1 00:00:00,360 --> 00:00:05,120 Speaker 1: Ah. Thanksgiving my favorite holiday because it's all about gratitude 2 00:00:05,200 --> 00:00:08,520 Speaker 1: rather than what we get. We talk about giving thanks 3 00:00:08,560 --> 00:00:11,680 Speaker 1: but the idea of setting aside time to express gratitude 4 00:00:12,039 --> 00:00:14,960 Speaker 1: is not uniquely American. There are at least a dozen 5 00:00:15,040 --> 00:00:18,080 Speaker 1: countries that have similar holidays, and for all of us, 6 00:00:18,200 --> 00:00:21,880 Speaker 1: Thanksgiving is packed with tradition. But where did they all begin? 7 00:00:22,520 --> 00:00:25,720 Speaker 1: Sixteen twenty one may have been the first American celebration, 8 00:00:26,160 --> 00:00:29,120 Speaker 1: but our traditions, like when it takes place, what we eat, 9 00:00:29,160 --> 00:00:32,600 Speaker 1: and of course the holiday defining Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade 10 00:00:33,000 --> 00:00:35,480 Speaker 1: only evolved in the past one hundred or one hundred 11 00:00:35,479 --> 00:00:38,919 Speaker 1: and fifty years. I'm Patti Steele a deeper look at 12 00:00:38,920 --> 00:00:46,600 Speaker 1: Thanksgiving next on the backstory. We're back with the backstory. 13 00:00:47,200 --> 00:00:51,360 Speaker 1: Thanksgiving traditions just make us feel happy, cozy, and safe 14 00:00:51,760 --> 00:00:54,720 Speaker 1: because they're kind of embedded in our core from our 15 00:00:54,760 --> 00:00:58,000 Speaker 1: earliest memories. And that's true even when we have to 16 00:00:58,080 --> 00:01:02,000 Speaker 1: deal with the occasional annoying relative or side dishes that 17 00:01:02,040 --> 00:01:05,080 Speaker 1: were not crazy about personally not a big fan of 18 00:01:05,160 --> 00:01:10,399 Speaker 1: candied yams. But for us, Thanksgiving is all about food, family, 19 00:01:10,520 --> 00:01:14,399 Speaker 1: and festivity and maybe some football. Most of all, it's 20 00:01:14,440 --> 00:01:19,800 Speaker 1: about gratitude. However, so how did the way we celebrate start? Well, 21 00:01:19,840 --> 00:01:22,399 Speaker 1: we know the story of the first Thanksgiving in sixteen 22 00:01:22,480 --> 00:01:25,520 Speaker 1: twenty one, but it wasn't anything close to how we 23 00:01:25,560 --> 00:01:31,440 Speaker 1: celebrate these days. Family feasts with turkey, overeating, parades, football 24 00:01:32,000 --> 00:01:35,679 Speaker 1: all came about a whole lot later. Actually, the whole 25 00:01:35,720 --> 00:01:39,000 Speaker 1: idea of a feast this time of year originated with 26 00:01:39,080 --> 00:01:42,679 Speaker 1: immigrants who in their origin countries were used to holding 27 00:01:42,720 --> 00:01:46,760 Speaker 1: harvest festivals in late autumn. So the idea of celebrating 28 00:01:46,760 --> 00:01:49,480 Speaker 1: the harvest and getting ready to hunker down for the 29 00:01:49,560 --> 00:01:53,400 Speaker 1: winter grew out of that earlier tradition. As for what 30 00:01:53,440 --> 00:01:56,440 Speaker 1: we eat, it turns out the first Thanksgiving in our 31 00:01:56,520 --> 00:02:00,480 Speaker 1: part of the world probably didn't focus on turkey. Historians 32 00:02:00,560 --> 00:02:04,120 Speaker 1: say that the first feast was likely roasted deer ducks 33 00:02:04,160 --> 00:02:07,920 Speaker 1: and geese, but turkey not so much. There were plenty 34 00:02:07,920 --> 00:02:11,000 Speaker 1: of wild turkeys across the Northeast in those early days, 35 00:02:11,400 --> 00:02:14,600 Speaker 1: but the feast was more about whatever was close at hand, 36 00:02:15,000 --> 00:02:18,639 Speaker 1: and deer ducks and geese were abundant in those days. 37 00:02:19,320 --> 00:02:23,839 Speaker 1: But all that changed because eventually on farms, turkeys were 38 00:02:23,880 --> 00:02:27,720 Speaker 1: only raised for meat, unlike cattle or even chickens, which 39 00:02:27,760 --> 00:02:30,080 Speaker 1: provided milk and eggs, so you wanted to hang on 40 00:02:30,160 --> 00:02:33,240 Speaker 1: to them. Turkeys were always handy for the dinner table. 41 00:02:33,680 --> 00:02:37,280 Speaker 1: But get this a guy who was a very popular 42 00:02:37,440 --> 00:02:43,239 Speaker 1: early influencer. The guy who popularized roasted turkey was Charles Dickens, 43 00:02:43,600 --> 00:02:47,840 Speaker 1: a wildly influential British author who wrote A Christmas Carol, 44 00:02:47,880 --> 00:02:52,000 Speaker 1: among other things. That story featured a giant turkey, which 45 00:02:52,160 --> 00:02:56,400 Speaker 1: was celebrated as the ultimate Christmas feast. Published in eighteen 46 00:02:56,520 --> 00:03:00,240 Speaker 1: forty three, A Christmas Carol was so popular it made 47 00:03:00,320 --> 00:03:03,680 Speaker 1: turkey the star of the show for most feasts. By 48 00:03:03,680 --> 00:03:08,920 Speaker 1: the mid eighteen fifties, Americans were infatuated with Dickens, reading 49 00:03:09,000 --> 00:03:12,440 Speaker 1: everything he wrote and clamoring for tickets to his cross 50 00:03:12,480 --> 00:03:15,520 Speaker 1: country tours, in which he did readings from his books 51 00:03:15,520 --> 00:03:19,239 Speaker 1: and short stories. So we can thank Dickens a brid 52 00:03:19,600 --> 00:03:23,680 Speaker 1: for defining our American Thanksgiving feast. Oh, and why do 53 00:03:23,760 --> 00:03:27,080 Speaker 1: we celebrate Thanksgiving when we celebrate it? Well? Through the 54 00:03:27,080 --> 00:03:30,240 Speaker 1: seventeen hundreds and into the eighteen hundreds, a day of 55 00:03:30,320 --> 00:03:34,800 Speaker 1: Thanksgiving was set aside at various times, mostly in October 56 00:03:34,800 --> 00:03:38,560 Speaker 1: for the harvest. But in eighteen sixty three, Abraham Lincoln 57 00:03:38,640 --> 00:03:42,200 Speaker 1: declared Thanksgiving a national holiday, and he set it for 58 00:03:42,280 --> 00:03:45,800 Speaker 1: the last Thursday in November, coinciding with the dates that 59 00:03:45,840 --> 00:03:49,040 Speaker 1: the Pilgrims arrived in Plymouth two hundred and forty two 60 00:03:49,120 --> 00:03:53,760 Speaker 1: years earlier. It wasn't until nineteen thirty nine that Thanksgiving 61 00:03:53,840 --> 00:03:57,680 Speaker 1: was permanently set as the fourth Thursday in November, so 62 00:03:57,760 --> 00:04:01,240 Speaker 1: as to stretch the holiday shopping season in years where 63 00:04:01,320 --> 00:04:03,800 Speaker 1: it may have come late in the month. This year, 64 00:04:03,840 --> 00:04:07,200 Speaker 1: of course, Thanksgiving is on November twenty seventh, while last 65 00:04:07,280 --> 00:04:10,240 Speaker 1: year it was on the twenty eighth, literally the latest 66 00:04:10,320 --> 00:04:12,960 Speaker 1: date it could possibly be and still just be the 67 00:04:13,000 --> 00:04:16,960 Speaker 1: fourth Thursday of November. One of the early traditions in 68 00:04:17,000 --> 00:04:21,599 Speaker 1: America was called Ragamuffin Day, very much like Halloween later on, 69 00:04:22,080 --> 