by Effie Moore Salem

Created on: November 10, 2009   Last Updated: August 12, 2011

What cities are more fun at Thanksgiving? Without much thought  Philadelphia, New York, Chicago tops the list. Why? That's where the parades will be. What would Thanksgiving be without the parades? In most families watching the parade on television is as much a tradition as the turkey, dressing and gravy. Why not, at least once in lifetime, be among the spectators and allow the kids to see their favorite cartoon characters in action.

Philadelphia's Macy's parade has been around since 1920. This year - at 8:15 -, it starts at 20th and Markets Streets and travels down Market Street to City Hall, then up the Benjamin Franklin Parkway to the Philadelphia Art Museum. In Chicago, Ronald McDonald's parade will be celebrating its 76ths parade. It's from 8am until 11 and goes down State Street from Randolph to Chicago. Can't get there, then watch it on television. Chicago started its parade during the Great Depression

New York, according to one Thanksgiving travel site is changing its route this year (2009) to allow visitors to view the parade from their hotel rooms. At least from the Park Central Hotel rooms. The route change will be the sixth since Macy's parade started in 1924.
the parade will pass directly in front of the Park Central New York on 7th avenue, allowing guests to view the festivities from the comfort of their hotel rooms.

On November 27th, 1924 four hundred of Macy's employees started the tradition of their ongoing parade. Elephants, camels, and other animals pranced down Convent Avenue and 145th street while the bands played and floats pulled by horsed moved along and while a cheering crowd clapped. That was the beginning of something big and it continues. Only three years, 1942, 1043 1944 were there no Macy's Parade.

The Parade started as an advertising campaign to begin the Christmas season and Thanksgiving was simply the day chosen to begin the event. Something big and never to be forgotten is how the President of the company advertised the event in the local papers. Most of the employees were immigrants from Europe where Christmas celebrations were most important; Thanksgiving was only used as a backdrop for the forthcoming big event. After all, London, Berlin, Paris and Rome knew all about Christmas merrymaking; and the potential for carefree spending. In other words, Thanksgiving was not as important to them then as it is today.

It was a surprise party. Well not exclusively a surprise but a newspaper ad promised a surprise New York

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