Yes, Virginia, there is a Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, and it’s been a tradition in the United States for many years. The Macy’s Parade has been a Thanksgiving morning tradition for generations of viewers. Watchers of the parade have marveled over the starts, marching bands, floats, Santa Claus and the really big stars of the parade – the huge inflatable balloons.

The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is one of the oldest holiday parades in this country. The parade dates back to the 1920’s when Macy’s employees thought it would be a great idea to celebrate their American citizenship by parading around on one of the United States finest holidays – Thanksgiving. Since many of the employees were recent immigrants from Europe, they patterned the parade after typical celebrations in Europe.

The first parade was conducted by employees dressing as clowns, knights, cowboys and a variety of other characters. The employees along with bands, floats and animals borrowed from the Zoo in Central Park, walked the parade route from 145^th Street to 34^th Street in New York City. The surprising fact was that over a half million spectators lined the streets of New York watching the parade, which was the first of many in this annual event.

Over the years the parade has undergone a number of changes and improvements. In 1927, the parade introduced the first of many large inflatable balloons which were tied by ropes led by Macy’s employees. Over the years the balloons have become bigger and more, since the initial appearance of the balloon version of Felix the Cat. Since the initial appearance, balloon versions of famous cartoons and fictional characters have been included in the parade. However, because of the size of the balloons, they are very difficult to control, and due to weather conditions, many accidents have occurred with the balloons.

Another memorable aspect of the parade is the use of floats. Over the course of history of the parade, many different floats have been seen ranging from simple messages to very elaborate corporate messages. In addition, many floats have featured famous movie stars, television stars and musical stars. They will appear on the float and even give performances.

In addition to the balloons, floats and performers, the parade also featured many marching bands, live action acts and the most famous participant of all – Santa Claus. While the parade has always been in New York City, the route changed from its original route in Broadway to a route that follows 7^th Avenue. The new route bypasses Times Square, however, it was changed to help ease the parade through the narrow streets of the city to make it safer to have the balloons in the parade.

The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade has been one of the most traditional events on Thanksgiving Day, enjoyed by generations of parade lovers. Here are some additional resources to learn more about the history of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade:

• Parade History – a brief look at the origins of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
• Macy’s Parade – information from the Macy’s website about the parade history.
• History of the Macy’s Parade – useful information about the parade history.
• Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade – informative article from Time on the parades history
• History of the Parade – article outlining the history of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade.
• Parade Floats and Balloons – information on the use of floats and balloons in the Thanksgiving Day Parade.
• Macy’s Parade Balloons – interesting article dealing with the various balloons seen in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
• Macy’s Parade – information on a variety of topics pertaining to the parade.
• Parade Site – official website for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
• Parade Information – overview of the parade from the NBC television network.
• Parade Lineup – information on the participants in the annual Thanksgiving Day Parade.
• Parade Performers – listing of performers for the 2010 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
• Parade Data – information on different aspects of the parade.