Today in Pop-Culture History (November 27th, 1924): The First Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Was Held in New York City!

On November 27th, 1924, the first Macy's Parade occurred in New York City! Originally called the "Macy's Christmas Parade", it was renamed to the "Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade" in 1927. The first parade was a massive success, with 10,000 people attending. Due to the high turn-out, Macy's later announced that the parade would become an annual event. The first parade was also broadcast live on NBC radio, where it would be continually broadcast until 1952, when the broadcasts were switched to predominantly television. Along with the official name change in 1927, balloons were also introduced for the first time that year, with the first being the iconic cartoon character, Felix the Cat. Since its inception, the parade has become synonymous with Thanksgiving in America. The Frank Sinatra classic, "(Theme From) New York, New York" has been the opening song for the parade since 2015.