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The Macy’s Parade
You can easily recognize Thanksgiving season thanks to a plethora of quintessential symbols. Turkey, gravy, cranberry sauce to name a few and the unmistakable sound of happy yet awkward family meetings. However, few of these icons are as large in scale and sheer joyfulness as Macy’s iconic Thanksgiving Day Parade. This is an event that lured an audience of nearly 25 million last year. This staple event in American culture is overflowing with history and backstage tidbits of trivia you have to know! We got your back, here are 8 fun facts about Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
1) IT WAS A CELEBRATION OF CHRISTMAS.
Everyone knows Santa Claus’ arrival at the end of the parade marks the grand finale of Thanksgiving and the start of Christmas. once upon a time all of Macy’s parade was about the jolly spirit and the ho ho hos.
Back in 1924, during the first Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade, the celebration wasn’t really related to Thanksgiving at all—in fact, it was actually named a Christmas parade, conceived to celebrate the store’s growth and to stimulate consumerism right before the holidays.
The parade was such a success that Macy’s promised to repeat it next year. With time, it slowly ditched the Christmas theme and became the Thanksgiving event.
2) IT DETHRONED RAGAMUFFIN DAY.
Becoming the main Thanksgiving event in America means it had to take over previous traditions—and such was the case with Ragamuffin Day.
Ragamuffin Day, mostly celebrated in New York, involved children dressing up. Initially the children dressed up in ragged clothes, and begging from door to door for anything they could get, usually snacks and treats.
While joyful for children, Ragamuffin Day was scorned by adults, particularly during the Great Depression—what was once a play-pretend game of poverty became a grim reality for plenty, turning the celebration into an annoyance.
Desperate to overrule it, Macy’s Parade became a suitable replacement, and soon enough Ragamuffin Day faded to oblivion—turning into the far-less problematic Halloween.
3) IN THE BEGINNING, IT WAS LIVE ANIMALS INSTEAD OF BALLOONS.
It turns out that, while very Christmas-y in its theme, Macy’s inaugural parade also had a very strong circus vibe going on, particularly thanks to the participation of real animals, courtesy of Central Park Zoo.
Therefore, from 1924 to 1926, it was normal to witness elephants, tigers, lions, bears and other fascinating animals walking alongside other attractions.
While interesting and eye-catching, there was a problem—they were wild animals, and therefore unpredictable. They were not used to such a large crowd, and their behavior scared the children.
After only two years, Macy’s stopped using animals and replaced them with the balloons we all know and love.
4) THE BALLOONS USED TO BE RELEASED… UNTIL THEY ALMOST CAUSED A PLANE CRASH.
After settling for balloons instead of animals, Macy’s Parade established a few customs that are fairly different from the ones we have nowadays.
For starters, the balloons used to be released on purpose—and it turned the citizens into a group of pirates in search for treasure, as Macy’s encouraged them to find the balloons and return them in exchange for a price.
While amazing publicity, the balloon releasing was nothing short of chaotic:people chased them and argued with one another for the right of claiming the prize, balloons got caught in high-tension wires and burst into flames—rest in peace, Felix the Cat—and they almost killed people.
In 1932, a balloon hit a plane during a test flight. Thankfully the crisis was avoided, but now Macy’s knew of the risk.
Needless to say, no more balloons were released on purpose.
5) THE PARADE PAUSED DURING WORLD WAR II… FOR A GOOD CAUSE.
Some might say joy is most needed during war times, but Macy’s had a different idea. The country was running short on resources and supplies, and most of it went to the war efforts.
Taking this into consideration, Macy’s suspended the parade for as long as the war kept raging on, to donate the rubber that would have been used for the balloons.
It is estimated Macy’s donated over 650 pounds of balloon rubber, a symbolic gesture that highlighted how everyone was doing their best to achieve victory.
6) PARADE BALLOONS HAVE TO BE PILOTED.
The mechanics of the parade’s balloons are deeply complex—way beyond simply dragging along a giant cartoon character.
Naturally, balloons require handlers—each one needs from 50 to 100—and they are mostly Macy’s employees, or sponsored folks.
Handlers follow the instructions of a captain, in charge of telling the handlers when to move. The captain, meanwhile, listens to the commands of two pilots—one in the balloon, and the other one ahead of the group, checking them from a distance.
7) BALLOONS ARE DESIGNED BY ARTISTS A WHOLE YEAR BEFORE THE PARADE.
All though the parade’s mechanics are complex, they are merely the end of a long string of developments. These developments start a whole year before Thanksgiving.
Macy’s Parade Studio works all year for a single day—as soon as the parade ends, artists design and sketch for the next one. After the design is approved, they are built to scale, as a preview of the final result.
From then on, the workers dedicate months to the construction from scratch of each balloon. No one is sure of the exact cost of the whole thing. Everyone agrees it is well over the millions.
8) SNOOPY IS THE KING OF THE PARADE.
Step aside, Santa Claus—the star of Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade is none other than Peanuts’ iconic cartoon dog.
Why? Well, Snoopy has been a regular in the parade since 1968 and has had 37 appearances. He has had a whopping amount of eight variations—including as an astronaut, in winter outfits, among others—the most out of all characters featured in the parade’s history.
I hope this as a batch of useless-yet-interesting trivia helps you break the ice during this Thanksgiving dinner. If not—well, at least you know the hazard risk of balloon releasing.