Thanksgiving ( p.65-74 ) p.V: Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

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Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

If you are anything like me, then you don’t like getting up at 5:30 in the morning to fight crowds along the parade route just to get best seat. And when it’s all over, you have to wait in all that traffic just to get back home and eat. You stay home and watch this great event on TV. That makes you feel like you are right there in person!

But millions of people line the streets between 77-th Street to 34-th Street. Over 2 miles! (3,2 km.) They are here for one reason - to see the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

For over 70 years, Macy’s has given Americans a tradition, which both celebrates America and calls forth Christmas.

How did this most famous of American parades get started?

It actually stems from European tradition. In the 1920’s, many of Macy’s department store employees were first generation immigrants. Proud of their new American heritage, they wanted to celebrate the American holiday with the type of festival they loved in Europe.

The employees marched from 145 Street down to 34-th Street dressed as clowns, cowboys, knights, and sheiks. There were floats; professional bands and 25 live animals borrowed from the Central Park Zoo. With the audience of over a quarter of a million people, the parade was a hit!

Large balloons first appeared in 1927 with Felix the Cat. One tradition long gone is the releasing of the balloons. They would float for days and the lucky finder could claim for a prize! Ah, the good old days!

Through the 1930’s the Parade grew and grew. New balloons such as Walt Disney characters were among the favorites. Radio audiences were able to hear the ceremonies and Santa’s arrival at 34-th Street.

The 1940’s saw an end to the Parade since there wasn’t much to celebrate during World War II. The rubber and helium could not be wasted, either.
The Parade resumed in 1945 and was televised in New York. The Parade also began the route it still runs today.

With nationwide television, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade assumed its hold on the entire nation in the 1950’s.

The Parade has always been known for its policy of going on rain or shine.

The most bittersweet year of the Parade had to be 1963. Less than a week after President Kennedy’s assassination, the country was still mourning. But, it went on so as not to “disappoint the millions of children.”

The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is a true New York experience that is magical for both children and adults. We thank Macy’s and wish them another 70 years of marching down Broadway!

Answer the questions about the Macy’s Parade.

1. At what time are people in New York supposed to get up in the morning if they want to get best seats to see the Parade?

2. What does this Parade celebrate?

3. When did this tradition begin?

4. Who started this tradition?

5. Why did they start it?

6. How did the parade differ from the one nowadays?

7. Large balloons first appeared in 1928, didn’t they?

8. What new balloons appeared in 1930?

9. What happened to the Parade in 1940?

10. Did the Parade resume in 1945 or in 1946?

11. The Parade was not televised in 1945 yet, was it?
12. Is the Parade held in bad weather?

13. Do you know who finishes the Parade?

14. Why does Santa appear at the end of the Parade?

Here we are, close to the Christmas section of the book.

A Christmas Prayer:
May the spirit of this season,
Harmony, Love, and Understanding
become a way of life,
and may the coming year bring
Hope and Peace to all mankind.

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