THE Silver Spring Thanksgiving Parade, officially named the Montgomery County Thanksgiving Parade, kicked off my holiday season as I joined the girl guides, scouts, and brownies of the Community Baptist Church in a national family-friendly celebration in down-town Silver Spring on Saturday, November 17, 2012.

Thanksgiving 2012 in photos (Courtesy of Angela Lewis)

Beginning near Ellsworth Drive and Fenton Street, the procession of more than 120 units made its way to Georgia Avenue, continued south, and ended at Silver Spring Avenue.
The lineup included giant balloons, a variety of floats and Santa’s sleigh, accompanied by reindeers and elves throwing candy canes to the crowd. The Washington Redskins Marching Band gave a splendid performance, as well as the Bowie State University and a champion band all the way from Florida. There were a variety of South American, Latin and Chinese dance groups, beauty pageant contestants, fire engines and rescue animals from Appalachian Great Pyrenees Rescue and the Humane Society.
Maryland Youth Ballet presented ‘The Nutcracker’, and the Round House Theater performed a sword fight from its upcoming production of Young Robin Hood.  There were multiple high school marching bands, clowns, mounted police, costumed characters, fire engines, trained dogs, classic cars.
ABC 7 Meteorologist, Brian van de Graff served as Master of Ceremonies. The parade was recorded live, and was broadcast on News Channel 8 on Thanksgiving Day.
As one commentator remarked: “This was the only time when giant turkeys, small ballerinas and large and medium-sized dogs shared the spotlight.”
As I went out that Saturday morning, my intention was to be a mere spectator, but I was soon drafted into the grand scheme of things, which I considered a signal opportunity, even though I did not see a large part of the parade.  Our float was No 112 of the 120-odd units, so we were queued up way to the back.    
I did not get to see the spectacular 86th Annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, which began at 77th Street and Central Park West on Thanksgiving Day, but I heard that it featured favourite balloons, Buzz Light year, Sonic the Hedgehog, and Ronald McDonald.
The music star, Trace Adkins and the 2012 Summer Olympics gold medallists waved to the crowd from atop their floats, as marching bands drummed their way down the parade route, ending at 34th Street, Macy’s Herald Square.  
I did not even go to Macy’s mammoth Thanksgiving Sale, where some folks lost their lives; but I did go to the Columbia Mall to catch up on some hot holiday deals at J.C. Penny.

On Thanksgiving Day, my family and I drove some one-and-a-half hours to have dinner with some African-American and Guyanese friends and their families.  

The menu consisted of roasted stuffed turkey; sweet potato, pumpkin and apple pies; muffins; fresh, homemade bread; fried quinoa; sorrel drink; and churned ice cream. Of course, dinner included from the butter volcano in the mashed potatoes, to the mishmash of sweet potato casserole and cornbread stuffing slathered in gravy.  We all might have consumed anywhere from 3,000 to 5,000 calories worth of food.

But, who cared? The occasion was a delightful one. The men gravitated periodically towards the television to watch football.  And, as Robert Griffin III led the Washington Redskins to a 38-31 victory, fading Dallas Cowboys, we discussed politics and girl-talk.

Thanksgiving has changed so much from the years when the Pilgrims gathered for their first meal of thanks. For instance, they weren’t watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade while they basted their bird, nor were they rummaging through sale racks for a bargain winter coat the day after — on Black Friday.
And it hasn’t always been a national holiday.  History has it that Sarah Josepha Hale, an editor, prolific writer, champion of women’s rights, promoter of child welfare, fund-raiser for civic causes, and author of “Mary had a Little Lamb” was the person responsible for making Thanksgiving a national holiday.
She had spent 40 years lobbying congressmen, and writing countless editorials in her quest to create an official day of thanks.  Seventeen years and five presidents later, Abraham Lincoln finally established Thanksgiving as a holiday in 1863.
 It hasn’t always been the same date either. Abraham Lincoln had declared in 1863 that Thanksgiving should fall on the fourth Thursday of November. But in order to stimulate the economy and extend the holiday shopping season during tough times, Franklin D. Roosevelt moved the date, in 1939, to the third Thursday of the month. It stayed that way for two years, until Roosevelt moved it back to the fourth Thursday, where it stands today.  
I do admire the indomitable spirit the Americans have shown.  This year, 2012, has been a year of political rancour, and the country had been through so much.  Many are still trying to come out of the recession, while others are wading through the throes of loss and suffering caused by Hurricane Sandy. Nevertheless, they all found the fortitude and finance to keep up with their tradition. And that’s what made Thanksgiving Day celebrations this year so surreal!