Friendly Reminder

Good morning, everyone!

I trust that you all had a happy Thanksgiving, and that if you are out and about today during Black Friday, that you stay safe.

This is just a simple post to serve as a reminder that this Sunday, December 1st, is the beginning of A Very Vintage Christmas here at Think Classic.
Also, remember that there is a schedule for the month, as follows:
Classic Christmas Movie Posts:
Sunday, 12/1
Sunday, 12/8
Sunday, 12/15
Sunday, 12/22

Christmas Music Posts:
Thursday, 12/5
Thursday, 12/12
Thursday, 12/19

Christmas Tradition Posts:
Tuesday, 12/10
Friday, 12/20

AND a special Christmas Eve post on Tuesday, the 24th.

We are so looking forward to sharing this holiday season with you, and we hope to see you back here this Sunday!

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

R.H. Macy & Co. was opened as a dry goods store on Sixth Avenue in New York City in the year of 1858. At the time of it's grand opening, the building's location was very important. It was specifically placed at a great enough distance from other well known dry goods stores in the city, so as to increase it's sales and popularity. This was not only a clever business move, but it was also a ray of hope for locals who were seeking employment opportunities, as it created several new important positions for hire. Naturally, as the store grew over time, so that it offered more than dry goods, more and more positions were created that needed to be filled, which presented an even higher number of employment opportunities. Many of these people, or families, who worked for the department store, were first-generation immigrants to the United States. They were naturally to be proud of their new country and heritage that they were providing for the families by their relocation, and there is no denying that it was very important and noteworthy for so many foreign immigrants in New York during that time period to have such good permanent positions at a booming and rapidly expanding department store. They wanted to show their appreciation and celebration of thanks for their new country and employer, and they finally found a way in the 1920s, in the form of a parade, which has an extensive history in Europe.

Plans were drawn up, and what was known at the time as the first official Macy's Christmas Parade was marched in the late fall of 1924. Employees, musicians, entertainers in costumes,

and even animals from the Central Park Zoo walked along the route, which stretched from Harlem to the store on 34th Street. Once the crowd surrounded the storefront at the end of the route, a throne was set up on the Macy's balcony, and Santa Claus was officially introduced for the holiday season, and was crowned and titled the "King of the Kiddies." There was such a large turn out and favorable response for that first parade that Macy's Department Store officially announced that they hoped to make it an annual celebration.

Seeking to make improvements and small changes for viewer satisfaction, large balloons were added to the parade. Many balloons of different grades and sizes and themes have been added and many have been kept as a tradition of the parade over the years, such as Uncle

Sam, Superman, Kermit the Frog, Betty Boop, the Toy Soldier, Mickey Mouse, and many others. In earlier years, people were undecided as to what to do with many of the balloons after the parade was over. Were they to be kept and stored? And if so, where? In 1928, the big balloons were all released into the sky at the end of the parade, but they all burst, causing much chaos and confusion. The following year, they were specifically designed so that they would stay inflated for several days. They were then released at the end of the parade, with address labels sewn into them, so that when they deflated and fell to the ground, the person who found and returned them would receive a free holiday gift from Macy's. The first of these giant balloons that was introduced was

Felix the Cat in 1927, which was also the first year that the parade was broadcast on the radio. It was announced and broadcast every year on the radio up until 1951, as the number of household television sets began to increase, thereby bringing about a decrease in the total number of people who listened to extended radio broadcasts. The only years that the parade was neither broadcast on the radio or the television were from 1942 to 1944, when the parade was actually temporarily suspended due to the large percentage of rubber, and helium that was given to the military in the war effort. It's first official year of television broadcast by NBC was in 1948. This was largely due to popularity and interest that was sparked in movie-goers who did not live in or near New York and had been  to see the famous motion picture Miracle on 34th Street (1947) the previous year.

Floats are also added to the parade frequently, and there are many floats that are a sure tradition. The Tom Turkey float was first added in 1971, and has been seen every year since, along with floats like Sesame Street, and Marvel Comics. Santa Claus is also seen every year as the finale of the parade, and his appearance marks the official beginning of the Christmas season, just as it did 87 years ago.

