The first Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade was held on
November 27, 1924, in New York City, and was originally
called the Macy’s Christmas Parade.

Organized by Macy’s employees to celebrate the opening
of their new flagship store, the event featured floats,
professional bands, and live animals borrowed from the
Central Park Zoo, concluding with Santa Claus arriving
at Herald Square.

Santa in his Sleigh at the first Macy’s Christmas Parade.

(Tenement Museum)

The first recorded parade honoring the Catholic feast day of
St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland,was held in what is now
St. Augustine, Florida.

Records show that a St. Patrick’s Day parade was held on
March 17, 1601 in a Spanish colony under the direction of
the colony’s Irish vicar, Ricardo Artur.

More than a century later, homesick Irish soldiers serving
in the English military marched in Boston in 1737 and in 
New York City on March 1762. 

The dates of St.Patrick’s life cannot be fixed with
certainty, but there is general agreement that he
was active as a missionary in Ireland during the
fifth century.

Rose Festival Parade, NW corner of 10th & Madison.  

The first parade, in 1907, was called the Rose Carnival, but
eventually came to be known as the Rose Festival Parade
and later still the Grand Floral Parade. The 1907 festival
also included an "electric parade" with illuminated floats. 

Portland Rose Festival  (1912-1914).

Grand Floral Parade in 1954.

The first Macy’s Day Parade was on November 27 in 1924. The
parade originally featured Macy’s employees and live animals
from the Central Park Zoo. Floats, instead of balloons, were the
main attraction.

The parade began in Harlem at 145th Street and ended in front
of the Macy’s flagship store on 34th Street. It was originally
called the Macy’s Christmas Parade, but was renamed the
Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade in 1927.

An estimated 250,000 spectators attended the first parade.

Today,  about 3.5 million people attend.   

‘Andy the Alligator’ in the 1933 parade.

Mickey Mouse made his first debut in this 1934 parade.

The Tin Man made his debut months after the release of “The Wizard of Oz” in 1939.

A group of elephants participated in the 1954 Thanksgiving
Day Parade. 

A marching band through Times Square, 1959. 

A performance by the Rockettes, 1964.