america.me so al jazeera these are the stories we are following for you. flying high, winds couldn't stop the giant balloons at the thanksgiving day parade. counting their blessings, commutes hard hit by those midwest tornadoes. and some say black friday shopping is dropping. why the biggest day for retailers is now losing its luster. >> the balloons did fly in the thanksgiving day

parade. high winds threatens to ground them earlier. the crowds did show up they were out in force. who has been following the parade all day. >> it's finally over, and the sigh of relief by everybody in new york, and especially at massey's because the parade has gone off without a hitch, just as it was planned but it was touch and go, until almost the last minute, because that huge storm that came in from the midwest right atop new york last night, with rain coming inside ways really threatened the event today. and it was particularly the winds that they were concerned about. had the winds been higher than 23 miles per hour constant, or 34 miles an hour gusts the big character balloons we all love like sponge bob and snoopy would not have been able to fly. massey's and the mistake this very very seriously. in the end, the winds

were within the correct parameters and the balloons did fly, but they were a little lower this year than perhaps you have seen them on past occasions. so now the 87th masseys parade has come to an end, and certainly as far as the store and the police are concerned, it has been something truly to give thanks for. >> the doors open in some cases at 6:00 a.m., so do the gamble by retailers pay off? >> yes, absolutely. doors open here at 6:00 a.m., about a dozen people were lined up to get into the store to get some of the door busting deals. it wasn't that huge of

black friday turn out that we have always see, where lines are always around the block. but there has been a steady flow of traffic, and i suspect a lot of those people are coming to k mart just because it is open on thanksgiving. getting extra items for their thanksgiving meals but not a huge turn out, but certainly people started that black friday shopping early. >> were the deals when they open worth it? >> one woman i spoke to, she lives up in the bronx, and she same down here to this location, she said this location is a little bit more tame, and she comes here every year,less crowded than some of the other k marts especially the ones in the suburbs where you have a lot more people lining up. she is waiting in line for the android seven tablets. that was going for so dollars and she was

really trying to get her christmas shopping done on a budget. retailers are staggering their deal as little bit. so k mart has some deals this morning they are going to be releasing separate deals. that's to get people coming into the store more than once. it is also a retail tactic to lure people in by some of the add items. maybe they will buy that at full price if it isn't on the sale price yet, and then the customers basically come back, return it or either get that price adjustment, what does that do? it brings them back into the store again. >> who else is open besides k mart? >> well, like i said, a lot of convenient shoppers. i suspect we will see more shoppers later.

al jazeera is going to be alive from the iconic herald square location later. and that's always typical to watch people rush through the doors and get those items happen that is quintessential black friday. >> the usual barometer of how retailers fall. americans are expected to spend $602 billion this holiday season. and a good chunk of that money, nearly 11% or more than $65 billion is expected to change hands on black friday alone. they know the value of a dollar, and it's worth on black friday. >> i like to run around shop to shop, it is a

nice experience. >> for retailers it has been a strong indicator for overall sales. black friday sales have to be strong, yet recent sales suggest the thinking may no longer hold true. >> frankly a little less important. the mel retail starts its promotions on october 1st. who may be worried about their jobs or who are no longer earning as much as they once did. a recent poll shows consumers are planning to spend less money on holiday gifts this year. >> fewer people will visit stores in november and desks then did in 2012. >> experts say consumer behavior are forcing retailers to change their marketing and sales strategies.

if we look at the christmas cycle, we have black friday, now we are having celebration thursday, which is everyone's opening on thursday. the list of stores open include k mart, old navy, best buy, toys r us, masseys, jc pennys and hundreds of others, all trying to lure people away from thanksgiving dinner with deeply discounted goods. online salers are also weakens black friday's. shop.org expects online holiday sales to rise between 13 and 15% over last year. to as much as $82 billion. a lot of deals online. not just black friday, and retailers know it.

that means you are likely to get deals on holiday gifts without staying up all night or waiting on lionels. as you heard, a lot of retailers are getting a jump. the real deal, they say is cyber monday. al jazeera reports. black friday gets all the attention, but for many retailers, cyber monday is just as important. my guess is we will go just short of 3 million this year. >> last year, americans spent nearly $2 billion on cyber monday, which is seen double digit sales increases every year since 2010. >> retailers are

recognizing that consumers have a great deal of technology in their hand, so they can shop whether they are at work, through the internet, they can shot at hope. >> and it isn't just happening on desk top computers on the go consumers are harnesses mobile devices for the best deals. and retailers are spending big money on building apps. >> what they are doing now is -- because of instant gratification, they are offering consumers text messages coupons when the client goes into the store, and wants to get an instant coupon. >> the last few months have been brutal for retailers. wal-mart, target, zeros and coles are all expect leiner sales as cautious consumers hold tightly to their money. but retailers are offering free ships a a lure. >> a lot of the strength comes from online chants especially with mobile toting consumers who are now walking around stores.