There have been many different famous celebrities that have shared a part in the tradition of Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, such as Betty White, Willard Scott, Katie Couric, Ann Curry, Al Roker, and many more.

Over the years, despite the many different changes that have been made, Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade remains an annual holiday tradition that promises festive family fun for all who watch or attend.

The question is, will you be watching?

392 Years of Thanksgiving

Historical records tell us that Thanksgiving celebrations for the harvest and the end of the year first began in November of 1621--392 years ago. Obviously many things have changed during the passing of those many years, and that begs the question of how different our Thanksgiving feast is from the original celebration? What exactly was on the menu almost 400 years ago? Well, look no further, because we have the answers to that question right here at Think Classic.

One of the most important parts of the average family's Thanksgiving meal is a cooked turkey. And while it is

true that the turkey is native to North America, most historians do not believe that it was the main attraction at the first Thanksgiving. There are historical records and journals from some of the Pilgrims during those early days, who partook in that celebration, that tell of large hunting groups who went out before the meal to find poultry. More than likely they came back with more than one type of water fowl, such as ducks, or geese. These birds were plucked, and stuffed with things like herbs and nuts, and roasted over a fire. However, poultry was not the only source of protein on the menu. The same sources also tell us that there was a plentiful amount of deer that was brought to the feast as an offering from the Native Americans.

We must also remember that one of the main components of the colonists diet in this region was seafood. They often used different types of lobster, oysters, clams, and various kinds of fish in their cooking, and while these things could possibly have been a part of the first harvest feast, it is almost certain that there was a large quantity of mussels, which are abundant in that region and are easy to collect. One traditional way to serve mussels was with curds.

Naturally, as a celebration of gratitude for a plentiful harvest, there were many different types of fruits and vegetables that were available, and more than likely consumed by the attendees. Corn was definitely an

important part of the feast, as it was very plentiful. However, it was usually ground into a kind of meal or mush and served hot like porridge. It is very possible that there were some leafy vegetables served, such as cabbage or spinach. Carrots were also abundant, along with peas.

Absent from the table was any kind of potato. The Spanish discovered the potato during their time in the New World, and they did take it back to Europe with them, but it was not very popular or abundant, especially in the norther region of Plymouth at that time.

Perhaps everybody's favorite part of the meal is the very end, because of the traditional pies that are served. Whether you eat the traditional pumpkin pie, or apple, or any other kind. While the Pilgrims were definitely familiar with the concept of baking things like pies, they did not have two important things in those early days: some of the ingredients that would be necessary to make a pie crust, and any kind of oven to bake it in. But that does not mean that a sweet pumpkin dessert was not available. It is believed that the Pilgrims took pumpkins, cut them open and hollowed them out, stuffed them with milk, honey, and spices, and then buried them whole in a fire pit to bake.

Another sweet side that was not included was any kind of cranberry sauce. Cranberries are certainly just one kind of fruit that was available to them, and may have been included in the feast in some other way, but the colonists had low rations of sugar that would be necessary to cook or stew with the sour berries in order to create a sweet sauce or relish.

Things are bound to change over time, and there are always differences from one household to another. But it is very interesting to look back at the beginning of this great and meaningful day of Thanksgiving and see the similarities that we still share in some ways with our ancestors.

If you are interested in looking at or using Thanksgiving recipes that have been converted from or inspired by the dishes served at the first Thanksgiving, here is just one website to help you recreate traditions from almost four centuries ago:

Delish.com: Holiday History

The food is fabulous at Thanksgiving, there's no denying it. But this season, let us not forget that the people we share it with are even more important. Let us always be truly thankful.

"We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures."

-Thornton Wilder

Seasonal Specials

Hello followers and readers!

This is just a simple announcement post for things that are coming up over the next couple of months that you might want to mark on your calendars.

