The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade has been the heart of Thanksgiving traditions for many generations. The world-renowned parade includes the famous balloons, incredible marching bands, dancers, floats, and the kickoff for Christmas: Santa!
In 1922, R. H. Macy & Co. opened its doors in New York City as one of the first iconic department stores. The store quickly grew in popularity and ended up expanding to cover the entire block from Broadway to Seventh Avenue along 34th Street. In order to celebrate what was now the largest department store in the country, the founders of Macy’s decided to have a parade on Thanksgiving Day. However, the point of the parade was not to celebrate Thanksgiving, but rather to kick off the Christmas shopping season. Because of this, the first parade was actually called the Macy’s Christmas Parade. On Thanksgiving Day in 1924, a parade full of zoo animals, cars, and simple floats marched along the parade route in New York City for 6 and a half miles. The parade was a huge success and Macy’s declared that they would make the parade an annual tradition. Unfortunately, the animals in the parade ended up hurt and tired from the long journey, so Macy’s decided to create large animal balloons for the next year and make the route shorter.
Although the length of the parade was shortened, the popularity of it skyrocketed. More and more people were in attendance every year. However, many families were not able to attend, so Macy’s started to branch out in order to reach more people. The parade was first broadcast on the radio in 1932 and brought to live television in 1946, but could not be watched nationally until 1947. As the years have gone by, the parade has grown in popularity in the United States and around the world! Different TV stations around the world televise the parade in their native languages so that everyone can enjoy the tradition of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Over the years, Macy’s has experienced a few setbacks and struggles during the parade. In 1932, one of the balloons that was released into the sky got wrapped around a plane, almost causing a crash. This caused a large amount of backlash, and because of it, Macy’s resorted to using reusable balloons attached to multiple strings. During World War II, the parade was put to a stop for three years. In that time, Macy’s donated over 650 pounds of rubber for the war efforts. In 1958, there was a large helium shortage, so the parade staff had to hang the large balloons from cranes. As the world feared COVID-19, Macy’s was determined to still bring joy to the lonely holiday season. Although there were no attendees for the parade in 2020, the parade was aired still, bringing in lots of viewers.
As the generations have gone by, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade has been a staple tradition in families all over the world. This parade offers inclusivity, cultural diversity, and a celebration of the pride of New York. This year, the parade is on Thursday, November 27th at 7:30 A.M. Central time. The parade can be watched on NBC and Peacock and is replayed until the Thanksgiving Football games start.
Sources used:
https://archive.is/D5gx5
https://archive.is/OeBfJ
https://www.architecturaldigest.com/gallery/macys-thanksgiving-day-parade-floats
https://www.thanksgivingparade.com/nyc-thanksgiving-day-parade-floats/
