The nights and early mornings have been Southwest Desert cold. It has been down to the low 40s (F.) lately. Of course, the sun warms it up during the day, but at 7:00 am I am wearing a jacket, hat, and gloves to be comfortable. That is not a complaint -- just the weather report.
We are all looking forward to the Thanksgiving Day holiday next Thursday.
For those of you outside the USA, Thanksgiving is a day of giving thanks for all we have. Traditionally, we have a large meal consisting of turkey, cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes or yams, maybe some white potatoes and gravy, and pumpkin pie for desert. Most of these foods are native to the Americas. Regions and families may have their additional traditional foods, but those are the basics. I guess we will have to add a large salad for the raw food folks. I have heard of vegetarians who prepare baked stuffed squash as their traditional Thanksgiving dinner. That sounds good, too.
There are big Thanksgiving Day parades in several major cities. I would judge the most grand of them all to be the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City. It features marching bands from all over the US, famous singers, the Radio City Music Hall Rockettes, brief scenes from Broadway musicals, floats, and giant balloons in the parade. It is about 3 hours long. There were some years the weather was New York cold for the parade. In 1957 there was heavy rain. The hat of the giant Popeye the Sailor balloon filled with rain water and the balloon poured water on the crowd. We are wishing all the parade participants, and the million or so who view the parade live, sunny and mild weather this Thanksgiving.
The Macy's parade, and a few others, are broadcast on network TV. The first TV broadcast of the Macy's Day Parade (as it is now often called) was an experimental broadcast in 1939. I look forward to seeing at least some of the Macy's parade on TV. I always watch the beginning to see the Broadway musicals and Rockettes.
The idea of a Thanksgiving Day Parade is said to have originated in the 1920s. Macy's store employees and professional entertainers marched in Manhattan along with live animals borrowed from the zoo, floats, and vivid costumes. Large balloons replaced the live animals in 1927. The first parade was a Christmas parade, with Santa Clause, then as now, as the finale. The parade morphed into the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade over time and has continued every year except for 1942-1944.
Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. It is not as commercialized as Christmas, yet has the important component of remembering to give thanks. What have you got to be grateful for? A computer? The use of someone else's computer? Food, shelter, clothing? A job? Friends? Relatives? Skills, talents, abilities? The senses (sight, sound, smell, taste, 6th sense, etc.)? Make your list. See how long you can make it. Do you have some warm, cozy socks, slippers, robe? A pet? A juicer, blender, TV? Don't forget to thank the farmers who grew the food, the truckers who transported it, the store that sold it to you. Have gratitude for the inventors of the systems, tools, and vehicles we use, and even your blanket, pillow, and chair. It is not trite to be grateful for the small things. It has been said that gratitude is an invitation for more goodness to manifest in your life. I trust it will be so.
Gratefully,
Southwest Desert Blogger
C. (c)2011
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