Customs, Terms & Symbols

35 questions · Answers revealed below each question · Print this set

1.Historians note the buckles on the classic Pilgrim hat image were largely added when?
- A. In the 1620s
- B. In the 1950s
- C. In the 19th century
- D. In the 1700s
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In the 19th century
Did you know? Buckles were costly in the 1600s; artists added them for effect later.
2.The continued rise of a roast's temperature after leaving the oven is called what?
- A. Cross searing
- B. Counter resting
- C. Cold starting
- D. Carryover cooking
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Carryover cooking
Did you know? Carryover cooking nudges the bird past 165 °F.
3.Which word for confusing official jargon was coined in 1944 with the turkey's gobble in mind?
- A. Technobabble
- B. Gobbledygook
- C. Mumbo jumbo
- D. Double talk
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Gobbledygook
Did you know? Texas congressman Maury Maverick coined "gobbledygook" in 1944.
4.Which German harvest-thanksgiving festival is celebrated in early October?
- A. Oktoberfest
- B. Weihnachtsmarkt
- C. Sankt Martin
- D. Erntedankfest
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Erntedankfest
Did you know? Germany's Erntedankfest is its harvest thanksgiving observance.
5.On what date did the first parade march?
- A. November 30, 1927
- B. December 1, 1925
- C. November 27, 1924
- D. October 31, 1924
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November 27, 1924
Did you know? The first Macy's parade marched on November 27, 1924.
6.Contrary to the classic image, the Pilgrims' everyday clothing was mostly what?
- A. All white
- B. Pure black
- C. Bright purple
- D. Colorful earth tones
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Colorful earth tones
Did you know? Pilgrims wore colorful, practical clothing in daily life.
7.The word "pilgrim" descends from a Latin term meaning what?
- A. A soldier
- B. A farmer
- C. A priest
- D. A traveler or foreigner
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A traveler or foreigner
Did you know? "Pilgrim" traces to Latin perigrinus, a wanderer.
8.What is the fleshy flap that dangles over a turkey's beak called?
- A. The snood
- B. The comb
- C. The mantle
- D. The plume
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The snood
Did you know? The snood drapes over the beak; the wattle hangs below.
9.An adult turkey carries about how many feathers?
- A. About 60,000
- B. About 6,000
- C. About 600
- D. About 60
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About 6,000
Did you know? Wildlife biologists count roughly 6,000 feathers on an adult turkey.
10.The word "feast" comes from the Latin festum, meaning what?
- A. A feast animal
- B. A festival
- C. A feast day only
- D. A famine
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A festival
Did you know? "Feast" descends from Latin festum, a festive day.
11.Which nickname describes the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, one of the busiest bar nights of the year?
- A. Blackout Wednesday
- B. Silver Saturday
- C. Golden Friday
- D. Amber Monday
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Blackout Wednesday
Did you know? "Blackout Wednesday" fills bars with returning college students.
12.In Turkish, the turkey bird is called "hindi", named after which country?
- A. India
- B. Turkey
- C. Greece
- D. China
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India
Did you know? Turkish calls the bird "hindi", pointing to India.
13.Japan marks November 23 with a national holiday known as what?
- A. Respect for the Aged Day
- B. Labor Thanksgiving Day
- C. Marine Day
- D. Greenery Day
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Labor Thanksgiving Day
Did you know? Japan's Kinro Kansha no Hi falls on November 23.
14.Which 1970s slang phrase describes an unreliable talker, borrowing the bird's name?
- A. Funky chicken
- B. Cool cat
- C. Jive turkey
- D. Duck walk
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Jive turkey
Did you know? A "jive turkey" is someone full of nonsense.
15.Wild turkeys can reach burst speeds of about how many miles per hour in flight?
- A. 15
- B. 5
- C. 55
- D. 120
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55
Did you know? Wild turkeys can burst to about 55 mph in short flights.
16.Which idiom for a pompous, old-fashioned person borrows the dinner table?
- A. A hot potato
- B. A bad apple
- C. A stuffed shirt
- D. A tough cookie
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A stuffed shirt
Did you know? A "stuffed shirt" is a pompous, stiff person.
17.What is a group of turkeys called?
- A. A school
- B. A murder
- C. A pride
- D. A rafter
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A rafter
Did you know? A group of turkeys is known as a rafter.
18.Since 2008, the Friday after Thanksgiving has been designated as which heritage day?
- A. Native American Heritage Day
- B. Cultural Unity Day
