{"id":11625,"date":"2012-10-29T11:04:00","date_gmt":"2012-10-29T15:04:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nyhabitat.com\/blog\/?p=11625"},"modified":"2023-11-06T11:04:07","modified_gmt":"2023-11-06T15:04:07","slug":"thanksgiving-new-york-2012","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nyhabitat.com\/blog\/2012\/10\/29\/thanksgiving-new-york-2012\/","title":{"rendered":"Celebrate Thanksgiving in New York City!"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><div class=\"img aligncenter size-full wp-image-11635\" style='width:585px;'>\n\t<img src=\"https:\/\/www.nyhabitat.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/central-park-fall-autumn-new-york-nyc-manhattan.jpg\" alt=\"Picture of Central Park in New York City in autumn time \" width=\"585\" height=\"401\" \/>\n\t<div>Autumn in New York City\u2019s Central Park <\/div>\n<\/div>On <strong>the last Thursday of November<\/strong>, Thanksgiving will be celebrated across the United States of America. Originally a harvest thanksgiving ceremony, today the celebration is one of the biggest holidays in the year.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">In New York City, the holiday is celebrated with family dinners, a Thanksgiving Parade featuring parade floats, a shopping spree on Black Friday and even an entire Thanksgiving weekend! If you want to experience the phenomenon that is Thanksgiving, New York City is definitely the place to be come November.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">In this article we\u2019ll give a short explanation of the history of Thanksgiving, highlight the holiday activities in New York City and give you some accommodation ideas for this family holiday!<!--more--><br \/>\n<strong><br \/>\nHistory of Thanksgiving<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><div class=\"img aligncenter size-full wp-image-11636\" style='width:585px;'>\n\t<img src=\"https:\/\/www.nyhabitat.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/thanksgiving-painting.jpg\" alt=\"Painting of the first Thanksgiving Dinner in the USA\" width=\"585\" height=\"366\" \/>\n\t<div>The first Thanksgiving Dinner in the USA<\/div>\n<\/div>Thanksgiving has a long and complicated history, but most historians agree that the holiday started as a harvest festival. Throughout history, different cultures across the globe have celebrated harvest season in autumn. Harvest festivals weren\u2019t only feasts, but also a time for gratitude and ceremonies. This also linked to religious services, and it is widely believed the tradition of Thanksgiving in the USA began with Pilgrims and Puritans from Europe.<\/p>\n<p>During the Civil War President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed Thanksgiving a national day of thanksgiving and religious praise. It wasn\u2019t until 1941, however, that the holiday was set to be celebrated annually every fourth Thursday in November.<\/p>\n<p>On Thanksgiving, families in the USA celebrate the day with a big feast featuring foods of the season, most notably turkey. The Friday following Thanksgiving Day has become known as Black Friday, and traditionally marks the beginning of the Christmas shopping season. It is one of the busiest shopping days of the year in the States.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Celebrate Thanksgiving Activities in New York City<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Thanksgiving Eve<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>In New York City, Thanksgiving is not only celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November, but also on the evening preceding Thanksgiving, and on the Friday following Thanksgiving and through the entire following weekend.<\/p>\n<p>Thanksgiving kicks off on the day before Thanksgiving with the<strong> inflation of the Thanksgiving Parade\u2019s balloons<\/strong>. It\u2019s quite a sight to see the gigantic cartoon characters being inflated, and it\u2019s usually a big hit with the kids. The balloon inflation takes place at a chosen spot that can change depending on the year, but always in the Upper West Side.<\/p>\n<p>On Thanksgiving Eve, New York City\u2019s bars and clubs are filled to the brim. Many clubs hold special Thanksgiving parties. Don\u2019t stay out too late though, or you\u2019ll miss the biggest event of Thanksgiving day, which takes place on Thursday morning: <strong>Macy\u2019s Thanksgiving Day Parade<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Macy\u2019s Thanksgiving Parade<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><div class=\"img aligncenter size-full wp-image-11637\" style='width:585px;'>\n\t<img src=\"https:\/\/www.nyhabitat.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/thanksgiving-parade-times-square-new-york-nyc-manhattan.jpg\" alt=\"Image of Macy\u2019s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City\" width=\"585\" height=\"385\" \/>\n\t<div>Macy\u2019s Thanksgiving Day Parade passes Times Square in Manhattan<\/div>\n<\/div>The Macy\u2019s parade features live music, performances by cast members of Broadway shows, floats and of course the famous Thanksgiving balloons. The gigantic inflatable balloons depict well-known cartoon characters such as Shrek, Kermit the Frog and Garfield, which the kids are sure to enjoy. Macy\u2019s Thanksgiving Parade was first held in 1924, and has grown into a 3-hour event that is broadcast live on television.