Every year, Americans gather around the table to gorge themselves on turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, green bean casserole, and pie. Each family most likely has their own traditional dish. Some people think of Thanksgiving as the gateway to Christmas. Others are just excited for the food. How many of us remember how the Thanksgiving holiday started? It's quiz time!

1. The first American Thanksgiving celebrated what?
   1. Making friends with the Native Americans
   2. The birth of the first Pilgrim on American soil
   3. The first bountiful harvest the Pilgrims had in America
   4. A religious holiday that Pilgrims celebrated everywhere in the world
2. The Pilgrims arrived in America on which ship?
   1. Starship Enterprise
   2. Santa Maria
   3. Plymouth
   4. Mayflower
3. True or False. Plymouth Rock was the only place that the Pilgrims dropped anchor at
   1. True
   2. False
4. Which Native American hero helped the Pilgrims learn how to survive in New England by cultivating corn, extracting maple sap, catching fish, and avoiding poisonous plants?
   1. Pocahontas
   2. Sacajawea
   3. Sitting Bull
   4. Squanto
5. Where did the first Thanksgiving take place?
   1. New York, New York
   2. Plymouth, Massachusetts
   3. Boston, Massachusetts
   4. Augustine, Florida
6. Which year did the first Thanksgiving happen?
   1. 1621
   2. 1746
   3. 1863
   4. 1975
7. Who attended the first Thanksgiving?
   1. The Puritans and the Cherokee Tribe
   2. French explorers and the Shawnee Tribe
   3. The Pilgrims and the Wampanoag Tribe
   4. The Pilgrims and the Lakota Tribe
8. What did they eat at the first Thanksgiving?
   1. Turkeys, bread, corn, and green beans
   2. Porridge, pies, corn, and squash
   3. Deer, local seafood, corn, and pumpkins
   4. Pheasants, corn, pumpkins, and apples
9. When did the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade start?
   1. 1819
   2. 1924
   3. 1935
   4. 1955
10. Who was the first U.S. President to begin the annual White House tradition of pardoning a turkey at Thanksgiving?
    1. John F. Kennedy
    2. Abraham Lincoln
    3. George H.W. Bush
    4. Barack Obama

Here are the answers:

1. C – Due to the help of Squanto and the Wampanoag Tribe, Pilgrims learned how to survive the harsh New England climate. This feast actually lasted 3 days to celebrate the first bountiful harvest in America.
2. D – The Pilgrims arrived in American aboard the Mayflower. They spent 66 days at sea before arriving at Cape Cod and then later, crossed the Massachusetts Bay to settle what is now Plymouth, Massachusetts.
3. B – False. The Pilgrims first dropped anchor in Cape Cod, Massachusetts.
4. D – Squanto. Squanto spoke English and was a member of the Pawtuxet Tribe who had been kidnapped and sold into slavery by an English sea captain.
5. B – Plymouth, Massachusetts. Here’s another interesting fact. The first winter the Pilgrims had in Plymouth, they spent on the Mayflower. Only half of the Mayflower’s original passengers and crew lived to see their first New England spring.
6. A – 1621, a year since the Pilgrims had arrived in America.
7. C – The Pilgrims and the Wampanoag Tribe who remained peaceful allies for 50 years.
8. C – Deer, local seafood, corn, and pumpkins. Although turkeys were in America at the time of the first Thanksgiving, there’s no record of them being served.
9. B – 1924 was the first year Macy’s presented New York City’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
10. C – George H.W. Bush was the first president to start the White House tradition of pardoning a turkey for Thanksgiving in 1989.

Thank you for taking the time to take our little quiz. We hope you found it fun and educational. To learn more fun facts about Thanksgiving, visit the History channel.

Happy Thanksgiving!