High Points: An all-American Thanksgiving

I have a friend who says Thanksgiving is her favorite holiday. No need for presents. No religious obligations. No stress. Just a joyful gathering with friends and family, the table laden with a golden mushroom and cornbread-stuffed turkey with all the fixins’: butternut squash, Brussels sprouts, and cranberries. Buttery, hot cross buns and sweet potato mashers with maple syrup. And for dessert? A trio of pies — pumpkin, pecan, and sweet mince, if you please, all topped with a dollop of cool, softly whipped fresh cream. Plentiful wine and spirits for toasting. My mouth is watering at the thought.

Of course, at our house, all this comes after a traditional morning viewing (coffee cup in hand while propped up with pillows on the couch) of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, which takes place along a 2.5–mile route from West 77th St. and Central Park West through the heart of New York City to Macy’s Herald Square. A little history here: In 1924, the first parade, called the Macy’s Christmas Parade, included employees, professional bands, and live animals borrowed from the Central Park Zoo. Three years later, the parade was renamed the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and featured the first giant balloon, Felix the Cat. Remember him?

Fast forward to this Thanksgiving. The parade, now in its 99th year, will feature an extensive parade of 28 floats designed exclusively by Macy’s employees, which stand up to 40 feet tall and 28 feet wide, and 34 balloons. In case you were wondering, Snoopy holds the record for the most balloons in parade history. Five new balloons will make their Macy’s debut this year, including Buzz Lightyear to celebrate 30 years of “Toy Story,” Greybow Trout, Rainbow Trout, Wigglefoot, and Shrek’s Onion Carriage. Labubu, who has rocketed in popularity this year (go figure), will make her parade debut on a float alongside her POP MART friends.

Of course, the parade will also feature a lineup of 11 high school marching bands from around the country, nine performance groups, popular singers aboard the floats, and my personal favorite, the high-kicking, always in-sync, and ever-smiling Radio City Music Hall Rockettes. Full disclosure: In my much younger days at the Gregory Dancing School in Brooklyn, our annual recital always featured the high-kicking Gregory-ettes, of which I was one.

Now for a little background into the history of Thanksgiving. The national holiday honored the early settlers and Native Americans who came together for a historic holiday feast in March 1621. Fittingly, Native American hunters were sent out to hunt deer that would be prepared for the meal, which also featured corn, shellfish, and roasted meat. Singing, dancing, and ball games ensued.

In due course, the first recorded religious Thanksgiving Day, which dates back to 1623, honored those early settlers (The women dressed in practical clothing, including aprons over full-length woolen dresses, and the men in fitted, woolen jackets called doublets, knee-length trousers, and wide-brimmed hats) and Native Americans (attired in their usual autumn clothing made of warm deerskin and animal furs) who came together to have a historic harvest feast. It was also thought to have been held in order to give thanks to God for rain after a two-month drought.

So as we look forward to Thanksgiving next Thursday, with family and friends gathered ’round, let’s raise a glass to the history of the celebration and consider all that we have to be thankful for. Have a happy Thanksgiving, everyone. See you on the slopes!