Thanksgiving is here, and if you’re like many Americans, the word itself conjures the sweet scent of pumpkin pie, mouth-watering images of mashed potatoes, and (perhaps) an undercurrent of anxiety about cooking that all-important turkey just right.
But no matter how steeped they are in Thanksgiving traditions, people in every state still have questions about this centuries-old feast — starting with “how old is Thanksgiving?” according to research by CenturyLinkQuote.com.
Luckily, Google’s doors are always open, even on holidays.
Ohio keeps Googling “What is Thanksgiving” — always asking the most important questions first.
Our findings initially seem as diverse as the states themselves, but a few trends stick out:
The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade — one of the largest Thanksgiving Day parades in the U.S. — has been a New York staple since 1942, and it’s still going strong as the most-searched November topic in its home state.
Pecans and pumpkins are both native to North America and figure prominently in a Thanksgiving Day feast, but the South is most curious about pecan pie: Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Oklahoma spent November googling pecan pie recipes.
Alaska — a state famous for growing stunningly large vegetables during its extra-long summer days — was the sole state searching for pumpkin.
Three British-settled East Coast states — New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Virginia — all wanted to know if our friends across the pond celebrate Thanksgiving too. Meanwhile, French-Canadian-settled South Dakota wondered about Canadian Thanksgiving.
Per Vermont and Connecticut’s Google searches, stuffing is New England’s favorite Thanksgiving staple.
As the areas with the highest number of vegans per capita, Oregon and Washington, DC’s most-googled Thanksgiving topic was “vegan Thanksgiving.”
Enjoying a post-feast football game is a crucial part of many households across the States, including Hawaii, Delaware, North Dakota, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island.
Take a closer look at our findings by state:
“Restaurants open on Thanksgiving near me”
Alabama
Indiana
Georgia
Kentucky
“Pumpkin pie”
Alaska
“When is Thanksgiving”
Arizona
California
Florida
Idaho
Nevada
New Mexico
North Carolina
South Carolina
Texas
Utah
“Turkey bowling”
Colorado
“NFL on Thanksgiving Day”
Delaware
Hawaii
Massachusetts
North Dakota
Rhode Island
“Vegetarian Thanksgiving”
District of Columbia
Oregon
“What is Thanksgiving”
Iowa
Kansas
Maine
Maryland
Michigan
Minnesota
Montana
Nebraska
Ohio
Tennessee
“Pecan pie”
Mississippi
Louisiana
Arkansas
Oklahoma
“Does Canada celebrate Thanksgiving”
Missouri
“How to cook a turkey”
New Hampshire
“Does England celebrate Thanksgiving”
Pennsylvania
New Jersey
Virginia
“Macy’s Parade”
New York
“Things to be thankful for”
South Dakota
“Stuffing”
Connecticut
Vermont
“Friendsgiving”
Illinois
Washington
“First Thanksgiving”
West Virginia
“Turkey trot”
Wisconsin
“Thanksgiving games”
Wyoming
Methodology
The team at CenturyLinkQuote used Google Trends to look at search volume around Thanksgiving-related terms throughout November 2017. We determined each state’s score based on how much more a state searched that term than the other states.
