My Thanksgiving Ritual
As a young child, I’d get up on Thanksgiving morning with the smell and look of wonderful food filling my senses. While Mom was busy cooking a 22 pound turkey, making homemade Parker House rolls (the best I ever tasted), and creating the rest of our traditional meal, I’d watch the Macy’s parade on the TV. Later, I’d join my sisters in getting the table ready for dinner that could include seven or twelve or more family members and friends.
Mom was born in New York City and left in 1920—before the Macy’s parade started in 1924. Living in Los Angeles on what could have been a pretty warm day, we watched the thematic floats roll by on the TV screen, marching bands from around the country perform, and large balloons guided by strong ropes and stronger Macy employees float along the parade route of onlookers looking as if they were freezing.
Maybe that’s the reason that a couple of years after I moved into an appartment on the Upper West Side of Manhattan just two blocks from where the Macy’s balloons get blown up on Thanksgiving Eve, I was attracted to seeing the characters come to life.
Snoopy in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade 2008
Specifically, I began inviting friends over to share some food and drink then join me in walking over to see the ballons. There was something magical about looking at flat pieces of heavy-duty plastic grow into a form that brought memories and a smile of delight to those watching.
The idea for having my ‘annual’ event was also routed in the Christmas Eve party that my sister-in-law Jean had every year. It was a time to feast but also to join together to sing Christmas Carols and catch up with those that I hadn’t seen for a year.
Maybe it was 1991 when my annual Thanksgiving ritual became a part of my life. Each year after that, the guest list got bigger and my home fuller with clients, friends, neighbors, and family. In 2002, I didn’t have a party since I was getting ready to remodel my home; the following year, my sister Alice died a few days before Thanksgiving. I was sick with exteme grief and loss when a friend called to tell me he had ticket to the reviewing stand of the parade.
This year, I continue with my holiday ritual, remembering Mom and Jean, and their influence on my own Thanksgiving party, the many people who have shared the gathering with me, and the new generation of Hendersons who are now being educated on the magic of the balloons.
May the holiday be happy and your Thanksgiving meaningful.