00:04:24,400 Speaker 1: in which kids would dress up and go door to 70 00:04:24,480 --> 00:04:28,520 Speaker 1: door begging for goodies on Thanksgiving. It lasted from eighteen 71 00:04:28,680 --> 00:04:32,440 Speaker 1: seventy to the early nineteen twenties, when adults just kind 72 00:04:32,440 --> 00:04:34,880 Speaker 1: of got sick of it, and that was just in 73 00:04:34,920 --> 00:04:39,440 Speaker 1: time for something new, the wonderful Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Now, 74 00:04:39,480 --> 00:04:42,360 Speaker 1: if you're like me, you might have vivid memories of 75 00:04:42,440 --> 00:04:45,400 Speaker 1: going to the parade or the balloon inflation the night before, 76 00:04:46,040 --> 00:04:49,400 Speaker 1: or sitting in front of the TV Thanksgiving morning watching 77 00:04:49,400 --> 00:04:52,159 Speaker 1: the parade while your mom and dad, along with various 78 00:04:52,160 --> 00:04:55,960 Speaker 1: relatives began stuffing the turkey and getting it into the oven. 79 00:04:56,440 --> 00:04:59,280 Speaker 1: For me, it wouldn't feel like Thanksgiving without at least 80 00:04:59,320 --> 00:05:02,920 Speaker 1: a peak at the parade. The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade 81 00:05:03,000 --> 00:05:06,920 Speaker 1: actually began one hundred and one years ago, So it's 82 00:05:07,040 --> 00:05:09,920 Speaker 1: nineteen twenty four. You're in the heart of New York 83 00:05:09,960 --> 00:05:13,960 Speaker 1: City in the roaring twenties. Macy's department store wants to 84 00:05:14,000 --> 00:05:17,799 Speaker 1: celebrate its success and also thank customers for their loyalty. 85 00:05:18,360 --> 00:05:20,680 Speaker 1: What can they do to make it larger than just 86 00:05:20,720 --> 00:05:27,280 Speaker 1: a shopping experience? Well inspired by festive European traditions, Macy's employees, 87 00:05:27,360 --> 00:05:31,520 Speaker 1: a lot of them recent immigrants, suggest a parade. Imagine 88 00:05:31,520 --> 00:05:36,120 Speaker 1: the scene. Brilliant costumes, floats made mostly with flowers, and 89 00:05:36,240 --> 00:05:39,800 Speaker 1: marching bands. In those days, there were no balloons, so 90 00:05:40,320 --> 00:05:43,520 Speaker 1: they borrowed animals for the parade from the Central Park Zoo. 91 00:05:44,120 --> 00:05:47,839 Speaker 1: There were elephants, camels, and bears marching down New York 92 00:05:47,880 --> 00:05:51,279 Speaker 1: City streets with two hundred and fifty thousand people on 93 00:05:51,320 --> 00:05:54,960 Speaker 1: the sidelines. What could go wrong. The parade wrote was 94 00:05:55,000 --> 00:05:57,680 Speaker 1: six miles long. It was a huge way to kick 95 00:05:57,680 --> 00:06:01,320 Speaker 1: off the holiday season, and it grew every year. Problem is, 96 00:06:01,640 --> 00:06:05,400 Speaker 1: the animals were scared and exhausted by the six mile march. 97 00:06:05,839 --> 00:06:08,320 Speaker 1: By the end of the parade route, they were difficult 98 00:06:08,320 --> 00:06:12,120 Speaker 1: to manage and kind of angry. Their growls scared the 99 00:06:12,160 --> 00:06:14,920 Speaker 1: heck out of the kids along the route. Plus as 100 00:06:14,960 --> 00:06:18,320 Speaker 1: the crowds grew, the animals were hard to see. So 101 00:06:18,560 --> 00:06:22,960 Speaker 1: nineteen twenty seven becomes a pivotal year. That's when Macy's 102 00:06:23,000 --> 00:06:27,279 Speaker 1: Parade organizers introduced the first giant balloon to replace the 103 