Parading in America
Long before the inception of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, city streets--including those of New York--were graced by parades, many of which were sponsored by businesses.
An early tradition in New York, dating back to the mid-nineteenth century was that of Ragamuffin parading. On Thanksgiving Day the poorer people of New York—many of them immigrants continuing European traditions of carnival—would don colorful, handmade costumes reminiscent of those found in masquerades and parade the streets begging for pennies.[1] As the twentieth century progressed, ragamuffin parading in New York was discouraged. In opposition to the begging that traditionally took place during these parades, the Madison Square Boys’ Club began staging its own Ragamuffin Parade in 1925 in which hundreds of costumed boys carried signs that read “American Boys Don’t Beg.”[2] This parade continued to be held annually on Thanksgiving Day.
Another parade tradition more akin to that of Macy’s, but which predated it, was the Thanksgiving Day Parade of its primary rival, Gimbel’s Department Store located directly across from it on 34th Street.[3] Beginning in 1920, the Gimbel Brothers’ department store in Philadelphia held an annual Christmas parade on Thanksgiving Day. In addition to the Gimbel’s parade in Philadelphia (which is no longer held as the store closed in the late 1980s) several other parades including a prominent one in Detroit have gathered crowds and attracted television coverage, as Macy’s has, for decades. [4] |
The Gimbel Brothers Store in Philadelphia
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Following the tradition set by these earlier celebrations, Macy’s has come to dominate the parade scene in New York City.
Back to the Top / On to Birth of the Macy's Parade
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[References]
[1] William Leach, Land of desire: merchants, power, and the rise of a new American culture (New York: Pantheon Books, 1993), 331-338.
[2] "Charity to Dominate City's Thanksgiving," New York Times 1857-Current, Nov 24, 1932, ProQuest Historical Newspapers The New York Times (1851 - 2002), 1.
[3] "Macy's: Trivia," Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia, 27 November 2005, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macy%27s#Trivia> (November 2005).
[4] "Thanksgiving Timeline, 1541-2001: Thanksgiving Day 1924," The Library of Congress, n.d. <http://memory.loc.gov/learn/features/thanksgiving/timeline/1924.html> (November 2005).
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[Images]
Gimbel Store in Philadelphia: courtesy of <http://hellophiladelphia.com/> (© HelloMetro)
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