The Story of Thanksgiving
The story begins in England. A religious group known today as the
Pilgrims were disillusioned with the Church of England and wanted to
separate. Efforts to do this in England were futile due to the Crown's
fierce resistance, so they moved at first to Holland until they were
able to raise enough funds for a ship to the New World of America,
which had been successfully settled since 1607. According to records,
the group planned to experiment with a communist society where all the
raised goods would be placed into a common store. In 1620, they landed
and attempted to implement this economic system. Food shortages
abounded, winter was long, and many died. The system was scrapped in
the spring of 1621 and instead replaced it with open markets and an
"every man for himself" system. With a market system in place, and a
little bit of help from some gracious natives, the food supply grew to
much higher
levels and thus a feast was declared after harvest. The Pilgrim
community was a devout one and thus gratitude to God was paid on this
day of thanksgiving.
The Thanksgiving Tradition
The Thanksgiving holiday is traditionally a five-day weekend, from the
Wednesday before through the Sunday after (although some businesses
only give the Thursday and Friday off). The holiday is among the most
observed holidays in the American calendar, with almost all businesses
closing down at least on Thanksgiving Day itself, and its comparatively
secular nature makes it an acceptable celebration for Christians and
non-Christians alike. Also, Thanksgiving itself does not seem to have
been commercialized to the degree of its nearby holiday, Christmas.
Usually the holiday begins the day before with preparations, either
with travel (the AAA has determined that Thanksgiving weekend is the
busiest time for travel all year) or by preparing the litany of food
that serves as part of the celebration. The token Thanksgiving turkey
(see "Food" below) is often left to roast overnight, or at least to
thaw before being put into the oven Thanksgiving morning. The next
morning, often some early breakfast is made (such as a pie), and any
remaining dishes that need to be prepared are done at this time. At
9:00 am (ET), the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (among many other
local parades) takes place and is
televised across the country (see "Media Guide" below), featuring
various marching bands, balloons, floats, and Broadway performances and
concluding with Santa Claus and his reindeer right around noon ET. At
this time, the NFL takes over the ceremonies with what is now a
tripleheader slate of games, the first two featuring the Detroit Lions
and the Dallas Cowboys, with each taking on an AFC and an NFC team,
rotating between the two each year. Some time during all the football,
the main course is served (see "Food" below), and when all is said and
done, everyone can kick back, relax, and digest all that food.
(Note: it is not necessarily true that the tryptophan in turkey is what
causes people to become sleepy; in fact, it is usually the sheer volume
of food that requires digesting that wears one down.)
Black Friday and Uses of Thanksgiving as a Benchmark
While Thanksgiving itself has not been commercialized to the degree of
Christmas, it is often used as a benchmark when beginning the "holiday
season." The Friday before Thanksgiving is traditionally the time when
radio stations (particularly the 'elevator music' chick stations that
air Delilah and the like) change formats to Christmas music for the
season. The most notable of this type of usage is Black Friday,
a shopping event that takes place at various retail outlets across the
country. Among the busiest shopping days of the year, Black Friday (so
named for both its notoriously chaotic nature and the fact that it
marks the beginning of the holiday shopping season that pushes
businesses "into the black" or
into profitability) events usually involve the "doorbuster" sale, which
involves people lining up at the store's doors the morning after
Thanksgiving. The store will open at 5 AM and the customers will swarm
the store in a no-holds-barred free-for-all to grab the latest toys as
the store usually runs out by noon. Various sites such as BlackFriday.info and TheBlackFriday.com have
advertisements for many participating retailers. (For the record, the
absolute busiest day of the year for shopping is in fact the Saturday
before Christmas, largely due to last-minute shoppers.) The day after
Thanksgiving is usually when many networks begin their Christmas
specials and programming as well.
Thanksgiving Foods
Of course, the most
common food that is ever eaten during the Thanksgiving holiday is roast
turkey. Generally, how one roasts a turkey is by thawing it (using the
"cold water" method, this takes about 30 minutes per pound, so
obviously an overnight job), removing the neck and giblets, adding some
crouton-based stuffing, and cooking the turkey at 325°F for 15
minutes per pound until the meat is at 180°F. Further details can
be found from this Web site.
In a crisis, call the Butterball Hotline at 1-800-BUTTERBALL (that is,
1-800-288-8372).
Another hotline that may come in handy is the Betty Crocker hotline
(1-888-ASK-BETTY or 1-888-275-2388), for your non-turkey baking needs.
Other traditional Thanksgiving foods include:
- Green bean casserole (recipe)
A recipe using green beans,
cream
of mushroom soup, and fried onions. Nothing says "happy holidays" more,
other than perhaps the turkey itself.
- Cranberry sauce
Available in the can in
whole
berry or jelly varieties.
- Vegetables
- Yams (recipe)
Gotta have yams. Prepare
them
with brown sugar and vanilla for a Thanksgiving classic. (OK,
technically they're called "sweet potatoes," but 1] they're not
potatoes and 2] yam is more fun to say.)
- Squash
Acorn squash and
butternut squash are the two most common varieties. Split the squash in
half, sprinkle some brown sugar and honey or syrup in the cavities, and
bake at 400°F for roughly an hour.
- Mashed potatoes
Well, you have to do
something with the turkey gravy.
