Celebration

** A Thanksgiving Celebration **

** The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade **



Every year, more than 3 million people line the streets of New York City to see a glimpse of the giant balloons and other entertainment at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. This year, 2011, marks the 85th annual parade.The famous Thanksgiving parade actually began as Macy's Christmas parade and featured zoo animals. It began in 1925 and was a big success. Balloons weren't a part of the parade until 1927 and were released into Manhattan's skyline for a grande finale. The parade did not take place from 1942 to 1944 because of WWII. Macy's actually donated materials that would have been used for the parade, like helium, to the war effort. In 1947, the parade was televised nationally and today, 50 million people watch it at home.The first float wasn't a part of the parade until 1969.

The parade has two miles of viewing. It begins on 77th Street and Central Park West and ends on 34th street and 7th avenue. Check out the [|map of the parade]. This year's parade will feature performance groups, like Spirit of America Dance, basketball, baseball, candy cane, and pumpkin balloons, giant balloons of Snoopy, Spiderman, and Kermit the Frog, different bands, and so much more.

** Thanksgiving Day Football **

Football is another classic celebration associated with Thanksgiving. Want to find out more information on Thanksgiving day football? Visit the[|NFL's official website.]

The tradition of Football on Thanksgiving Day is a long one. It started with the Detroit Lions in 1934. Radio executive George Richards just bout the Spartans from an Ohio town and moved them to Michigan. Richards scheduled a game on Thanksgiving day to gain publicity in the newspapers. He also was working to attract more people to games during the team's first season by holding a Thanksgiving Day contest. The game was between the Chicago Bears and Lions. The Lions had a 10 - 1 record and seamed unbeatable, but the Bears actually were having a perfect season. If the Lions won, they would tie the Bears for first place in the NFL. The stadium's 26,000 seats were sold out two weeks before the game. It seems that Richards' risky move had paid off. The Lions did lose their first Thanksgiving Day game by 3 points; the Bears won 19 -16. However, in 1935, the Lions became the NFL Champions because of their win at a key game on Thanksgiving Day of that year, when they beat the Bears. Detroit still celebrates Thanksgiving Day football and has every year since 1934, except for 1939 - 1944.

This year, the Detroit Lions will play the Green Bay Packers at 12:30pm; the Miami Dolphins will play the Dallas Cowboys at 4:15pm; and the San Francisco 49ers will play the Baltimore Ravens at 8:20pm.

 **The Feast**



The Thanksgiving Day feast might be the most popular and widely celebrated part of Thanksgiving. To find out more, please visit our Foods section.

**Celebrations from Around the World **

[|Find out more about Thanksgiving around the world]


 * Thanksgiving is celebrated in all different forms by different cultures and peoples around the world:
 * The ancient Greeks held a three day feast that honored the goddess of grains, Demeter.
 * The Romans held a feast that honored the goddess of Corn, Ceres. Their celebration included sports, music, games and a feast like ours.
 * The Chinese once had a harvest festival called Chung Ch'ui. This festival celebrated the harvest moon and included families coming together for a large feast.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">Jewish families celebrate Sukkot, another harvest festival. Jewish people build huts called Sukkots where they eat meals under the moon for 8 days. Jewish families have celebrated this feast for 3,000 years.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">The Egyptians once honored Min, the god of vegetation, in their own harvest festival. They also held a parade, and played sports and music.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">Lammas day was celebrated in the British Isles. This festival includes people going to church with bread made from harvested wheat. The bread would then be blessed in the hopes of a fruitful harvest.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">As you can see, our American Thanksgiving has borrowed form other traditions around the world. What we think is uniquely American is actually part of a thousands year old tradition that goes across many different cultures and celebrates the harvest season.

**<span style="color: #ff4c00; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%;">More American Celebrations **

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<span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;">Every year, I watch a Charlie Brown Thanksgiving with my family, as do millions of other people. <span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;">A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving originally aired on November 20, 1973, and has been a televised every year since then. It remains a classic and a major part of the Thanksgiving celebration for many families.

<span style="color: #ff4c00; display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%; text-align: left;">The Turkey Pardon <span style="color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: left;">Every Year, the President [|pardons a Turkey] from being a part of the Thanksgiving meal. The tradition is thought to have started with Abraham Lincoln. Now, the American people get to name the pardoned turkey and the turkey is sent to live out its days at a petting zoo in Virginia.

<span style="color: #ff4c00; display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%; text-align: center;">Volunteer <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">Thanksgiving is a great time to volunteer and provide those in need with meals.

<span style="color: #ff4c00; display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 140%; text-align: center;">Don't forget to give thanks!

<span style="display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%; text-align: center;">References

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving (1973). //YouTube//. Retrieved November 3, 2011, from @http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S09C7UO0M2g&feature=player_embedded.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving (1973). //IMDb//. Retrieved November 5, 2011, from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068359/.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">Food2 (October 19, 2009). Food2 Daily Random Food Halloween Costume - 10.19. Retrieved November 3, 2011 from <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">[|http://www.food2.com/blog/2009/10/19/food2-daily-random-food-halloween-costume-1019]

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">Klein, A. (n.d.). How Thanksgiving works. //How Stuff Works//. Retrieved November 13, 2011, from http://people.howstuffworks.com/culture-traditions/holidays/thanksgiving.htm

====<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;"> Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (2011). //Macys//. Retrieved November 5, 2011, from http://social.macys.com/parade2011/?cm_mmc=VanityUrl-_-parade-_-n-_-n#/home ====

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">NFL: Thanksgiving. (n.d.). //NFL.com//. Retrieved November 13, 2011, from []

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">The Guardian (November 25, 2010). Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade 2010. Retrieved November 3, 2011 from <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;"> []