Know Your Thanksgiving: Answers Revealed

Hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving! Here are the answers to our special Thanksgiving edition of KYP:

1. As Namita observed, this was sort of a trick question. You'd probably guess turkey, but you'd be wrong. Squanto taught the pilgrims how to catch eels. That's why every Thanksgiving our mothers heat up the oven and bake a delicious eel. In fact, I'm eating a leftover eel and gravy sandwich right now.

2. The last float of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is occupied by Santa Claus, thus officially kicking off the Christmas season.

3. At the same time that most of us are gathering around the table with family and friends to enjoy our eel, stuffing, and mashed potatoes, several activists gather near Plymouth Rock to celebrate the National Day of Mourning. The event serves as a reminder of the hundreds of thousands of Native Americans who were killed or displaced by the arrival of European settlers in New England. In recent years the day has been dedicated to Leonard Peltier, a Native American activist currently serving consecutive life sentences for the murder of two FBI agents during a 1975 shoot-out. (Some organizations, including Amnesty International, consider Peltier a political prisoner).

4. As Lydia said, our favorite traditions are too long and esoteric to post here. But I think we can all agree that nothing tastes as good as an eel shared among family.

(PS: Hey Adam, thanks for blowing up my spot with the Wikipedia comment.)