornucopia
  36. 36. A gobble
  37. 37. Sarah Josepha Hale
  38. 38. Mary Had a Little Lamb
  39. 39. 66 days
  40. 40. Venison, brought by the Wampanoag
  41. 41. Franklin D. Roosevelt
  42. 42. Franksgiving
  43. 43. 1941
  44. 44. Gimbels
  45. 45. 1924
  46. 46. Live animals from the Central Park Zoo
  47. 47. They were released into the sky, with a reward for anyone who returned them
  48. 48. George Washington
  49. 49. Thomas Jefferson
  50. 50. Minnesota
  51. 51. Germany
  52. 52. Francisco Vazquez de Coronado
  53. 53. Alice's Restaurant Massacree
  54. 54. Arlo Guthrie
  55. 55. Toast, popcorn, pretzels and jellybeans
  56. 56. The National Thanksgiving Turkey Presentation
  57. 57. George H. W. Bush
  58. 58. Turkey trots
  59. 59. The mouth of the Hudson River, in the Virginia colony
  60. 60. The Mayflower Compact
  61. 61. Tisquantum, known as Squanto
  62. 62. He had been kidnapped and taken to Europe
  63. 63. Massasoit
  64. 64. The fork
  65. 65. They had no butter or wheat flour for a crust, and no ovens
  66. 66. Beer
  67. 67. A rafter
  68. 68. The male has a fanned tail, a beard and brighter head colouring
  69. 69. The wattle
  70. 70. Yes, in short bursts of up to about 55 mph
  71. 71. Samoset
  72. 72. About 90
  73. 73. About 50
  74. 74. Godey's Lady's Book
  75. 75. New York
  76. 76. The Speedwell
  77. 77. 102
  78. 78. About half
  79. 79. Lincoln's Thanksgiving Proclamation, written by William Seward
  80. 80. Privately criticised the eagle's character in a letter to his daughter, praising the turkey by comparison
  81. 81. Roast turkey with all the trimmings, in foil packets
  82. 82. Felix the Cat
  83. 83. The rubber and helium were needed for the war effort
  84. 84. Meleagris gallopavo
  85. 85. About 30,000
  86. 86. North America
  87. 87. European traders confused it with guinea fowl imported through Turkish territory
  88. 88. Dark brown and black with an iridescent bronze-green sheen
  89. 89. It engorges with blood and lengthens
  90. 90. Green bean casserole

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