The now famous Macy’s is a department store which began on 34th Street in New York City. What began as a retail promotion in 1924, Macy's Parade has become and integral part of Thanksgiving with over 3 million in attendance and over 45 million television viewers.

    The first parade was held on Thanksgiving Day, 1924. Blatantly promoting the upcoming sales, it was christened  “Macy’s Christmas Day Parade.” There were floats and bands and featured live animals from Central Park Zoo.

   Originally, September 24, 1869 was deemed Black Friday; a day of stock market catastrophe. The history of the day after Thanksgiving being the official start of the holiday shopping season. Parades celebrating Thanksgiving often include an appearance by Santa at the end of the parade, with the idea that 'Santa has arrived' or 'Santa is just around the corner'.

    In the late 19th century and early 20th century, many Santa parades or Thanksgiving Day parades were sponsored by department stores. These include the Toronto Santa Claus Parade, in Canada, sponsored by Eaton's, and the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade sponsored by Macy's. Department stores would use the parades to launch a big advertising push. Eventually it had became an unwritten rule that no store would try doing Christmas advertising before the parade was over. Therefore, the day after Thanksgiving became the day when the shopping season officially started.

  In recent years, Cyber Monday has become a busy day for online retailers, with some sites offering low prices and other promotions on that day. By 2005, the day had more significance and presumably used the first day back at work from the long Thanksgiving weekend to take advantage of such connections in the office to do online shopping. This year, many retailers are encouraging people to do their online shopping at home on Thanksgiving Day itself by offering their Black Friday sales online one day early.

 Has THANKSGIVING lost it's significance?  Has it transformed into a day of Parades, Football and Feasting  that leads into a season of greed, lust and gluttony? A season of "doorbuster" sales, where people are trampled and killed?  A season where charities and food banks are at their lowest lowest levels of the year?

  This is my final blog of the THANKSGIVING Series. Something to consider, to ponder as this day approaches. Have we become a thankless people? We easily blame Big Business for commercializing the holidays, but we the consumers are what makes the Big Businesses Big.

  I am devoting Tomorrow's blog to prayers of Thanksgiving.. Please, if you are reading this and are thankful something, leave a comment below telling what you are thankful for. Or tell me on Twitter so I can post your benediction..
 

Thanksgiving
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 (1803-1882)