Thanksgiving Day
77th Street to Herald Square

The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is one of America’s most beloved Thanksgiving traditions. It started near the turn of the century when Macy’s employees, many of them recent immigrants who were proud of their new citizenship, decided to celebrate this uniquely American holiday the only way they knew how—with a European–style parade. It was an instant success, and by the 1930s crowds of spectators regularly numbered more than one million. The first giant balloon made for the parade, Felix the Cat, debuted in 1927, and until the 1930s the helium–filled balloons were released at the end of the day to float into the sky. The balloons are inflated the night before Thanksgiving at 77th Street and Central Park West.