Unusual Thanksgiving traditions in the US

With plenty of food, time spent with friends and family, pumpkin pie and New York parades, Thanksgiving is as good as it gets. Photo / 123rf

When you consider it's a full day of excessive gorging, time spent with multiple friends and family, pumpkin pie and New York parades, there's no trumping the US this November 25. Thanksgiving is as good as it gets.

It was Abraham Lincoln who first declared a National Day of Thanksgiving in 1863, but historians suggest the concept dates as far back as 1621 when English pilgrims in Massachusetts celebrated the harvest with Wampanoag Indians. Now the holiday is annually celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November.

Based on popular culture and television, you may know it as a day of food, family and American football, all of which are deeply-held traditions, but there are a few surprises to delight the uninitiated.

The National Thanksgiving Turkey Presentation
Commonly known as the Turkey Pardon, every Thanksgiving the President of the United States is presented with one or two plucky turkeys, which he then "pardons" during a White House ceremony. Spared the plate, the lucky poultry live out the rest of their lives at Mount Vernon in Virginia, the former estate of the country's first president, George Washington.

Every Thanksgiving the President of the United States is presented with one or two turkeys, which he then "pardons". Photo / Getty

Turkey acquittal came to fruition in 1987, when Ronald Reagan, with admirable shrewdness, quipped that he'd pardon a turkey, rather than answer an uncomfortable question about the Iran-Contra affair. Later, in 1989, George H. W. Bush, clearly tickled by Reagan's quick-thinking smarts made the event official.

New York City Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
Considering the above, perhaps now is not the time to be drooling over hot turkey and stuffing, rich gravy and cranberry sauce, so let's turn to the iconic Thanksgiving parade.

New York's iconic Thanksgiving parade features enormous balloons, marching bands and a star-studded line-up of performers including Santa. Photo / 123rf

Now in its 95th year, Macy's inaugural Thanksgiving Parade was first held in 1924. Today, there are no longer live elephants trundling down the streets of Manhattan but instead, enormous balloons, marching bands, a star-studded line-up of performers and of course, the first sighting of Santa since last December.

This year, the parade returns to the streets of New York (one guess why it was suspended last year) on Thursday, November 25 from 9am – midday, culminating in front of Macy's Herald Square. Tech whizzes with VPN can tune in from NZ. Otherwise, wait for the full assemblage to stream on YouTube.

The annual New York City Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade culminates in front of Macy's Herald Square. Photo / 123rf

Whether you're a US ex-pat or simply in awe of this annual holiday, it's not too late to organise a shindig of your own, albeit outdoors if lockdown insists. There's never been a better time to celebrate what we're thankful for: food, family, friends and by the look of it, some sort of normality by Christmas.