ALT-1 The Origin of the Thanksgiving Day Parade
The Macy's thanksgiving parade is one of the most popular parades across the whole of America. You can see all kinds of exciting attractions on the parade's journey and many people actually visit New York especially to see the parade each thanksgiving time. This parade is the origin of the thanksgiving parades of America today.
The origin of the thanksgiving parade is not at all unusual. Thanksgiving has always been a time for families to get together, and in 1924, Macy's saw this as their perfect opportunity to start a parade. The parade is a chance for Macy's to put on a great family show for the people in new York, whilst at the same time it is their best advertising campaign too.
The first Macy's thanksgiving day parade saw over 250,000 people turn up on the streets of new York. What the Macy's owners hoped would generate a little extra business worked wonderfully. The staff donned their best clown costumes and other fun fancy-dress outfits and took to the streets, promoting Macy's name and products. The managers arranged for the zoo to join in with the parade too, giving people the chance to see a mixture of exotic animals, entertainers and fun floats.
The thanksgiving parade runs a total of 6 miles, giving people plenty of chances to see the procession as it meanders it's way through the streets of new york. With all the fun and excitement, the parade has been traditional now for many families in the New York area to go and watch as it passes.
In 1927, the first blimp was introduced to the parade. It was a giant inflatable Felix the cat, and it was such a successful addition to the parade that many more blimps have followed it each year. The first blimp was set free at the end of the parade and the onlookers watched as it sailed into the sky. In subsequent years, the blimps were again released but Macy's had a competition where the person who found the blimp could return it to the store to win a prize. This competition however was not as successful as the store had hoped and the competition did not run for more than a few years. Following the success of the Macy's parade, several other parades have followed suit, and whilst none of these are as established or as large as the Macy's parade, the tradition of a thanksgiving parade is now something that can be enjoyed around most of America.
