Test Your Knowledge of
Turkey Day Customs
The Thanksgiving holiday is replete with traditions, from watching the Macy’s parade to breaking the wishbone.
How much do you know about our Turkey Day customs? Take our trivia quiz and find out! (Answers are below, but no fair peeking!)
#1. What was the first balloon used in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade?
A. Mighty Mouse
B. Felix the Cat
C. Bugs Bunny
D. Superman
E. Popeye
#2. When was the first official Thanksgiving Day football game played?
A. In 1876, on the collegiate level
B. In 1920, with the recently formed NFL
C. In 1934, with the Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys
D. In 1953, between the Lions and Green Bay Packers
E. Football is not a Thanksgiving tradition.
#3. What is the most popular Thanksgiving side dish in Pennsylvania?
A. Green bean casserole
B. Cranberry sauce
C. Sweet potato casserole
D. Stuffing
E. Mashed potatoes
#4. When and where did the tradition of breaking the wishbone originate?
A. 1621 in Plymouth, Mass.
B. In 15th-century England
C. Around 800 B.C. in Italy
D. In 19th-century America
E. Nobody knows
#5. Which of the following songs is a traditional Thanksgiving tune?
A. “Silver Bells”
B. “Jingle Bells”
C. “Over the River and Through the Wood”
D. Both A and C
E. Both B and C
#6. What percentage of American adults typically take a nap on Thanksgiving?
A. Less than 40%
B. About 72%
C. About 58%
D. At least 80%
E. Not enough to measure
Answers
#1. Answer: B. Felix the Cat, the biggest star in his day, debuted as a Macy’s balloon in 1927. He was filled with air instead of helium and was held up on stilts. Mighty Mouse’s involvement in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade began quite a bit later in 1951, and the Bugs Bunny balloon was introduced much later still, in 1990. A Superman balloon first appeared in 1940, while Popeye debuted in the 1957 parade.
#2. Answer: A. The first Thanksgiving football game was played back in 1876, when the Intercollegiate Football Association began hosting its championship game on the holiday. The NFL was formed in 1920, and the Detroit Lions began playing every Thanksgiving starting in 1934. A second game, hosted by the Dallas Cowboys, was added to the roster in 1966. In 2006, the NFL added a third game to the Thanksgiving lineup, featuring rotating teams. (If you answered E, you must live under a rock.)
#3. Answer: D. Stuffing is the preferred Thanksgiving side dish in Pennsylvania and two other states. Green bean casserole and sweet potato casserole are the favorites in two states. Green bean casserole is the favorite in two states, as is sweet potato casserole. But mashed potatoes are the overall national favorite, preferred in 10 states. Alas, cranberry sauce is no state’s preference. In fact, it’s one of the most disliked Thanksgiving foods, along with green bean casserole and (surprisingly) turkey.
#4. Answer: C. The turkey wishbone tradition dates back to around 800 BC, with an ancient Italian civilization known as the Etruscans. Back then, the wishbone wasn’t broken but would be removed from the deceased bird laid out in the sun. The Etruscans would touch it and make a wish. The Romans caught on to the wishbone idea but would fight over who got it, believing only the person with the larger piece would get his wish. Eventually, the Romans carried this tradition over to Britain in the 15th century. America adopted the tradition in the 1800s.
#5. Answer: E. Both “Jingle Bells” and “Over the River and Through the Wood” originated as Thanksgiving songs. “Jingle Bells,” originally named ‘”The One-Horse Open Sleigh,” was composed by James Lord Pierpont in 1850 for his Thanksgiving Sunday school class. “Over the River and Through the Wood” is the popular title for a poem originally called “The New England Boy’s Song about Thanksgiving Day,” which was eventually set to music. While some of the lyrics have been altered over the years to reflect a Christmas bent, the song was intended for Thanksgiving.
“Silver Bells,” although not a Thanksgiving tune, has an interesting story of its own. In 1950, songwriters Jay Livingston and Ray Evans penned a song they thought would be a massive hit about the tinkly bells rung by storefront Santas and Salvation Army volunteers at Christmastime. They called it “Tinkle Bells.” Fortunately, Livingston’s wife intervened. “Are you guys insane?” she asked. “Don’t you know what tinkle is slang for?” They promptly changed the name to “Silver Bells,” and it became a Christmas classic.
#6. Answer: C. Whether it’s the tryptophan in the turkey, too many carbs, or the desire to avoid annoying relatives, 58% of Americans polled take a Thanksgiving Day nap. Most of these nappers (76%) will snooze after the feast. More than half of U.S. adults who are not able to nap on Thanksgiving envy those who can. The majority (70%) of these envious adults are women.
Sources:
Featured Image: Adobe, License Granted
People
CNN
Zippia
Country Living
NewsTalk 1130
Dunkin Donuts