Thursday - 26 Nov/15

HAPPY THANKSGIVING - AGAIN !!!

We celebrated Thanksgiving in Canada before departing for the south.

Refugees fleeing the civil war in the United States brought the custom of an annual thanksgiving festival to Canada. From 1879, Thanksgiving Day was held every year but the date varied and there was a special theme each year.

From the end of the First World War until 1930, both Armistice Day and Thanksgiving Day were celebrated on the Monday closest to November 11, the anniversary of the official end of hostilities in World War I. In 1931, Armistice Day was renamed Remembrance Day and Thanksgiving Day was moved to a Monday in October. Since 1957, Thanksgiving Day has always been held on the second Monday in October.

Thanksgiving Day in Canada is linked to the European tradition of harvest festivals. A common image seen at this time of year is a cornucopia, or horn, filled with seasonal fruit and vegetables. The cornucopia, which means "Horn of Plenty" in Latin, was a symbol of bounty and plenty in ancient Greece.

Thanksgiving is celebrated in the USA on the fourth Thursday in November. It has been celebrated as a federal holiday every year since 1863, when, during the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national day of "Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens", to be celebrated on the last Thursday in November. (Thanksgiving was also celebrated nationally in 1789, after a proclamation by George Washington.)

Squanto, a Patuxet (a Native American) who resided with the Wampanoag tribe, taught the Pilgrims how to catch eel and grow corn and served as an interpreter for them. Squanto had learned English during his enslavement in England. The Wampanoag leader Massasoit had given food to the colonists during the first winter when supplies brought from England were insufficient.

The "First Thanksgiving" was celebrated by the Pilgrims after their first harvest in the New World  at Plimoth Plantation in 1621. This feast lasted three days, and it was attended by 90 Native Americans and 53 Pilgrims. The New England colonists were accustomed to regularly celebrating "Thanksgivings" or "Days of Prayer" thanking God for blessings such as military victory or the end of a drought.

Today turkeys, pumpkins, ears of corn and large displays of food are also used to symbolize Thanksgiving. For the first celebration the Wampanoag guests brought five deer with them, so venison was on the menu. The English brought fowl, probably migrating waterfowl like ducks and geese, which were plentiful in autumn, No mention of turkey, cranberries or pies at this event. Women may have done the cooking; however the feasting was an all-male event.

Today, Thanksgiving is one of the major holidays of the year. Thanksgiving is a part of the broader holiday season that includes Christmas and New Year, The "Kick-off" is the Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City originated by Macy's Department Store In 1924. The annual Thanksgiving parade, started by Bamberger's store in Newark, NJ was transferred to New York City by Macy's. In New York, the employees marched to Macy's flagship store on 34th Street dressed in vibrant costumes. There were floats, professional bands and live animals borrowed from the Central Park Zoo. At the end of that first parade, as has been the case with every parade since,Santa Claus was welcomed into Herald Square. The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade along with the parade in Detroit, MI is the second oldest in the USA.

From the first balloon, Felix the Cat, in 1927 to this year's Angry Birds, Balloons, Falloons (Float & Balloon), and Balloonicles (Balloon and Vehicle) they have become as important as the floats. Character Balloons can require as many as 90 handlers yet there has been the occasional run-in with a lamppost or bystander.

At the finale of the 1928 parade, the balloons were released into the sky, where they unexpectedly burst. The following year, they were redesigned with safety valves to allow them to float for a few days. Address labels were sewn into them, so that whoever found and mailed back the discarded balloon received a gift from Macy's.

The parade became known nationwide after being prominently featured in the 1947 film, Miracle on 34th Street, which included footage of the 1946 festivities. The event was first broadcast on network television in 1948. By this point the event, and Macy's sponsorship of it, were sufficiently well-known to give rise to the colloquialism "Macy's Day Parade". Since 1984, the balloons have been made by Raven Aerostar.

The parade kicks off the Christmas gift buying season (tomorrow) which is known as "Black Friday". The name came about because traditionally it was said that this was the day their finances finally got "out of the red" and into the "Black".

After viewing the parade on TV we got ready for the OMS Thanksgiving Day Potluck. OMS provides the turkey, potatoes, stuffing, gravy and buns while the residents bring a variety of vegetables, salads and desserts to share. To make things orderly for filling our plates the tables are called by a number draw. We were lucky enough to go second. A similar procedure will be followed for Christmas and other main celebrations.

Needless to say the hall was packed. It is always nice to meet the folks that we share a table with at these events. One couple we met has been coming to OMS for 21 years. Others we met were from Michigan and Illinois and have been coming for years as well. This is our third year at Olde Mill Stream.

The rest of the day we will spend watching TV (Jeopardy, etc.) and relaxing. We don't plan on being out in the pre-"Black Friday" madness when many stores re-open at 6 pm this evening.