- Pumpkin pie
Pumpkin puree is mixed
with
sugar, milk and spices and baked in a pie crust. Other pies are popular
as well. - Other traditional family favorites
By the way, don't forget the leftovers. You can make turkey soup,
turkey sandwiches, all sorts of items with a used turkey. The meat
usually lasts a couple of days in the fridge.
Media Guide (All times ET)
Friday, November 16, 2007
Various radio stations: Holiday
music begins
This is the general date for which most of the "holiday music" stations
change over from their regular format to 24/7 Christmas music. See
Christmas Fullervision Style 2007 at the link above for stations making
the changeover to the format.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
4:00-5:00 PM Syndication: The Oprah Winfrey Show's Annual "My
Favorite Things" Special
Watch as unsuspecting audience members get showered with tens of
thousands of dollars worth of gifts, mostly from sponsors (I presume).
8:00-8:30 PM ABC: A Charlie
Brown Thanksgiving
The third of many Peanuts specials, this one focuses on an imposing
Peppermint Patty forcing Charlie Brown to host Thanksgiving... and the
resulting main course of toast and side dish of popcorn. The
program will be followed by He's a
Bully, Charlie Brown and regular schedule to follow.
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
12:05-3:00 PM EIB Network
(Radio): The
Rush Limbaugh Show-- The True Story of Thanksgiving
The story of the Pilgrims as told by America's #1 talk show host... or
a substitute (as Roger Hedgecock did in 2006).
Thursday, November 22, 2007
NETWORK PROGRAMMING FINALIZED. Highlights:
- A Price is Right marathon will air on the East Coast only,
prior to football. The shows will feature Drew Carey's first show as
well as two other Carey-era programs.
- NBC's
coverage for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, including a list of
guests, floats, balloons, and more, can be found here.
- Since ABC isn't carrying any programming on the holiday
this year, I've decided to clear that spot for WGN, who's carrying
their Chicago parade and their annual Bozo the Clown special, as well
as a list of marathon programming provided by the major TV stations.
- Miracle on 34th Street returns to NBC after a year off the
schedule. Also, NBC (after several years airing its regular schedule in
prime time) has returned to airing movies as it did nearly a decade ago.
Time
|
NBC
|
CBS
|
FOX
|
Other
|
9am
|
Macy's
Thanksgiving Day Parade
|
Parade
coverage
from across the USA
|
Local
programming
|
Superstation WGN
|
10am
|
Chicago
Thanksgiving Parade
|
11am
|
12n
|
National Dog
Show
Presented by Purina
|
Local
news
|
NFL
Football:
Green Bay @ Detroit
|
Bozo,
Gar and Ray:
WGN TV Classics
|
1pm
|
Price Is Right marathon
(East Coast Only)
|
2pm
|
Movie:
Miracle on 34th Street
|
See
also "Marathon Programming"
|
3pm
|
4pm
|
Local
programming
|
NFL
Football:
NY Jets @ Dallas
Regular schedule follows
|
Local
programming
|
5pm
|
6pm
|
7pm
|
|
NBC
|
NFL NETWORK
|
FOX
|
ESPN
|
8pm
|
Movie:
The Incredibles
|
NFL
Football:
Indianapolis @ Atlanta
|
Movie:
Dodgeball: A True Underdog
Story
|
NCAA Football:
USC @ Arizona State
|
9pm
|
10pm
|
Regular schedule
|
Local programming
|
All day marathons (check with
individual stations for details on times):
The following is a sampling of
the more notable "marathon" programming being offered by some of the
major cable stations across the country on Thanksgiving Day; as per my discretion, the ones listed
here are a
sample of
both popular and interesting programming for Thanksgiving viewing. It is in
no way complete (for instance, I chose not to list CMT's "I want to
look like a high school cheerleader again!" marathon because I doubt
anybody has ever watched that show... or wants to, especially in a
marathon. Now, if they'd shown a Dukes of Hazzard or [especially] Hee
Haw marathon, then I'd probably watch.). Some
content may be inappropriate for younger viewers... it should be fairly
obvious which programming I am talking about. So, in no particular
order:
TNT: Charmed
TBS: Saved by the Bell, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Tyler Perry's
House of Payne/Diary of a Mad Black Woman
Discovery Channel: Dirty Jobs
Spike TV: The Pierce Brosnan era James Bond films
TV Land: I Love Lucy
Cartoon Network: Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends
Disney Channel: That's So Raven/Suite Life of Zack & Cody/Hannah
Montana
Nickelodeon: Morning-- Complete retro "Nicktoons" series, Evening--
Rugrats movies
Bravo: Top Chef
USA Network: Law & Order
TLC: Little People, Big World
MTV: The Hills
VH1: Rock of Love
History Channel: American Eats
Game Show Network: Family Feud
ESPN: World Series of Poker
ESPN2: College basketball-- Old Spice Classic
Food Network: Various Thanksgiving themed food shows, beginning
Wednesday night and ending Thursday at noon
Friday, November 23, 2007
ABC and CBS: NCAA College
Football
CBS: SEC on CBS; LSU @ Arkansas (2:30 PM ET)
ABC: Texas A&M @ Texas (12:00 N ET) and Colorado @ Nebraska (3:30
PM ET)
The ABC games will be simulcast on Jones Radio Networks.
NBC: The Family Man, 8:00 PM ET
For the second year in a row, NBC airs this movie starring Nicholas
Cage, a single, successful, middle-aged man who wakes up and finds
himself a married father.
|