- C. Settlers' Remembrance Day
- D. Frontier Heritage Day
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Native American Heritage Day
Did you know? Native American Heritage Day was signed into law in 2008.
19.Since 1970, which Native-led observance has been held in Plymouth, Massachusetts on Thanksgiving Day?
- A. The Harvest Moon Festival
- B. The Longhouse Council
- C. The National Day of Mourning
- D. The Wampum Assembly
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The National Day of Mourning
Did you know? The United American Indians of New England have led the National Day of Mourning since 1970.
20.In a 1784 letter, which founder praised the turkey as "a bird of courage"?
- A. Benjamin Franklin
- B. John Adams
- C. Alexander Hamilton
- D. Thomas Jefferson
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Benjamin Franklin
Did you know? Franklin praised the turkey to his daughter, though he never proposed it as national bird.
21.Which New York cultural institution co-founded GivingTuesday in 2012?
- A. The Metropolitan Museum
- B. Carnegie Hall
- C. The New York Public Library
- D. The 92nd Street Y
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The 92nd Street Y
Did you know? New York's 92nd Street Y launched GivingTuesday with the UN Foundation.
22.British church festivals giving thanks for the harvest are traditionally known as what?
- A. Seed Sundays
- B. Harvest festivals
- C. Shearing feasts
- D. Grain games
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Harvest festivals
Did you know? Britain's parish "harvest festivals" echo the same gratitude theme.
23.What are the red folds of skin hanging from a turkey's chin and throat called?
- A. The crop
- B. The wattle
- C. The snood
- D. The spur
Show answer
The wattle
Did you know? The wattle hangs beneath the chin of the bird.
24.Which New England custom places five kernels of corn on each plate to recall the hard winter of 1623?
- A. The seed blessing
- B. The five kernels tradition
- C. The corn basket rite
- D. The cob counting
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The five kernels tradition
Did you know? Five kernels recall the meager daily ration of the 1623 scarcity.
25.Which children's nonfiction medal did "Balloons over Broadway" win in 2012?
- A. The Newbery Medal
- B. The Sibert Medal
- C. The Pulitzer
- D. The Caldecott Medal
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The Sibert Medal
Did you know? The book took the Robert F. Sibert Medal.
26.The tall, flat-crowned hat associated with the Pilgrims is called what?
- A. A boater
- B. A capotain
- C. A tricorne
- D. A fedora
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A capotain
Did you know? The Pilgrim hat of popular imagery is a capotain.
27.The English verb "thank" descends from an Old English word meaning what?
- A. To think
- B. To kneel
- C. To give
- D. To sing
Show answer
To think
Did you know? "Thank" shares an ancient root with "think" — gratitude as thought.
28.In Greek myth, the cornucopia was originally the horn of which animal?
- A. The bull of Crete
- B. The horse Arion
- C. The dog Cerberus
- D. The goat Amalthea
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The goat Amalthea
Did you know? The goat Amalthea's broken horn overflowed with food.
29.The parade first appeared on local New York television in which year?
- A. 1946
- B. 1939
- C. 1953
- D. 1960
Show answer
1946
Did you know? Local TV picked up the parade in 1946.
30.What is a male turkey's beard, the tuft hanging from its chest, made of?
- A. Braided skin
- B. Modified feathers
- C. Coarse hair
- D. Dried grass
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Modified feathers
Did you know? A turkey's beard is a tuft of modified hair-like feathers.
31.Which tall prairie grass is nicknamed "turkeyfoot" for its seed head's shape?
- A. Switchgrass
- B. Big bluestem
- C. Buffalo grass
- D. Kentucky bluegrass
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Big bluestem
Did you know? Big bluestem's seed head resembles a turkey's foot.
32.In which year did high winds ground all of the parade's balloons?
- A. 1963
- B. 2005
- C. 1971
- D. 1985
Show answer
1971
Did you know? Winds grounded the balloons in 1971.
33.Which 2011 picture book about Tony Sarg is titled "Balloons over Broadway"?
- A. Mo Willems
- B. Lane Smith
- C. Brian Selznick
- D. Melissa Sweet
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Melissa Sweet
Did you know? Melissa Sweet wrote and illustrated Balloons over Broadway.
34.The 1924 parade's floats were themed around which nursery rhyme collection?
- A. Arabian Nights
- B. Grimm's Fairy Tales
- C. Aesop's Fables
- D. Mother Goose
Show answer
Mother Goose
Did you know? Mother Goose floats rolled in the first parade.
35.Through which year did live zoo animals walk the parade route?
- A. 1926
- B. 1945
- C. 1924
- D. 1935
Show answer
1926
Did you know? Live animals marched through 1926, then gave way to balloons.

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