First of all, it might not have escaped your notice that the site has a new fall look. This is in honor of Thanksgiving, which is coming up in a few weeks, on November 28th. We will do a couple of posts in honor of the holiday, but other than that, the site is going to be pretty quiet due to preparations for our third annual segment of A Very Vintage Christmas, which will begin, as always, on December 1st.
We will be sticking to the same schedule that we use every year, which means there will be:
Classic Christmas music posts on Thursdays

                                                   12/5

                                                   12/12

                                                   12/19

Classic Christmas movie posts on Sundays

                                                   12/1

                                                   12/8

                                                   12/15

                                                   12/22

Two posts on the history of different Christmas traditions

                                                   12/10

                                                   12/20

And a special post on Christmas Eve.

We are so excited to spend the holiday season with all of you!

Thank you for all of your support,

The Think Classic team

"Gratitude is the heart's memory."

"Some days we forget to look around us.

Some days we can't see the joy that surrounds us.

We're so caught up inside ourselves, we take when we should give.

So for tonight we pray for what know can be.

And on this day we hope for what we still can't see.

It's up to us to be the change, and even though we all can still do more,

There's so much to be thankful for.

Look beyond ourselves, there's so much sorrow.

It's way too late to say 'I'll cry tomorrow.'

Each of us much find our truth, it's so long overdue.

So for tonight we pray for what we know can be.

And everyday we hope for what we still can't see.

It's up to us to be the change, and even though we all can still do more,

There's so much to be thankful for.

Even with our differences, there is a place we're all connected.

Each of us can find eachother's light.

So for tonight we pray for what we know can be.

And on this day we hope for what we still can't see.

It's up to us to be the change,

And even though this world needs so much more,

There's so much to me thankful for."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSKIVf0hSn0

"For each new morning with its light,

For rest and shelter of the night,

For health and food, for love and friends,

For everything Thy goodness sends."

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Be Truly Thankful

Happy Thanksgiving!

"Life is a gift,given in trust-like a child."-Anne Morrow Lindbergh

Thanksgiving is a holiday all about...what's that word again?Oh yeah, thankfulness.

But if you're anything like me, sometimes with everything else going on (family gatherings,multitudes of good food,Christmas just around the corner), it's hard to "count my blessings," as they say.

It's not that I'm not thankful for a lot of things, but I just don't have that true spirit of thankfulness-of gratitude.

That's why, this year, starting today, I'm challenging you (and myself) to what I'm calling "The Gift Project."

A couple years ago, I was given a copy of this book (see below), which I really enjoyed anyways, but it dawned on me this last week that it's the perfect thing to read just prior to Thanksgiving, in order to get in touch with my inner spirit of gratitude.

There are just so, SO many things that it brings to light that I am blessed to have, but certainly don't need for my survival, and therfore should be thankful for.

Gift from the Sea

1955 book

by Anne Morrow Lindbergh

Gift from the Sea was written by a very famous lady whom we (hopefully) have all heard of, by the name of Anne Morrow Lindbergh:

And even if you haven't heard of her, you probably actually have, but just didn't realize it was actually her. Ever heard of Charles Lindbergh, the aviator?She was married to him.She was actually a famous aviator herself. She was inducted into 4 different halls of fame, and wrote numerous other books throughout her life.

Gift from the Sea was written by Morrow Lindbergh while she was on a solitary vacation on Captiva Island, in Florida. While she was on vacation, she did a lot of reflection on her life, as well as the life of Americans, as a whole. For her writings, she collected shells from the beach and examined them, linking their appearances to the structures of different areas of our daily lives. She reflects and comments on love, marriage, age, solitude, contentment, etc.

The Challenge:

There are eight small chapters in this book. There are also eight days til Thanksgiving (starting today). Seeing a connection yet?

I challenge you, and myself, to read a chapter a day up to Thanksgiving and spend a little time reflecting on who you are as a person, and all the things you've been given in your life that you've taken advantage of, or don't really need at all. Take some time to reflect on your life, and aim to find a little peace and contentment, just like Anne did.

You can find/price/purchase Gift from the Sea at Barnes and Noble online, or go to your local Barnes and Noble store.

You can also price/purchase books like this one on Amazon, so don't forget about that.

If you want to learn more about Anne Morrow Lindbergh, you can go here:

http://www.charleslindbergh.com/anne