Thanksgiving and the Macy’s Day Parade

Macy’s Day Parade Debuts Popeye
1957

It’s an iconic sight that lights up the screens of America, holding captive audiences around the nation taking joy in its splendor. The Macy’s Thanksgiving parade is a tradition in many households as we gather to give thanks. What is it about this parade that seems to fascinate us and keep people coming back year after year? Here are a few facts and hidden tidbits about America’s favorite parade.

Experts report that the first ever Macy’s Day Parade actually took place on Christmas of 1924. In this inaugural parade, Macy’s employees dressed up as clowns, cowboys, and other fun characters with zoo animals. The original intention of the parade was to draw attention to the Macy’s department store in New York City. Macy’s had a fierce advertising campaign around the event, and it paid off with more than 25,000 people showing up for the event.

Macy’s was not the first department store of the era to come up with the idea of a Thanksgiving Day parade. The Gimbel Brothers Department Store of Philadelphia tried in 1920 with fifty people in fifteen cars, and a fireman dressed as Santa Clause. The only other parading on Thanksgiving that the people of New York were used to was a parade of children pretending to be ragamuffins going door to door asking for candy.

Despite others trying to compete, the Macy’s Day parade went on to be a success. Reports claim that even though people were standing on the edge of the streets in New York sometimes 4 or 5 people deep they could still see the whole of the parade, as it was only 2 city blocks in length. The initial parade was such as success that Macy’s announced the very next morning that it would continue the parade the following year.

What about the iconic Macy’s Day balloons? In the original Macy’s Day parade, live animals were marched down the streets. However, handlers and parade officials soon realized that the task of herding live animals was too overly-complicated for such an event, a decision aided by the fact that they frightened young children. Macy’s decided to make the switch to more family friendly balloon characters. One character has been seen in the parade more than any other: Snoopy, everyone’s favorite beagle, has made 39 debuts in the parade. Experts go on to report that back in World War II, Macy’s actually cancelled the parade from 1942 to 1944, as there was a rubber and helium shortage. The balloons continue to be central to the parade even today. On average, it only takes 15 minutes or so to deflate them, after which they are put in storage until the following year’s parade.

The Macy’s Day Parade has become so ingrained in the American concept of Thanksgiving that it is almost inseparable at this point. While the parade may no longer just draw attention to the Macy’s department store, it has become a holiday tradition that serves as a checkpoint in the barrage of holidays, bids farewell to Thanksgiving with great fanfare and celebration, and ushers in the beautiful Christmas season.