It’s a tradition in my family. My mom loves marching bands, and every Thanksgiving since I can remember and we owned a TV set, we’ve watched the Thanksgiving Day Parade. You know, the one with the big balloons and the floats that they hold in New York City every year, and, no, that’s not the Rose Parade. I don’t want to give any good advertising to the company who sponsors the parade, so I am not going to mention their name. But most of y’all know which parade it is.

I do believe, however, that this is my last year watching that parade. If mom wants marching band music, she can put on a CD, because what I saw in today’s parade was sheer commercialism larded with occult references. Children’s characters that have nothing to do with healthy childhood were promoted heavily, and of the singers and bands on the floats only a very few showed respect for tradition, thankfulness, and perhaps a spot of Chrisian coloring.

Sesame Street is looking to encourage preschoolers to pursue magic with its new character, Abby Cadabby! She was favored with a balloon in the parade today, and as the Sesame Street website dedicated to her character says, “...Abby is three years old and loves magic. She uses her magic wand to cast magical spells and is learning to use her powers for good everyday.

Abby is strong, smart and funny. She loves to interact with everyone and is cute and lovable at the same time. Abby Cadabby will be a joy to watch everyday as meets and greets all the characters on Sesame Street. As you can tell, Abby Cadabby LOVES pink and loves to say ‘that’s so magic!’.”

Last I looked the Bible condemned magic and witchcraft, and here it is all dressed up in pink and good intentions, aimed directly at your littlest ones!

But just in case you think that this is the only mention of anything occult in the whole parade, don’t be surprised to hear that another float sponsored by a commercial venture called “My Princess Academy” targets girls ages three through eight. The Clique Girlz, a lovely looking singing group of young blonde girls, sang about “...getting in touch with your inner princess” and learning to be a real princess, who is generous, intelligent, beautiful, and confident. Lest my readers think that I am against any of those qualities, let me state right here that I am all in favor of young ladies being generous in the spirit of Christian charity, intelligent in the sense of seeking wisdom from the Lord and His word, beautiful with “...the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious,” (1 Peter 3: 4) and confident in His everlasting love for her. However, trusting your “inner princess” for this is foolish beyond belief.

Looking for something at least approximating the traditional American meaning of Thanksgiving? A singer named Kristen Chenoweth came close to the European-American version, but of course the Oneida Indians showcased their own Meaning of Thanksgiving, and the Hawaiians hulaed to The Hawaiian War Chant. (Should I be worried about the latter?)

I was still looking for the Pilgrims and their prayerful attitude of Thanksgiving when the parade ended.

May your attitude of Thanksgiving parallel theirs, and avoid the pre-packaged commercialism and occult practices I saw today.

Comments: