Felix the Cat Was the First Balloon Character

In 1927, after three years of using live animals, the parade introduced its first set of iconic balloon characters. The visionary behind the balloons was Anthony Frederick Sarg, a puppeteer and theatrical designer who also designed Macy’s elaborate holiday window displays, and was the parade’s artistic director at the time. Several caricatures made headlines that year: There was a towering “human behemoth” standing at 21 feet tall, a colossal dinosaur measuring 60 feet and escorted by an entourage of cavemen, a 25-foot dachshund, and what was described by The New York Times as “gigantic turkeys and chickens and ducks of heroic size.” The parade also introduced its first character balloon that year: Felix the Cat. Felix is largely considered to be the world’s first animated film star, and around the time of his unprecedented appearance in the Macy’s parade, the beloved cartoon cat also made history as the first cartoon character to be licensed for merchandise.

Macy’s Used to Let the Balloons Float Away After the Parade

Beginning in the late 1920s, some of the balloon floats were released into the sky at the end of the parade. Filled with helium instead of air, they were designed to slowly deflate over the course of about a week. Macy’s expected the balloons to eventually turn up in various parts of the country, and rewards were offered to those who found the balloons and returned them. The hope was that the balloons would help spread word of the parade — and its namesake retailer — as the event wasn’t yet broadcast on television. 

Unfortunately, it didn’t go as smoothly as planned. In 1928, just days after that year’s parade, a tiger balloon came down on the roof of a Long Island home. It caused chaos in the neighborhood and a tug-of-war ensued; eventually, the balloon burst into “dozens of fragments,” The New York Times reported. In 1931, a giant dragon was hit by a plane before falling into Long Island’s Jamaica Bay and being torn apart by a crowd that had gathered at the shore. The same year, a cat balloon — largely believed to be Felix but reportedly just similar-looking — caught fire on a telephone wire. And a massive blue hippopotamus went missing and was subsequently hunted at sea. Despite the problems, balloons were released again in 1932, and once more in 1933, before the stunt was retired.

The Parade Donated the Balloons to the War Effort

In 1942, during World War II, Macy’s President Jack Straus announced that the parade would be canceled in order to devote resources to the war effort. At the time, the balloons were made of rubber, which was needed to manufacture everything from soldiers’ footwear to planes. Rubber rationing was in effect in the United States, and civilians were encouraged to donate any extra they had to the U.S. forces.

“We are turning ourselves over, body and soul, with no strings attached, to the New York City Salvage Committee,” read the cancellation notice, which was written from the perspective of the parade’s balloons. “Destined for the rubber scrap pile, we will perhaps find our way into tires for tanks, or maybe life rafts. Wherever we’re most needed, we’ll be glad to serve our country.” Straus made the announcement alongside New York City Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia, who dramatically deflated a green dragon balloon with a knife. Macy’s eventually donated 650 pounds of balloon rubber to the war effort. When the war ended in 1945, the parade returned.

Macy’s Balloons Are Made by “Balloonatics”

The team of skilled artists and designers who bring the parade’s surreal inflatable visions to life refer to themselves as “balloonatics.” The process of creating these massive balloons is a meticulous and highly coordinated effort that often begins as soon as the previous parade ends. More than 50 people work year-round at the Macy’s Parade Studio in New Jersey. Although the time it takes to make each balloon varies, experts have said it takes an average of five months. Depending on the size of the balloon, it can take up to 90 minutes just to fill it with helium.

Roasted Duck

The highlight of modern Thanksgiving meals is the turkey, but the inaugural harvest feast likely centered around roasted waterfowl. According to Winslow, the local governor “sent foure men on fowling” to collect meat for the meal. Though wild turkeys were present in the region, the centerpiece of a dinner at the time was more likely to be duck, goose, or a similar bird.

• Ingredients
• One 5-pound duck
• 2 ½ teaspoons salt
• ½ teaspoons ground black pepper
• 10 black peppercorns
• 4 medium onions
• 1 handful of parsley
• 2 cups of red wine
• ⅓ cup minced parsley leaves
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• ¼ cup dried currants
• ½ teaspoon ground mace
• ¼ cup cranberries
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter

For our recreation, we used a recipe for roasted duck accompanied by a sauce made of cranberries and wine as found in the 2005 book Giving Thanks: Thanksgiving Recipes and History, From Pilgrims to Pumpkin Pie. Given there were no actual recipes written down at the first Thanksgiving meal, this recipe, as well as all the others I followed, recreates each dish’s authentic taste using ingredients that were likely available at the time. 

Interestingly, this recipe calls for the duck to be boiled before roasting. Also, there’s no stuffing the bird like we do today — instead, it’s cooked in a broth with onions and parsley, lightly seasoned with salt and pepper, and then roasted over a bed of onions.

The result was a roasted duck that looked and tasted as if it had been created using modern cooking techniques. The skin was crisp and well seasoned, and though some of the meat was dry, the bird was largely moist and succulent. The sauce was a nice touch, providing a tangy and somewhat sweet complement to the bird. 

It’s worth mentioning that there’s some historical argument about how much wine and sugar the Pilgrims may have had. They could have used what remained of the original provisions brought over on the Mayflower in late 1620, but it’s unlikely they had much of either available. Cranberries, on the other hand, were a seasonal highlight of local Wampanoag fare.

