5 Things You Never Knew About the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade
The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade began in 1924, and has since become an essential kickoff to the holiday season in the United States. The parade, organized by the retail giant Macy’s, is renowned for its massive character balloons; for most of the event’s existence, these balloons have taken on a life of their own. Some iconic balloon characters such as Snoopy and Pikachu have appeared in different variations every year for decades, while others have come and gone. Each year, the procession draws millions of spectators in person and tens of millions more watching at home. It’s a spectacle that has grown to be an integral part not just of the holidays, but of American culture. Here are five facts you might not know about the parade, from its Christmas origins, to its role in the war effort, to just how long it takes to inflate one of those famous balloons.
It Was Originally Known as the Macy’s Christmas Parade
In 1924, Macy’s flagship New York City department store completed a major renovation that made it the largest store in the world. To entice people into its more than 1 million square feet of shopping space at the start of the busy holiday season, the retailer planned a parade for Thanksgiving morning. This first parade, which took place on November 27, was called the Macy’s Christmas Parade.
The inaugural Macy’s Christmas Parade spanned 6 miles and featured live animals from the Central Park Zoo, including bears, elephants, monkeys, and more. Store employees didn’t just march in the parade: A lot of them were immigrants from Europe and helped to plan it, wanting to incorporate elements of their traditional holiday festivities. The parade’s famous balloons weren’t around yet, but floats that year featured Mother Goose favorites Little Miss Muffet and Little Red Riding Hood, made to match the store’s holiday window display. The final float featured Santa on his sleigh, a tradition that remains today — even though the celebration was advertised as the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade starting in 1935.
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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.
