From Cornell Christianson's book "Holiday Skits & Contests" available from Amazon.

Thanksgiving is a harvest festival associated with giving thanks to God for the harvest and expressing gratitude for one’s life.

The first American Thanksgiving was celebrated in 1621 when the Pilgrims of Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts and the Wampanoag Indians, who helped plant and grow the food, shared an autumn feast to celebrate the harvest after a harsh winter. In that year, the Colony’s Governor William Bradford proclaimed a day of thanksgiving.

For more than two centuries, days of thanksgiving were celebrated by individual colonies and states after fall harvests. It wasn't until 1863, in the midst of the Civil War, that a national Thanksgiving Day to be held each November was formally proclaimed by President Abraham Lincoln who was looking for ways to unite the nation.

THANKSGIVING QUIZ

1.  What ship did the Pilgrims sail to America in? 

ANSWER: The Mayflower.

2.  The Pilgrims sailed across the Atlantic in how many days?  66, 77 or 88 days?

ANSWER: 66

3.  How many Pilgrims were on the Mayflower? 50, 75 or 100?

ANSWER: 100

4.  How many days did the first Thanksgiving last?  1, 2 or 3 days?

ANSWER: 3 days.

5.  At the first Thanksgiving, what did the Pilgrims drink? 

ANSWER: Cider.

6.  At the first Thanksgiving, did they eat turkey? Yes or No?

ANSWER: No. They ate fowl which was duck and geese. They also ate deer.

7.  At the first Thanksgiving, did they eat pumpkin pie? Yes or No?

ANSWER: No pie of any kind because no cows, so no milk or butter to make pies.

8.  Did they eat pumpkins? Yes or no?

ANSWER: Yes, they ate boiled pumpkins.

9.  At the first Thanksgiving dinner in 1621, which did the Pilgrims not have -- knives, forks or spoons? 

ANSWER: Forks. Rich Europeans had used forks for centuries, but the general public didn’t use forks until 1700.

10.  At the first Thanksgiving, which were there more of -- Pilgrims or Indians?

ANSWER: Indians. There were 60 Pilgrims and 90 Indians.

11.  Besides the potato, what other foods were developed by the Indians and introduced to the Pilgrims? 

ANSWER: Tomato, corn, squash, beans, peanuts.

12.  Turkeys are best cooked at what oven temperature? 

ANSWER: 325 degrees F.

13.  A turkey has how many thousands of feathers?  2,000 or 3,000 or 4,000?

ANSWER: 4,000.

14.  The all-time biggest turkey weighed 50 or 80 or 100 pounds?

ANSWER: 80 pounds.

15.  Which state produces the most turkeys?

ANSWER: North Carolina.

16.  On Thanksgiving Day, what percentage of U.S. homes eat turkey? 70%, 80% or 90%?

ANSWER: 90%

17.  On Christmas Day, what percentage of U.S. homes eat turkey? 50%, 60% or 70%?

ANSWER: 50%

18. Name the Thanksgiving pie that some people say is better than pumpkin pie. 

ANSWER: Sweet potato pie.