Thanksgiving Day Parade

Thanksgiving Day, a national holiday that falls on the last Thursday in November, is the most American of the holidays.

It has nothing to do with shopping or religion though it marks the beginning of the holiday season. It's said to be the busiest travel period of the year (more than Christmas and New Year's) and it's certainly on of the quietest days on the streets of New York from 4:00 pm on.

Thanksgiving is a day when families and/or friends get together for a huge meal made of turkey and many side dishes. And it's also a day to be thankful for whatever your blessings are.

The Thanksgiving Day Parade is a New York tradition since the 1920s and yet this was the first year I gathered up courage to go watch it (it was a particularly nice and sunny day, not too cold and not windy). It was fun for children of all ages, with marching bands, Broadway stars, and giant balloons of popular movie characters, cartoon characters and advertising characters.