The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is a national holiday tradition with spectacular floats, celebrity performances, and holiday magic.
This year, the beloved tradition was held for its 97th annual parade to kickstart the holiday season.
This tradition first began in 1924, stretching from Broadway to Seventh Avenue along 34th Street in New York. According to History.com, the first Macy’s Parade was not in celebration of Thanksgiving, but it was held in honor of the next major holiday: Christmas.
The first Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade finale was welcomed with the arrival of Santa and his sleigh, hoping that this would entice cheerful shoppers to browse their Macy’s department store for all their Christmas Day gift giving.
Since then, it has been converted into the “Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.”
Sophomore Olivia Straub said, “My family and I wake up early and sit together to watch all the floats and performers.”
This year, many floats originated from iconic children’s shows and movies, such as “Bluey,” “Paw Patrol,” “The Minions,” “SpongeBob SquarePants,” and the fantastic Ronald McDonald.
However, some new floats that were introduced were Camp Snoopy, The Deliciously Delectable World of Wonka, Palace of Sweets, Mutant Mayhem, and Igniting Memories, all with an array of colors and designs.
Junior Jada Simms explained, “It’s really cool seeing all the floats and the celebrities. Plus, I like the Rockettes.”
The parade received its highest viewer rating ever this year of 28.5 million viewers on NBC and the streaming service Peacock with noted performances from Cher, Jon Batiste, Pentatonix, Chicago, and Bell Biv Devoe, as well as an assortment of other bands.
Math Teacher Patrick McGroarty commented, “I loved Cher and Chicago. They were by far the best two performers in the whole Macy’s Day Parade.”
Along with this, the parade lineup also highlights several of the best marching bands throughout the U.S. on the college and high school levels, such as Alabama A&M University Marching Maroon & White Band and Fishers High School Marching Tiger Band from Fishers, Indiana.
These bands spend the year practicing with multiple rehearsals and routines to make a once-in-a-lifetime performance for millions of spectators.
The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is a time-honored tradition for many families on Thanksgiving Day and is a heartfelt tradition for many in the John Carroll community.