analyst say a challenge for retailers now is to keep them happy by making sure their orders ship in time for the big day. on this day of giving thanks one town in illinois has an especially good reason to be grateful. survivors of the deadly string of tornadoes are coming together today. lost nearly everything in the storm, people that live there say it is days like this makes the hotter land so special. >> and you hope your feeling is specialness of the thanksgiving day. victims of the storm, among those norma she is here as well, you watched as your apartment went up in the wind around you. what does a day like this mean? >> this place was the

fist place that they brought everybody who was -- that soldiers on earth, they are angels for me. because they gave up food, a place to sleep, i adopt all of them as a family. they are so wonderful. >> what's the take away from the day? you have to move on with your life, at least for the day, the church has come out, they are helping out in other ways as well. >> from day one. everything is outstanding. i have never met them before, but i guess -- things happen in life. this is what it is set up for, organize an open arm, for everyone.

right now i have to -- get forward. right now i am getting somebody searching for me and bought me a car. they are coming on friday, to pick me up to go and get one. the whiles to drive to look for my own place. in the meantime, there's a coup that will is letting me stay a couple of days there until i find some place to live. it's like a mansion. gorgeous house. and until i get my own place. >> at least for a day, a day to be thankful. >> i'm so thankful, because -- jesus is at work every day since the

day of the pass until now into the future. because every time we open our eyes to breathe air, we are thankful. well enjoy your meal. >> dale, not just her, but again, roughly 1200 folks here from all areas in the tornado ravaged area of washington, and they are going to be going all day long, they brought in 1200 pounds of turkey, which makes sense for the number of people coming in. more help coming in the way of federal aid, 13 more counties added to add on to state and county local aid. this connection to thanksgiving we will tell you how they are paying tribute to an american tradition. >> hello, this is mary okay from cheyenne wyoming. wishing a warm holiday

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more than 11 years ind to prison on wednesday. seven of them were minors who will now go to a juvenile detention facility. they were convicted under the new laws that ban demonstrations without government permission. a town in england honoring its role in america's thanksgiving tradition. the ancient port is where the may flower was built. now they are making a replica. >> today it is a busy port, a lot of ships coming in and going out. but on thank giving we think about the late

1500s that's when the may flower, the pill game ship that sailed in 1620 was built here. these days he is building on his reputation, a bit of history that means jobs for the area's sagging economy. woe are building a boat, and not just any boat. but an exact replica of the ship in time for the 400th anniversary of the pill game's voyage to america. it is the may flower, and probably it is the most famous boat in the world, debate bly. >> christopher jones a ship that traded for many many years. >> there was simply more trading here for the cargo ship. textiles even wine, and accept add new cargo at the time they were called

planters and adventurers who wanted to move into the new world. >> the oldest pub now called the may flower, was one of christopher joan's favorite pubs. >> from whom? >> from people from the may flower. >> i give and be" unto my said daughter, the least of my sealed hoop -- imagine over 100 people in cramped conditionings living here, working here. some people died on that voyage, there was a baby born on the voyage. this was given to the church in the year 1620. the same year that the may flower sailed. >> i often wonder whether christopher jones himself without received communion from this as he worshiped at st. mary's. >> jones died the year after the voyage, he was buried here at st.

mary's. >> we don't actually know where christopher jones is buried. because they didn't know then the significant of that journey. >> christopher jones died thinking the may flower voyage was a tragic misadventure, not knowing it would become one of america's greatest adventures. am al jazeera, america, england. >> richard pickering is the deputy director of plymouth foundation, it is the living museum of the 17th century colony, fist of all, the spelling, we say p-l-y, yours is spelled p-l-i, why. >> we took the name p-l-i-m-o-t-h, because the title page of the handwritten manuscript sells it of p-l-i-m-o-t-h. >> but both are pronounced plymouth? >> both are pronounced myth mom. there is no standardized

spelling, and as his torian, we are porchal because that enables us to understand some of the from munnsuations of those that came over by looking at the documents from their period. >> now there are a lot of myths that came with that givenning. some say pill grams, the other say virginia, so who is right, who is wrong? >> well, there are claimants from texas, virginia, florida, and of course plymouth. and i think there are traditions that go back to the natives people as well. it's not so they that they didn't happen, but it is the thank giving am might mouth that contributes this towards the national holiday. because who was a major figure in getting it to move from a regional holiday to a national holiday ultimately with lincoln declaring the first national holiday in 150 years ago, it's new

