Horn of Plenty Trivia Quiz

Answer: Franklin Roosevelt

In the early years of the country, the date for Thanksgiving varied widely since it was set by state proclamation. In 1863, Lincoln set the date for the whole country as the last Thursday in November. On December 26, 1941 Franklin Roosevelt signed the joint congressional resolution fixing the date as the fourth Thursday of November.

Answer: Second Monday of October

Since 1957 by act of Parliament, the date for Thanksgiving in Canada has been set as the second Monday in October. Canadian Thanksgiving celebrations date back to native feasts held in commemoration of good harvests and early European explorers giving thanks for good fortune. Americans leaving the United States during the U.S. Civil War brought about annual celebrations of the holiday. By 1879 the event had become an annual themed holiday although the date and theme of the celebration varied from year to year.

Although "Blessings of an abundant harvest" was often the theme sometimes the event was tied into a special royal event like Victoria's jubilees or a coronation. After World War I Thanksgiving was tied in with Armistice Day and both were celebrated on the Monday closest to November 11.

Answer: Oktoberfest

The Harvest Thanksgiving Festival (Erntedankfest) is not an official holiday but is celebrated with large harvest feasts, parades, and a strong religious component. It is held in early October and is more of a rural event; if celebrated in the city it will often only be a special church service.

Answer: American invasion in 1983

On October 25, 1983 United States troops invaded the island of Grenada to stop the coup lead by Bernard Coard and backed by the Grenadian army which had installed a pro-communist military government. U.S. President Ronald Reagan reacted with an operation called Urgent Fury. The invasion resulted in the restoration of the pre-revolution Grenadian constitution.

Answer: The previous four generations of ancestors

Chuseok, or Thanksgiving, is a three day holiday in Korea to celebrate a bountiful harvest. Because of its date being determined by a lunar calendar, the holiday has been celebrated in recent years as early as September 8 and as late as October 6. The holiday is celebrated by individuals returning to their ancestral homes and paying homage to those that have come before them. Charye returns the favors that the ancestors have paid in the last year and honors their memory.

Answer: Labor

Labor Thanksgiving Day in Japan has its roots in a cereals grain harvest festival called Niiname-sai. During the United States occupation after World War II, Labor Thanksgiving Day was created to celebrate labor and productivity and to give thanks for the previous year's successes.

Answer: Founding of the country by free African Americans in 1822

The country of Liberia was established in 1822 by the American Colonization Society for the purpose of resettling free Blacks into a colony in Africa. The Americo-Liberians who were resettled brought with them many of the ideas and traditions of the United States including the concept of celebrating the harvest with a holiday to give thanks. Thanksgiving is a time when they thank God and the Americans for giving them Liberia to live in as men who are not slaves.

Answer: To remember the Pilgrims who stayed in Leiden on the way to the New World

In the early 17th Century, Leiden had developed a reputation for religious tolerance and it was here that the Pilgrims (English Calvinist) first settled when the religious persecution became too much in England. From 1609 to 1620 these refugees were welcomed into the city.

When they felt that the climate might change in the Netherlands, the Pilgrims decided to move on and in 1620 they sailed on the Mayflower and established Plymouth Colony in present day Massachusetts. In Leiden today you will find the American Pilgrim Museum dedicated to these earlier residents of the city.

The church service honors the hospitality that the Pilgrim Fathers received in Leiden.

Answer: American whalers

American whalers made Norfolk Island such an important a port of call that an American consul was appointed in the 1890s. Consul Isaac Robinson blended an earlier English Harvest Home festival traditionally celebrated on the island with the idea of Thanksgiving to give the holiday a particularly South Pacific look. All Saint's Church is decorated with the bounty of the island (fruits, vegetables, and flowers) for the occasion.

Besides pumpkin pie you will find pork, chicken, pilhis, and bananas at the ensuing feast.

Answer: Black Friday

The day after Thanksgiving was originally called Black Friday in 1961 in a public relations newsletter referring to the increased traffic and crowding that accompanies the traditional day of the opening of the Christmas shopping season. Since that time others have interpreted the name to mean the day that retailers go into the "black" (or profit, as opposed to "red" meaning loss). Even though it seems that retailers have moved the start of the shopping season several weeks earlier, it is still on the day after Thanksgiving that a special push is given to getting shoppers into stores.

In recent years that has even meant opening at midnight for special sales and promotions.