<\/p>\n<p>The parade starts in Manhattan on Thursday morning at or around 9am near 77th Street &amp; Central Park West, and ends in front of Macy\u2019s Herald Square on 34th Street &amp; Broadway around noon. If you want to get a good viewing spot be sure to get to the parade route in time: people start arriving as early as 6 am. Check out the official Macy\u2019s Thanksgiving Parade website for the complete route. If you decide to line up early, be sure to dress for the cold and bring a thermos with your favorite hot drink to help fight the cold!<strong><br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong> Thanksgiving Dinner in Your Own New York City Vacation Rental<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><div class=\"img aligncenter size-full wp-image-11638\" style='width:585px;'>\n\t<img src=\"https:\/\/www.nyhabitat.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/thanksgiving-dinner-feast-food-turkey.jpg\" alt=\"Picture of a traditional Thanksgiving dinner with turkey and side dishes\" width=\"585\" height=\"367\" \/>\n\t<div>A traditional Thanksgiving dinner with turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberries and more<\/div>\n<\/div>After the parade, most New Yorkers go home to spend the day with their family. Most of all, Thanksgiving is a family holiday spent indoors with good company and great food.<\/p>\n<p>Of course there are also many restaurants in New York that offer Thanksgiving dinner, but nothing beats preparing your own feast for friends and family at home.<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re coming to New York City to celebrate Thanksgiving weekend, we have many <a title=\"Vacation Rental Apartments in New York\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nyhabitat.com\/new-york-apartment\/vacation\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener\">NYC vacation rental apartments <\/a>and <a title=\"Bed &amp; Breakfast Accommodations in New York \" href=\"https:\/\/www.nyhabitat.com\/new-york-apartment\/bed-breakfast\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"noopener\">Bed &amp; Breakfast accommodations<\/a> throughout the city available to give you that home-away-from-home feeling and also fit the entire family.<\/p>\n<p>Not only do these apartments offer cozy living rooms to celebrate the holiday together and enough bedrooms to accommodate big families, but they also have fully equipped kitchens where you can prepare a real Thanksgiving dinner just as you would at home! Thanksgiving dinner is all about seasonal and traditional food.\u00a0 The main dish of the meal is usually turkey, which is stuffed with herbs, bread and vegetables. Popular side dishes to complement the main course are mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, yams, green beans, peas, bread rolls and more.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Black Friday in New York City<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><div class=\"img aligncenter size-full wp-image-11640\" style='width:585px;'>\n\t<img src=\"https:\/\/www.nyhabitat.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/macys-department-store-nyc-new-york-manhattan.jpg\" alt=\"Picture of people shopping on Black Friday in New York City\" width=\"585\" height=\"358\" \/>\n\t<div>Black Friday marks the beginning of the holiday shopping season in New York City<\/div>\n<\/div>Black Friday means discounts in stores across the city! Black Friday marks the beginning of the holiday shopping season, and many places offer heavily discounted prices on this day. Again, it\u2019s best to go as early as possible as some shops open as early as 4 am. If things get a little too crowded for your taste, don\u2019t panic: you\u2019ll have enough time to score deals in stores the rest of the weekend. If you want to avoid the crowds entirely, there are also many online retail shops that offer discounts.<\/p>\n<p>We hope you enjoyed this little taste of Thanksgiving in New York City! Where will you be celebrating the holidays this year?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\"><span style=\"font-size: xx-small;\"><br \/>\nCentral Park Photograph provided by <\/span><a title=\"Francois Roux Photography\" href=\"http:\/\/francois-roux-photography.com\/\"><span style=\"font-size: xx-small;\">francois-roux-photography.com<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On the last Thursday of November, Thanksgiving will be celebrated across the United States of America. Originally a harvest thanksgiving ceremony, today the celebration is&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[20],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nyhabitat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11625"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nyhabitat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nyhabitat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nyhabitat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nyhabitat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11625"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/www.nyhabitat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11625\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21541,"href":"https:\/\/www.nyhabitat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11625\/revisions\/21541"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nyhabitat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11625"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nyhabitat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11625"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nyhabitat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11625"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}