00:06:27,279 --> 00:06:30,920 Speaker 1: hard to manage animals. Felix the Cat was the very 104 00:06:30,960 --> 00:06:35,080 Speaker 1: first balloon, although it actually wasn't helium filled, it was 105 00:06:35,120 --> 00:06:38,160 Speaker 1: filled with air and handlers held it up by poles 106 00:06:38,400 --> 00:06:42,159 Speaker 1: as they marched through city streets. In nineteen twenty eight, 107 00:06:42,400 --> 00:06:45,560 Speaker 1: helium allowed some of the balloons to soar, and for 108 00:06:45,600 --> 00:06:48,960 Speaker 1: the next four years, organizers would release the balloons at 109 00:06:48,960 --> 00:06:51,720 Speaker 1: the end of the parade route. Folks who found them 110 00:06:51,800 --> 00:06:54,440 Speaker 1: got a prize. You can imagine why. They put an 111 00:06:54,600 --> 00:06:57,760 Speaker 1: end to giant balloons falling to earth and people racing 112 00:06:57,800 --> 00:07:01,800 Speaker 1: to find them. Now each year more balloons representing the 113 00:07:01,839 --> 00:07:05,400 Speaker 1: pop culture of the day appear along with the classics. 114 00:07:06,040 --> 00:07:08,640 Speaker 1: The thing about the parade is it's pretty much always 115 00:07:08,720 --> 00:07:12,040 Speaker 1: been there in good times and bad. The depression years 116 00:07:12,040 --> 00:07:15,960 Speaker 1: were difficult, but Macy's continued with it since it provided 117 00:07:16,000 --> 00:07:19,080 Speaker 1: a much needed escape and a bit of happiness for folks. 118 00:07:19,600 --> 00:07:23,640 Speaker 1: The parade was first broadcast on TV on an experimental 119 00:07:23,680 --> 00:07:27,160 Speaker 1: station in the New York City area in nineteen thirty nine. 120 00:07:27,760 --> 00:07:31,040 Speaker 1: There was no TV coverage in nineteen forty or nineteen 121 00:07:31,120 --> 00:07:35,600 Speaker 1: forty one, and then the war World War II paused 122 00:07:35,600 --> 00:07:38,720 Speaker 1: the parade from nineteen forty two to nineteen forty four, 123 00:07:39,320 --> 00:07:42,400 Speaker 1: when the rubber and helium for the balloons was donated 124 00:07:42,440 --> 00:07:45,480 Speaker 1: to the war effort. But on its return in nineteen 125 00:07:45,560 --> 00:07:48,800 Speaker 1: forty five, it was on national TV for the very 126 00:07:48,840 --> 00:07:52,760 Speaker 1: first time. That was the moment. Families across the country, 127 00:07:52,880 --> 00:07:56,080 Speaker 1: if they had access to a TV, were able to 128 00:07:56,160 --> 00:08:00,480 Speaker 1: experience the magic. It's such an important part of our traditions. 129 00:08:00,920 --> 00:08:04,120 Speaker 1: Even the pandemic didn't totally shut it down. In what 130 00:08:04,280 --> 00:08:08,080 Speaker 1: was a stealth operation to keep crowds from gathering, Macy's 131 00:08:08,120 --> 00:08:11,840 Speaker 1: brought various floats and balloons to different areas of New 132 00:08:11,920 --> 00:08:16,040 Speaker 1: York City and film segments at various times ahead of time, 133 00:08:16,600 --> 00:08:19,800 Speaker 1: then stitching it all together for a broadcast that helped 134 00:08:19,840 --> 00:08:22,960 Speaker 1: calm people's nerves and made them feel like things would 135 00:08:22,960 --> 00:08:26,280 Speaker 1: be all right. So this parade is not just about 136 00:08:26,280 --> 00:08:29,440 Speaker 1: the balloons and the floats. It's about the generations of 137 00:08:29,520 --> 00:08:33,000 Speaker 1: families who've watched from home or who've lined the