Thanksgiving time is here again, and everyone is ready for a delicious meal filled with turkey, gravy, stuffing, mashed potatoes, candied yams, string beans, cranberry sauce, warm rolls, and warm butter. Did you know that the first Thanksgiving took place on November 1621 in Plymouth, Massachusetts? Colonists, called pilgrims, celebrated Thanksgiving to honor early settlers and Native Americans who joined for historic harvest feats. Through this article, I will talk about how the early settlers did things at Thanksgiving and how we can do them now, thanks to innovative technology.
How did the Macy's Day Thanksgiving Parade Start?
Many of the Macy's Employees from the 1920s were first-generation European immigrants, and they wanted to celebrate Thanksgiving Day with a festival similar to what they observed in their homelands. Thus, they launched their first parade in 1924, with their employees marching through 34th Street dressed as clowns, cowboys, knights, and sheiks. Did you know their tradition started with about 50 people and 15 cars, including Macy's colleagues, friends, family members, and Santa Claus? Unfortunately, the parade took a hiatus between 1942-1944 due to World War II but resumed in 1945 with an even larger crowd than ever before. This year's 2023 Macy's Day Parade has over 5,000 volunteers and 8,000 participants on 26 floats, 12 marching bands, and 16 gigantic balloons.
Did you know Thanksgiving is about giving thanks and traditions?
Giving thanks is not just for Thanksgiving but an act that should be done daily. In other words, we should practice giving thanks and feeling that level of gratitude in our hearts, for when we do, more things will appear that we can be grateful for. This is another excellent time to carry out traditions and invoke some new ones to be followed for many years. You may have a special Thanksgiving breakfast where Tom Turkey has left gifts for everyone in your family. Another one may be to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade with Family and possibly the National Dog Show afterward. Some other traditions you may want to start are serving a signature cocktail before dinner, sending your guests home with leftovers, hosting a pie baking competition, dining Al Fresco, throwing a Friendsgiving, trying a new dish or cuisine, dining out, asking the kids to set the table, volunteer to serve thanksgiving, make a craft, Thanksgiving Trivia Game after dinner, run a turkey trot, invite guests to write their name in invisible ink and then sew or paint over it and make it a yearly keepsake, write out thank you cards, make a cornucopia, make a wish as you break that wishbone, take a walk after dinner or create your own to be carried out every year.
How did the Pilgrims Cook their Thanksgiving Dinner?
Did you know the first Thanksgiving Dinner was cooked on a spit over a roasting fire? Later, the larger birds were spit-roasted, and the smaller ones were boiled. Massasoit sent some of his men to hunt deer, which took about three days to procure. The meal comprised deer, corn, shellfish, and roasted meat. They played ball games, sang songs, and danced during their feast. Did you know the pilgrims ate with spoons and knives, and their hands as forks were not invented yet?
How do we cook Thanksgiving Dinner Today?
Today, many modern inventions allow us to prepare Thanksgiving Dinner more efficiently using blue tooth scales, wireless remote thermometers, hot plate warming trays, electric carving knives, outdoor grills, and smart ranges with convection. Remember the intelligent cocktail-making machines to get your party started right. Thankfully, the new cooking marvels allow us to prepare food faster and give us the freedom to spend more time with our families.
What tools are available to help us enjoy Thanksgiving more?
When you discover that you are hosting Thanksgiving Dinner, why not take off the stress by using an intelligent app to help you plan your meals and the items you need to get from your grocery store? Send your friends and family animated e-cards online to wish them a Happy, Healthy, Enjoyable Thanksgiving. Upgrade your network bandwidth and install a Smart WIFI router with multiple bands and guest WIF to make it easy for your guests to connect to your network to send pictures or even video chat with other family members. Add a smart doorbell with a camera to notify you when your loved ones have arrived before they even ring the bell, so you have that extra few seconds to make everything right before they come in. Remember to get your WIFI portable speakers to set the mood with some tunes, and the digital candles you would never know were fake without touching them. User your smart RO (Reverse Osmosis 8 Level Filtration) system to deliver fresh, clean, deliciously satisfying, healthy water you and your family will love. Since you pre-programmed your smart thermostat, you know the guests will be warm enough for the whole evening. Those light bulbs won't burn out long since you installed LED bulbs.
Aunt Judy and your family will still make the event virtually if they can't attend in person.
For that, Aunt Judy or grandson who cannot make it home for the holidays, invite them to your table with virtual communication and send them a dish to eat alongside your family. Those who have never been to your home will be on time since they are guided every step and will even be given last-minute recommendations if traffic or road conditions occur.
Now that everyone has gone home, who is going to help?
Never fear because your smart dishwasher is near and will use just the right amount of water to clean your dishes and flatware while being as quiet as a whisper. With just the touch of a button on your iPhone or Voice Command, your trusty vacuum will get that mess Grandpa Joe and Uncle Sam make every Thanksgiving. Installing that trash compactor last month will pay off this Thanksgiving and other holidays as it reduces large garbage bags to a fraction of their size in minutes.