How much do you know about Thanksgiving?
Questions:
Q1. What was the year of the first Thanksgiving celebration?
Q2. What was the name of the document the Pilgrims signed on Nov. 21, 1620?
Q3. Which Native American tribe is most associated with the first Thanksgiving?
Q4. What is the name of New York City’s famous Thanksgiving Parade?
Q5. Name the kinds of meat that were most likely served during the first Thanksgiving.
Fun Facts:
There were nine adult males at Plymouth Colony who did not sign the Mayflower Compact. Seamen aboard ship were not permitted to sign as well as those who were too sick to write.
A few weird (to me) ingredients in some turkey stuffing recipes: Pepperoni, corn chips, oysters, hamburger, cranberries, apples, pumpernickel, sourdough bread and water chestnuts.
The earliest possible date of Thanksgiving is November 22. The latest date is November 28. Retailers say that a late Thanksgiving is bad for Christmas sales. Next year it is on the 28th.
The average American will eat more than 3,000 calories sitting at the table during Thanksgiving dinner. If you add all the football watching snacks, late night leftovers, alcohol and extra slices of pie, most of us will consume 5,000 calories during the celebration. For comparison, when I was running marathons, I burned about 4,000 calories during a race.
In 1989 an 86-pound turkey was auctioned for charity in London, England. It went for $6,692 ($77 a pound). It still holds the world record for heaviest turkey.
The Dallas Cowboys have won 60 percent of their Thanksgiving football games. The Detroit Lions have won 44 percent of their games.
Pre-Christmas shopping isn’t just about the day after Thanksgiving (Black Friday). November 11 is called “Singles Shopping Day” to meet someone while you shop. Next Monday is Cyber Monday with online deals. Green Monday is on December 11 and is to encourage buying pro-environment gifts. December 14 is Free Shipping Day with lots of online retailers. It is a reminder that buying online after that is probably risky for Christmas delivery.
There were no African slaves in the Plymouth Colony. Separatist Puritans opposed slavery. Other colonies in North America already had slaves with 1619 the year that the first ship of African slaves arrived in Virginia.
A few less popular but more humorous nicknames for Thanksgiving are Gobblefest, Napsgiving, Feast-o-Rama, Turkey Day, Pie Day, Family Fight Club, Turkey Thursday, Fat Thursday and Black Friday Eve.
Answers:
A1. 1621 (They first arrived in November 1620.)
A2. The Mayflower Compact (41 men signed it and no women.)
A3. Wampanoag (Today there are about 5,000 Wampanoag tribe members in the U.S.)
A4. The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade (It starts at 9 a.m. Eastern on NBC.)
A5. Venison, duck, goose and swan