Like any great tradition in NYC, the Macy's Day Parade in Manhattan features a long and storied history. Check out the NYC Macy's Day Parade time-line below for the most interesting facts about the Thanksgiving Day Parade NYC. Find more information on the annual Macy's Day Parade, including when to go, where to stand, and the Thanksgiving Day Parade route in Manhattan, right here, at our Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade page.

The most popular holiday parade in America, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade NY has been a Big Apple tradition since 1924. Attracting more than 3.5 million people to the streets of New York City each year, as well 50 million TV viewers nationwide , the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade has become so synonymous with Thanksgiving tradition in NYC that it's often shortened to "The Macy's Day Parade."

The "Here Comes Santa Clause" Float in the 1950s at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

Macy's Day Parade: The Beginnings

The first-ever Macy's Day Parade actually took place on Christmas of 1924. Macy's employees dressed as clowns, cowboys, and other fun costumes, and traveled with Central Park zoo animals and creative floats a lengthy six miles from Herald Square to Harlem in Manhattan.

NYC's Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade: The Humpty Dumpty Float- 1926

The parade was meant to draw attention to the Macy's store in NYC, and the gimmick worked - more than 250,000 people attended the inaugural Macy's Day Parade. It was decided that this NYC parade would become an annual NY event in Manhattan.

In 1927, Felix the Cat became the first giant balloon to ever take part in the Macy's Day Parade. In 1928, Felix was inflated with helium, and without a plan to deflate this massive balloon, NYC parade organizers simply let Felix fly off into the sky. Unfortunately, he popped soon thereafter.

The Macy's Day Parade continued to let the balloons fly off in subsequent years, only these balloons would have a return address written on them, and whoever found the balloon could return the balloon for a prize from Macy's. However, the results of this experiment weren't exactly successful.