One of the most well-known Thanksgiving traditions in the US is the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. This annual autumn spectacle is famous for its larger-than-life balloons, huge decorated floats, and show-stopping performances. However, despite being a Thanksgiving staple for the last century, the parade has less-than-thankful roots.
The festive parade began for the first time on Thanksgiving Day, 1924 when Macy’s, the largest department store in the world at the time, wanted to advertise their holiday sales. The company went all out with zoo animals, spectacular performances and a grand appearance of Santa in what was originally called the Macy’s Christmas Parade. It was such a huge success that it became an annual tradition that still goes on to this day.
Over the decades, Macy’s added bigger parade floats and developed more entertainment. The parade features dozens of musical icons every year, from artists like Ariana Grande and Mariah Carey to amazing Broadway performances like Wicked and Hamilton. Various pop culture appearances like Jimmy Fallon and Sesame Street, or the Radio City Rockettes and marching bands are consistently parade highlights.
The parade’s iconic balloons were added to replace the zoo animals in 1927 and became an instant hit with onlookers. Its name was changed to the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade the same year because it always took place closer to Thanksgiving than Christmas. Over the decades, Macy’s added bigger parade floats and developed more entertainment.
However, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade hasn’t always been a holly-jolly celebration. Over the years, there have been numerous incidents resulting from the epic yet not always controllable balloons used on the six-mile route. The most infamous incident occurred in 1997, taking place during the first Thanksgiving snowstorm since the annual tradition began. 34-year-old Kathleen Coronna had been watching the parade with her husband and child when the fierce winds blew the Cat in the Hat balloon into a lamppost, causing it to collapse and shower debris on the crowd below. Four people were injured, and Coronna fell into a month-long coma, leading her to sue Macy’s for $395,000,000. According to The New York Times, the neurosurgeon who treated Coronna declared it “one of the worst crush injuries of the skull [they had] ever seen.”
In addition, many balloons suffered damage from the high winds. For example, the Barney balloon had to be deflated with a knife because of the danger it caused to spectators. “Barney came by, and he started getting out of control,” said 71-year-old Danny Zuckergood, parade attendee. “[His handlers] were trying to hold him down, but they were having a very hard time doing that… essentially all the kids were crying and screaming… and all the adults were cheering on the policeman to kill Barney.”
In recent years, the parade has seen a lot of controversy over LGBTQ+ representation. In 2018, Linda Harvey, founder of the Christian rights group Mission: America, called for a boycott of the parade because two women kissed on the TV broadcast.
Furthermore in 2023, the conservative organization One Million Moms petitioned for a boycott of the parade because they were against the two nonbinary performers that would be featured in the Broadway appearances. The parade has always had a strong connection with Broadway, an industry that is very accepting of LGBTQ+ rights. Macy’s declined to comment on the petition and stated they would continue as usual. Even though the petition ended up with over 30,000 signatures, it didn’t have much of an impact on parade attendance.
There’s also the ethical dilemma of whether it’s morally right to celebrate Thanksgiving. The holiday was created to spread generosity and give thanks, following the brief period of peace between the British and Native Americans of New England in 1621. However, this alliance was shattered after the pilgrims committed a mass Native American genocide and only in the past couple of decades have people truly looked into the dark history of Thanksgiving. In 2020, Macy’s began the parade with a native land acknowledgment, recognizing the more serious side of the holiday.
Throughout the past century, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade has been a classic holiday tradition, enjoyed by thousands of people every year. The beginning of winter wouldn’t be the same without this cherished tradition, so be sure to watch this year’s TV broadcast for the parade’s one-hundredth anniversary!
