Throughout history mankind has celebrated the bountiful harvest with thanksgiving ceremonies. But did you know that harvest festivals and thanksgiving celebrations were held by the ancient Greeks, the Romans, the Hebrews, the Chinese, and the Egyptians?

The Greeks

The ancient Greeks worshipped many gods and goddesses. Their goddess of corn (actually all grains) was Demeter who was honored at the festival of Thesmosphoria held each autumn…
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The Romans

The Romans also celebrated a harvest festival called Cerelia, which honored Ceres their goddess of corn (from which the word cereal comes). The festival was held each year on October 4th and offerings of the first fruits of the harvest and pigs were offered to Ceres…
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The Chinese

The ancient Chinese celebrated their harvest festival, Chung Ch’ui, with the full moon that fell on the 15th day of the 8th month. This day was considered the birthday of the moon and special “moon cakes”, round and yellow like the moon, would be baked…
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The Hebrews

Jewish families also celebrate a harvest festival called Sukkoth. Taking place each autumn, Sukkoth has been celebrated for over 3000 years…
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The Egyptians

The ancient Egyptians celebrated their harvest festival in honor of Min, their god of vegetation and fertility. The festival was held in the springtime, the Egyptian’s harvest season…
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source: The History of Thanksgiving and its Celebrations

Here in New York it wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Whether you’re watching it on TV or actually along the parade route itself, the parade is a very big part of every New Yorker’s holiday. And of course a very big part of the parade is the balloons! From the preparation and filling of the balloons before the parade till afterwards they are a big reason to watch the parade. Especially in person.

I can across this video of an interview with one of the balloon handlers over at Youtube and thought you’d enjoy a little behind the scenes view of these balloons. Enjoy

World Hello Day
Join people in 180 countries today and demonstrate the importance of personal communication for preserving peace. Start simple. Say Hello to 10 people. And then they’ll say Hello to 10 people. And those 10 will say Hello to 10 people…

Now celebrating its 34th year visit the World Hello Day website for more info and read letters from world leaders across the globe who have celebrated the day including Queen Elizabeth, Ronald Reagan, and the late Pope John Paul II

link:
World Hello Day