November is the month of stuff…stuffing for the traditional Thanksgiving turkey, being ‘stuffed’ (after eating said turkey along with all the trimmings), looking ahead for ‘stuff’ to buy for holiday presents and questioning just how much ‘stuff’ you need?
November is also the month of Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City – held on Thanksgiving Day (4th Thursday of the month). This year is the 84th parade, and the giant balloons, for which the parade is famous, will be watched by over 3.5 million people on the NYC streets, plus another 50 million worldwide via TV. Peanuts character Snoopy has made the most appearances (six) and will again be featured this year as the Flying Ace.
Over 2,000 volunteers control the multi-story balloons from the street, which can be tricky if a wind starts to whip down the skyscraper canyons along the parade route. Early in the history of the parade the balloons were actually let go (on purpose)…if you found one you could return it to Macy’s (department store) for a reward!
NYC is part of another long-standing parade tradition – the ticker tape parade. Although ticker tape machines are now museum pieces, tons of paper (shredded paper and confetti, provided by the City) shower down on those participating and those watching. The first parade through the ‘Canyon of Heroes’ (translation: the older buildings where you can actually open the windows to throw paper out!) celebrated the dedication of the Statute of Liberty in 1886, and the next one will be number 167! In January 1981 I was fortunate enough to see one of these spectaculars – celebrating the return of the Iranian hostages held in captivity for 444 days. Utterly amazing!
Those are both parades on a larger-than-life scale, but the simple, local parades complete with marching bands, drum majorettes and homemade floats can have the same inspiring effect. Salobreña threw one heck of a party for its patron saint: the best and biggest in my six-times viewing. More floats – really creative ones – more horses, more business venues and more people attending. Even the weather cooperated with a nice breeze to keep all the pashminas on sale wafting in the breeze! And the horses weren’t forgotten – they got a paddock on the main beach so everyone could admire those beautiful Andalusian creatures…magnificent even when standing still.
Why do we love parades so much? Perhaps, because they celebrate the best within us: pride, achievement, and survival against overwhelming odds. For a brief moment, when the parade passes by, we get caught up in the spirit of it all – forgetting anything that troubles us, believing that we too, could achieve the unachievable, survive the unsurvivable — and we share the joy of the moment with all around us. It’s the stuff that puts a smile on our face and in our hearts: something special for which to give thanks, especially this month. Happy Thanksgiving!