Macy's Balloons on Thanksgiving Eve
In 1924, R. H. Macy and Company decided to promote the start of the Christmas shopping season by holding a parade. On Thanksgiving morning, costumed employees of the store, along with animals borrowed from New York City’s Central Park Zoo, marched from 145th street and Convent Ave to the front of Macy’s store on 34th street. There, they welcomed Santa Claus, who appeared on a balcony above the street. While the animals are no longer used, and Santa now rides the entire route, Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is still going strong. Macy's Parade in the 1920 from Cultureify.com The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade has been a yearly tradition for almost one hundred years, but it flashed into the national culture in 1947, when it was showcased in the movie “Miracle on 34th Street”. There is a tradition that the parade shares, one that used to be a New York insiders event - watching the inflation of the parade balloons on thanksgiving Eve. I say “used to be” because the crowds on Wednesda...