Thanksgiving Traditions in Metro Detroit

The big event in Southeast Michigan is the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. The first parade in 1924 was inspired by a trip to Italy where a Mr. Wendel first saw the paper Mache heads on the parade characters and Santa arrived at the conclusion.

Over the years, everyone growing up in Detroit would gather on Woodward Ave. to watch the cast of parade characters go by. Over the years the parade has evolved and many different sponsors have pitched in to make Detroit's parade world class. The participation of Detroit High Schools 'marching bands make the parade a community event.

Although a lot of people focus on the Christmas shopping season at this time of year, Thanksgiving also marks the beginning of a huge charitable push in Southeast Michigan. There are many charitable activities to get involved in. Many people are searching for a reason to be thankful with the economic crisis going on. Every year, the Capuchin soup kitchen sponsors a dinner for those in need. Volunteers from all over the area help serve the meal and the food is donated by local stores and other businesses.

At this year's Thanksgiving game between the Detroit Lions and the Green Bay Packers, Motown music will be performed by the current label artists for the benefit of the United Way. They will also sell a CD of the performance with proceeds going to the United Way.

Another great idea is to gather your unwanted items and call a local charity for pick up of your donation. You can then get a tax write off. Purple Heart, Salvation Army and St. Vincent DePaul are worthwhile agencies who could really use some assistance in these difficult times.

The Annual Festival of Trees starts November 21^st in Allen Park and supports pediatric research at Detroit's Children's hospital. You can purchase gifts, ornaments and decorated trees.

Some other activities going on include:

1. The Holiday Magic Parade featuring musical acts, floats, a Fun Run and a visit with Santa on November 21^stat Stage crafters.

2. Northville hosts the 28^th annual Christmas Walk on 11-28. There will be holiday decoration on sale at the Town Square along with a free horse-drawn wagon ride. Information can be found at www.northville.org.

3. Birmingham will host a tree lighting ceremony on 11/25/2009 at 6 PM at the Municipal building located at 151 Martin Street.

4. The city of Detroit will light a 60 ft tree at Campus Martius on November 20^th.

The ceremony will be presented by DTE Energy Company between 6-9PM.

5. Greenfield Village features a Holiday Homes tour. You can enjoy 250 years of American Holiday History featuring home decorating, cooking demonstrations and special holiday home presentations.

6. The Henry Ford Museum will celebrate the holidays with LEGO style. They will have a LEGO tree and a new LEGO train display. The display runs from November 27-January 3^rd. The cost is 15.00 for adults.

There truly is something for everyone in the Detroit Metro area during the holiday season.