england taking its holiday to the rest of the nation. now another myth has to do with what was served on that table. >> yes, in fact, there may be the myth of the table as well. many americans manage a long table, crammed with pill games, there may be a few native people at the end. but actually we are not sure how they dined. it could have been small groups mixtures of natives and natives. and it included a great deal of wild foul. a great deal of fish. so it is different than what we put on our tables and no pies at the pill gaming's thanksgiving. they did not have a good wheat harvest. and so there were no pies. >> turkeys have been pushing that agenda for years. and now brown thursday,

is america losing frac of what this day is supposed to be? >> i don't think it is because of the fact that i see our museum today, and it is so crowded with people who want to be making thanksgiving memories. so i think many people still have a long standing tradition of separating themselves out from the economy for a moment, and thinking about things spiritual and familial. >> richard, the deputy director of the plymouth plantation,-p-l-i-m-o-t-h. richard, thank you very much, happy thanksgiving. >> happy thank giving to you. >> john about you but my favorite thing on the table is mac ronnie and cheese. my favorite part about today, the coastal storm that was hugging portions has pushed offshore.

all the way back towards the west coast, and it is going to be a beautiful day, we have a few lake effect snow showers right across michigan into upstate new york, so if you are traveling along the freeway, definitely want to use precaution there. and if you are traveling on the west coast, along, i five, we have a lot of fog to con tinned with today. this is seattle a few miles ago. so if you have anywhere to go, just take it'ssy we have a fog advisory in effect until 4:00 this afternoon. backs to the east coast where the skies have cleared out all the way into our capitol. looking like a lovely day to say the at least. 40 degrees in our nation's capitol, and well that wind is certainly going to demise, as we track into the afternoon and on into tomorrow. winds were gusting turks 20 miles an hour earlier in the day, but as they said, that wind will continue to diminish.

and really on into the evening. friday and saturday, temperatures are going to stay in the 30's, as we head towards next week, temperatures are on the rise. now it is very chilly across the southeast, all the way down into jacksonville. temperatures are about 15 to 25 degrees below where they should be at this time of the year. >> thank you very much. what happens when two holidays collide? you celebrate thanksgivingka. a rather unique celebration next on al jazeera. >> i'd like to send out a shout out to my family and friends. i miss you, and love you. >>

power power of the people until we restore of the people until we restore our freedoms and r

double holiday, some are calling it thank give ca.

>> for allegra, hanukkah has always been a celebration of family, food, and blessings. >> i will have a dozen of those, and also those cute little cookies, thank you. >> but this year, the jewish festival of lights has given the young musician something extra to sing about. >> ♪ hanukkah coincides for thank giving for the first time since the 1880's. it's been a boom for kosher bakery owner. sweet fried food is a tradition during hanukkah, and he says his bakery normally selled 40,000 donuts during the celebration. >> the but now, that it comes out on the hanukkah comes out on a thursday, where people are off work, they have more parties. more parties more was.

>> thanksgiving ties also created new customs. and turkey shaped menorahs. >> it is i think the symbol, this once in a lifetime event, it's fitting because it was created by a nine-year-old. asher and his family made the first using a three d. printer, they have now sold thousands. but not everyone completely embraces the holiday mash up. >> i don't love the term thank giveka, because it makes it sound like one holiday, when in fact i think that thank giving and hanukkah each have their own unique importance. and i'm really excited celebrating hanukkah on thanksgiving. >> some say as early as 2070, others say it could be not another 79,000 years. either way, it is a once in a lifetime experience. >> definitely a really

exciting time for american jews, because we get to celebrate both our heritage in the best way possible. my family is going to eatons of latas and tons of turkey, and we are going to come together specifically for this double whammy. >> at al jazeera, new york. >> this is the first time since earthquake in iran teen 88 that hanukkah and thanksgiving coincide on the same day, so hold on to that. hanukkah, began at sun down last night. they lit the national memorial on the lawn. it marks the beginning of the festival. joining the u.s. air force to join in in the celebration. >> we want to thank you for watching al jazeera america. techno is next, and as always, for updates throughout the day, all you have to do is go to

aljazeera.com, happy thanksgiving to you and yours, and happy hanukkah as well. >> dadu, southern pakistan, just >> dadu, southern pakistan, just a few months ago. a few months ago. a man is caught burning papers a man is caught burning papers to keep warm. someone says they to keep warm. someone says they include pages of the quran - an include pages of the quran - an act of blasphemy. act of blasphemy.