Samp

One of the first side dishes we tried making was samp, a kind of corn porridge. Based on a Wampanoag dish called nasaump — a traditional meal consisting of dried corn, berries, and nuts — samp was the Pilgrims’ attempt at creating a porridge with a consistency akin to modern oatmeal.

• Ingredients:
• 2 cups coarse corn grits
• 4 cups water
• 1 cup milk
• ¼ cup sugar

We followed a simple recipe inspired by a description of the dish from the book Two Voyages to New England, written by English traveler John Josselyn in the 1600s. The recipe used corn-based grits, water, sugar, and milk. (I used cow’s milk, though it was more likely they used goat’s milk at the time.) The corn grits and water are stirred together until thick and warm, and milk and sugar are mixed in before serving.

The result was a thick, somewhat sweet, but otherwise rather bland mixture that was perfectly edible but largely uninteresting. On the table it looked like a bowl of mashed potatoes but boasted a thicker texture. Eaten on its own, samp was one of the more forgettable aspects of our meal, though it provided a nice and simple contrast to the tart sauce accompanying the duck.

Seethed Mussels With Parsley and Vinegar

Seafood may not be common at Thanksgiving dinners today, but it was a major part of the first feast. The Pilgrims and Wampanoag likely incorporated local fish such as cod and bass into their menu, as well as various shellfish harvested from nearby waters. For our seafood element, we followed a recipe for mussels “seethed” in parsley and vinegar, based on a description found in A Booke of Cookerie, published in 1620. 

• Ingredients:
• 4 pounds of mussels
• 2 tablespoons butter
• ½ cup chopped parsley
• ½ cup red wine vinegar
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 garlic cloves

For this recipe, the mussels are scrubbed clean while the other ingredients are brought to a boil. The mussels are then added and steamed until all of the shells are open, then immediately served. 

One interesting note is that we used butter in this recipe, despite the fact that cows didn’t arrive in the region until 1623, a couple of years after the first Thanksgiving. In fact, there were few cows anywhere in the United States until the late 16th century, when several thousand were brought from Mexico into modern-day New Mexico. However, early colonial ships including the Mayflower brought over European goods such as butter and oil, so it’s possible that butter was on hand for the feast.  

The seethed mussels were surprisingly close to what you’d find in a modern seafood restaurant. The sauce was similar to a white wine sauce, though we didn’t use any actual wine. Instead, the shells were cooked in red wine vinegar, which provided a nice tang, as well as butter for added creaminess. The mussels were tender and the fresh parsley contributed a nice light, peppery taste. Even though I’m not particularly fond of most shellfish, I found this dish surprisingly enjoyable.

Stewed Pumpkin

In the 17th century, pumpkins were known as “pumpions,” and were prevalent throughout modern-day New England. Often they were cut into dices and stewed until soft — but to make things simpler, we used pumpkin puree. 

• Ingredients:
• 4 cups pumpkin puree
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• ½ teaspoon salt

Much like the recipe for samp, we used a recipe for stewed pumpkin based on Josselyn’s description of the meal in the 1672 book Two Voyages to New England. In this simple dish, pumpkin and butter are added to a bowl and mixed together until the butter melts. During the cooking process, ingredients such as apple cider vinegar and ginger are also added in order to make the dish “tart like an Apple,” as per the recipe.

The final product had a very light tart flavor, but largely tasted like warm pumpkin more than anything else. As a fan of pumpkin, I enjoyed the taste, though it was rather one-note and uninteresting. In terms of appearance, the stewed pumpkin looked just like a bowl of sweet potatoes. (Potatoes weren’t widely available in America at the time, so they were left out of our meal entirely. Potatoes were slowly introduced stateside throughout the 17th century and first grown on a large scale in 1719.)

Wampanoag Autumn Sobaheg

The fifth and final dish we prepared was a traditional Wampanoag stew known as sobaheg. This recipe comes from the same book as the roast duck recipe, Giving Thanks: Thanksgiving Recipes and History, From Pilgrims to Pumpkin Pie. It required the longest cooking time of any dish at nearly three hours, and called for venison (deer meat) as its central component. According to Winslow’s account, several hunters “went out and killed five Deer, which they brought to the Plantation and bestowed on our Governor.” 

• Ingredients:
• ½ cup dried white beans
• ½ cup coarse grits
• 1 pound of venison
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 small acorn square
• 1 cup of peeled turnips
• ¼ cup powdered walnuts

This stew mixes venison, white beans, grits, squash (we used acorn squash), and turnips (which we substituted for the similar sunchoke). The meal cooks for several hours, during which it develops a thicker consistency, before being served in a bowl next to the main plates.

In my opinion, the sobaheg was the tastiest food we ate all night, a surprise given that it was seasoned only with salt. The soft and naturally sweet turnips and squash were a good counterpoint to the more savory venison flavor, as all the elements combined to create a hearty and warming stew.

On the surface, the dishes we cooked from the inaugural Thanksgiving were clearly lacking in both seasoning and leafy vegetation — at least by our modern standards. Still, the meal was surprisingly tasty. The dishes were all warm and filling, creating the perfect menu to consume during crisp autumn weather. It’s also surprising how modern many of the dishes felt, given they were cooked more than 400 years ago.