Quiz: Name the Show by Its Thanksgiving Episode

Thanksgiving can sometimes get overshadowed by Halloween and Christmas each year, but that doesn’t make the November holiday less worthy. A bountiful feast, friends and family, and being grateful for what we have make Thanksgiving a cherished tradition. And any holiday that comes with pie is one you can’t forget! Thankfully, television over the years has ensured Thanksgiving continues to be recognized.

Are you a connoisseur of Thanksgiving TV episodes? Try the quiz below to see!

Did you get them all correct? If so, we officially declare you the king/queen of Thanksgiving TV! For those of us who don’t watch football on Thanksgiving, getting to see how characters from our favorite shows celebrate is always a good time. Seeing the stress and strained relationships helps us feel like we’re not alone in our complicated feelings about Thanksgiving. And seeing the characters learn to come together in the end gives us hope that the chaos of it all is worth it.

Whether you stick with the classics or enjoy trying a new show each year, the Thanksgiving specials are perfect to get into the holiday spirit and give the holiday the time it deserves before leaping right into Christmas. Another way to make sure Thanksgiving gets its time to shine is by learning more about its history.

The History of Thanksgiving

One of the biggest things to know is that “The First Thanksgiving” wasn’t actually the first. Just as Leif Erickson predated Christopher Columbus in the European discovery of America, a Spanish fleet held a Thanksgiving feast with the Timucuan tribe in Florida nearly 60 years before the Pilgrims arrived. Feasts of gratitude were often held by both the Europeans and the Native Americans. It wasn’t a new concept to either party. Feasts to celebrate the harvest, safety during storms, or rain that ended drought were all common.

In fact, Thanksgiving was often celebrated throughout the colonies and states as America was colonized. It was sporadic and held at different times for different regions.

It was only during the Civil War that Abraham Lincoln made Thanksgiving a national holiday. Lincoln wasn’t trying to commemorate the feast between the Pilgrims and the American Indians. He didn’t even know about that! He was trying to come up with a way to unify the country, hoping that if all citizens took the same day to express their gratitude, they would be able to come together again.

Want to learn more about the history of Thanksgiving and other holidays? Check out Mental Floss’s history section. And, if you’d like to test your holiday knowledge some more, check out our quiz section for more trivia!