Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, the world's largest parade, is an annual parade in New York City presented by the American department store chain Macy's. While not the first such event held in the United States, the Macy's Parade has become a traditional event watched by many millions of television viewers and in-person spectators each year. The parade was first held in 1924, tying it for the second-oldest Thanksgiving parade in the United States with America's Thanksgiving Parade in Detroit (with both parades being four years younger than Philadelphia's Thanksgiving Day Parade). The three-hour parade is held in Manhattan, ending outside Macy's Herald Square, and takes place from 8:30 a.m. to noon Eastern Standard Time on Thanksgiving Day, and has been televised nationally on NBC since 1953.

The 100th anniversary of the first parade was 2024. Since the parade was canceled during World War II (1942–1944), the 100th parade will take place in 2026.

History

1920s: Early history

In 1924, store employees marched to Macy's Herald Square, the flagship store on 34th Street, dressed in vibrant costumes. There were floats, professional bands and live animals borrowed from the Central Park Zoo. At the end of that first parade, Santa Claus arrived at Herald Square. At this first parade, Santa was enthroned on the Macy's balcony at the 34th Street store entrance, where he was then crowned "King of the Kiddies". With an audience of over 250,000 people, the parade was such a success that Macy's declared it would become an annual event, despite media reports only barely covering the first parade. The Macy's Thanksgiving Parade was influenced by the Macy's employees, who were mostly European immigrants.