The Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade is no new tradition for families this holiday season, the tradition is older than some may realize. The parade made its debut in 1924 to promote the opening of the “World’s Largest Store” with its one million square feet of retail space covering an entire city block, stretching from Broadway to Seventh Avenues along 34th Street.
The first parade showcased Central Park Zoo animals and Christmas delights, and concluded with a showcase of the Christmas window display at Macy’s Herald Square. Macy’s famous parade premiered on television in 1953, but many saw it on the screen before the televised launch.
In 1947, the film Miracle on 34th Street took the world by storm, telling the tale of a Macy’s-hired Santa Claus for the Thanksgiving Day Parade who claims to be the real Kris Kringle. The parade featured in the beginning replicated the parade families viewed each Thanksgiving Day, but the event was now on their screens for the first time.
The modern parade is three hours long, beginning in the morning at Central Park West and concluding at noon in front of Macy’s Herald Square. The original parades were simple, yet festive, highlighting Macy’s employees marching in costume and Santa Claus in his sleigh for children to enjoy. Since then, the parade has expanded in extravagance, now featuring 22 towering balloons, seven balloon vehicles, 34 floats, 11 marching bands, 28 performers, 28 clown crews, and 11 performance groups to crowd the streets of Manhattan.
This year’s parade reintroduced traditional floats and balloons, such as the Pillsbury Doughboy, Ronald McDonald, and Snoopy balloons, along with Tom Turkey, Winter Wonderland in Central Park, and Santa’s sleigh floats. Macy’s also welcomed back classic performers Jimmy Fallon and The Roots, Idina Menzel, the cast of Sesame Street, and many more.
New additions to the parade this year included Minnie Mouse, Elf on the Shelf, and Spider-Man balloons; also included were Dora’s Rainforest, Disney Cruise, and SpongeBob SquarePants Carriage floats. New performers were singers Alex Warren, Jennifer Hudson, Rachel Platten, and T-Pain, TikTok star Charli D’Amelio, Love Island host Adriana Madix, and a collection of others.
The Thanksgiving Day parade is more than an attempt to promote Macy’s brand and shop for holiday gifts at their stores. It is a celebration of the beginning of the holidays and the joy surrounding the season. The parade is a tradition families look forward to on the day of thanks every year, songs and extravaganzas filled with holiday cheer to begin a day surrounded by loved ones.
The show is the first thing people see on their day of thanks, followed by football games and food galore. The parade encompasses the transition between fall and winter, starting with the festive autumn floats with leaves and turkeys and ending with Christmas cheer and Santa’s sleigh. This layout depicts how Thanksgiving begins the season of family, gratefulness, and giving that characterizes the next four weeks.
