Crowded streets, gigantic balloons, and crisp, cold air are just a few of the things one can expect
at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. This year the parade celebrated its 96th anniversary.
Originally, the parade had nothing to do with thanksgiving and was about the following holiday,
Christmas. This parade was made in hopes of getting people into the shopping spirit. In other
words it was a marketing idea. They succeeded and most people agree that it is a great transition
into Black Friday shopping. Macy’s used the idea of a parade to showcase its glory as the largest
store. Floats originally matched nursery rhymes for children. Instead, they now match popular
children’s shows like “Sesame Street”. The balloons tower up to four stories tall and require
ninety people to hold them down. Popular characters include the iconic Snoopy and Pilsburry
Dough Boy. Newer characters, Bluey and Yoda, help to include young children and keep the
parade going. The recognizable floats and balloons mean something to everyone in the crowd.
Back in the 1920’s, 10,000 people would cheer on Santa as he rounded the corner to end the
parade, now nearly 4 million spectators wave enthusiastically. This year I was able to attend and
that showed me that this parade is special and one to remember. The Macy’s Parade means so
much to people all over the nation, especially to the locals. As I was on the street two sisters
were on their parents shoulders screaming in excitement. Anytime a character they knew came
down the street they would start jumping up and down saying, “There’s Blues Clues! Look!
Look!” That excitement was contagious to everyone around. Immediately a group of strangers
felt familiar and were brought together by these young girls. I was so glad to take part in such a
historic event and look forward to participating in the tradition of watching it every year.