streets 138 00:08:33,000 --> 00:08:37,400 Speaker 1: of Manhattan, the performers and artists on its floaks and stages, 139 00:08:37,840 --> 00:08:40,920 Speaker 1: and the countless folks behind the scenes who've brought this 140 00:08:41,000 --> 00:08:44,880 Speaker 1: glittering show to life year after year. As we watched 141 00:08:44,920 --> 00:08:48,360 Speaker 1: the balloons navigate the city's canyons, we have to remember 142 00:08:48,440 --> 00:08:51,840 Speaker 1: the journey from a simple, heartfelt gesture by a group 143 00:08:51,880 --> 00:08:56,400 Speaker 1: of Macy's employees to a beloved national phenomenon. The Macy's 144 00:08:56,480 --> 00:08:59,360 Speaker 1: Thanksgiving Day Parade is a testament to the power of 145 00:08:59,400 --> 00:09:03,880 Speaker 1: imaginating and the enduring appeal of share, joy and wonder. 146 00:09:04,640 --> 00:09:09,080 Speaker 1: The parade has become a cultural touchstone, linking generations by 147 00:09:09,120 --> 00:09:12,440 Speaker 1: reflecting our heritage and also the times in which we live. 148 00:09:13,160 --> 00:09:16,280 Speaker 1: From the Roaring twenties to the digital age, the parade 149 00:09:16,360 --> 00:09:20,160 Speaker 1: has been a constant, evolving with us while maintaining its 150 00:09:20,240 --> 00:09:24,640 Speaker 1: wonder and excitement and letting us share some innocence. And 151 00:09:24,679 --> 00:09:29,760 Speaker 1: that's the universality and beauty of giving thanks. India, Malaysia, 152 00:09:29,920 --> 00:09:34,040 Speaker 1: South Korea, Japan, and Vietnam all celebrate the harvest and 153 00:09:34,080 --> 00:09:40,000 Speaker 1: give thanks for the workers for their contributions. Germany, Canada, Brazil, Barbados, 154 00:09:40,080 --> 00:09:44,640 Speaker 1: Liberia and Ghana also celebrate gratitude for the harvest. So 155 00:09:44,840 --> 00:09:49,040 Speaker 1: however you celebrate, whoever you're with, whatever you're feasting on, 156 00:09:49,640 --> 00:09:52,720 Speaker 1: remember that Thanksgiving is simply a day to take a 157 00:09:52,760 --> 00:09:56,680 Speaker 1: breath and think about what you're grateful for. Have a 158 00:09:56,720 --> 00:10:01,000 Speaker 1: wonderful Thanksgiving. I hope you're enjoying The Backstory with Patty Steele. 159 00:10:01,320 --> 00:10:05,200 Speaker 1: Follow or subscribe for free to get new episodes delivered automatically, 160 00:10:05,600 --> 00:10:07,160 Speaker 1: and feel free to dm me if you have a 161 00:10:07,200 --> 00:10:09,880 Speaker 1: story you'd like me to cover. On Facebook, It's Patty 162 00:10:09,960 --> 00:10:16,760 Speaker 1: Steele and on Instagram Real Patty Steele. I'm Patty Steele. 163 00:10:17,000 --> 00:10:21,280 Speaker 1: The Backstories a production of iHeartMedia, Premiere Networks, the Elvis 164 00:10:21,360 --> 00:10:25,520 Speaker 1: Durand Group, and Steel Trap Productions. Our producer is Doug Fraser. 165 00:10:25,760 --> 00:10:29,360 Speaker 1: Our writer Jake Kushner. We have new episodes every Tuesday 166 00:10:29,440 --> 00:10:31,960 Speaker 1: and Friday. Feel free to reach out to me with 167 00:10:32,080 --> 00:10:36,000 Speaker 1: comments and even story suggestions on Instagram at real Patty 168 00:10:36,040 --> 00:10:39,520 Speaker 1: Steele and on Facebook at Patty Steele. Thanks for listening 169 00:10:39,520 --> 00:10:42,800 Speaker 1: to the backstory with Patty Steele, the pieces of history 170 00:10:43,000 --> 00:10:44,640 Speaker 1: you didn't know you needed to know.