Thanksgiving

This weekend we celebrate Thanksgiving in Canada. 

With my grocery list in hand and my granddaughter helping me fill the shopping cart, it made me stop several times to give thanks during the process of preparation. Kya chattered about the delicious things she thought we should include in our Thanksgiving menu, already having her favourites and traditions. With every yummy item she added, I took the opportunity to talk about people who don't have all that we have.

My sister and I looking stylish at Thanksgiving (1963)

Throughout our grocery shopping we gathered food items that she would put in the food baskets for donation. I hold back the grocery store points collected and turn them over for the food bank - one store card for Thanksgiving, and the other points card is used for Christmas giving. Kya learned this yesterday, and she learned how important it is to give to others. Of course then she skipped along and talked about pumpkin pie; and that's fine, because she helped someone else skip along because they too will have a Thanksgiving dinner.

 

And like so many people, we will sit down with family to enjoy a full turkey dinner. It is a dinner of abundance that has an average consumption of 2,500 calories per person. And this is where I remind myself every time to pace it. There is always tomorrow, and left-overs are the absolute best.

Thankful

It was Thanksgiving this weekend for us {in Canada}.

Richard and I went for a walk this afternoon and started down a path at a nearby creek. As I turned the corner and saw this view, the first thing that came to mind is 'the true north strong and free'. For those of you who are not familiar with those words, it is a line in our Canadian national anthem. And that line says so much about what we are thankful for.

True North Strong and Free

We had an OUTSTANDING weekend for our very first Thanksgiving celebration in Cardinal House. My Granddaughter helped me make a cake for dessert and of course it had to sport candles for a Thanksgiving song {to the tune of Happy Birthday to you....}. 

Before the cake and pie was cut and passed, I asked everyone 'what are you thankful for?'  Without a moments hesitation Kya {who is four} said; 'I'm thankful for my wonderful family and our healthiness'. Yup - not a dry eye in the house.

We are blessed. And we are Thankful.

Richard drinking in the beauty of the fall leaves.

So Much to beThankful for.

This weekend we celebrate Thanksgiving. 

Amid all the hustle of grocery shopping, food preparation, cooking and setting the table, I always find myself feeling a bit choked up during this holiday. Maybe it's because the rhythm of holiday preparations are so normal for us, and I find myself thinking about people who don't have what we consider 'normal'. And isn't that the point of giving thanks. The point is to be thankful AND to give back.

All of the grocery stores I shop in have a points reward program, and they all ask when I get to the cash 'do you want to redeem any of the dollars accumulated'. There are only three times a year that I redeem the points - Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter. I use the points and double the amount with cash to purchase non perishable goods for the local food banks. The grocers make it easy with prepared packages and food bank deposit bins right at the store. 

I honestly couldn't imagine leaving the grocers with bags that are fuller because of our holiday shopping and not thinking of people who need their grocery bags filled too. It is a small gesture that I encourage everyone to think of - everyday. 

If I wrote a list of all the things I am thankful for, the list would be very long. 

I am blessed.

If you are celebrating Thanksgiving this weekend,

take the time to give back to someone else in some way.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Celebrating and Giving Thanks

As a Canadian we celebrated our Thanksgiving on the second Monday of October. The weather was mild enough to consider barbecuing the turkey.
So what do Canadians do in November when our neighbours in the United States celebrate Thanksgiving?
For some of our businesses that connect heavily with the United States we work around the holiday closures - a trade off from our October holiday. Some brave Canadian shoppers head over the boarder to upper U.S. states and take in the holiday sales. I prefer to avoid the crazy shopping days, but have always enjoy my own little tradition for the U.S. Thanksgiving.

 

I have always booked a 'me' day from work and stayed home to enjoy the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Just me..... in my pajama's ....... with coffee....... and usually something decadent like cinnamon buns for breakfast - YUM {so now my secret is out}.  Later in the day I take time to get to work on my Christmas shopping list.
This year I plan to introduce my Granddaughter to the tradition - she loves parades, is crazy about balloons and has inherited our family sweet tooth. Maybe I need more cinnamon buns.

First Macy's Christmas Parade in 1924

The Macy's Thanksgiving Parade hosts 3 million viewers along the route and 50 million viewers 'at home'...... and then there are the Canadians like me who snuggle down to enjoy the celebration.

Look at that Turkey floating along with the Canadian Club billboard in the background.

Terrible Turk float - 1930

Times Square 1930

I love the floats and character balloons, over the years they have reflected a variety of current cartoon celebrities. There have been some 'incidences' with balloons over time, last year the Kool Aid Man tipped over - proof that the red fruity liquid really is potent.
The Thanksgiving celebration is guided through New York city by an army of 8 thousand volunteers. This year marks the 86th Annual parade, although the first parade year was 1924. The parade took a hiatus from 1942 - 1944 during World War II.

In 1934 Mickey Mouse makes his debut.

The Rockettes - 1957

The Rockettes have performed their precision dance routine at the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade since 1957. Their eye high kick performance is one of my favourites and I am always in awe that the dancers never miss a beat, even while dancing on the street.

Parade crowds in 1959

The crowds line the parade routes stretching their necks to look up to the giant balloons and enormous floats, they listen to the music of the marching bands and the song and dance routines from the Broadway shows. But the star of the show by far is the man in the big red suit. And as with all Christmas parades, he arrives last to the cheers of the children who are promising to be 'nice'.

1946 - Edmund Gwenn who played Santa in the Movie 'Miracle on 34th Street'

To my blog friends in the United States, I wish you a Happy Thanksgiving.