The Macy’s Annual Thanksgiving Day Parade has been going on since 1924, but in recent years the viewership of the parade has been declining. There have also been fewer acts in the parade than previous years. Is it worth keeping the parade around?

Recent years of the parade have been experiencing a big loss in viewership. In 2019, the Thanksgiving Day parade gained over 26 million viewers, in 2020 they had 25.9 million viewers and in 2021 they had a little less than 25 million viewers.

What makes people not want to watch? Freshman Natalie Randolph comments, “I don’t like how long the parade takes, honestly, I don’t feel like watching through the whole 2-3 hour long show.”

But there are also reasons for why viewers enjoy the parade. The parade is known for its enjoyable performances. Randolph expresses, “I love the performances throughout the parade. Some of my favorites from the 2021 parade were “Six” because of the comedy of it and “Moulin Rouge” because of the mashup between the songs sung.”

The parade is also known for its many fascinating floats. Freshman, Akyra Mohamed voiced, “I enjoy how on the Thanksgiving parade there are so many different types of floats and being able to see all of the performer’s.”

The parade has many enjoyable traditions like floats and gigantic balloons that have been a part of the parade since the 1930s although the company changes up the balloons and floats in the parade every year. Another tradition is Santa Clause appearing at the end of the parade on his sleigh waving hi to everyone, this tradition is one of the favorite parts for viewers since 1924.

Lately people have been questioning whether we should continue the parade or not. Randolph claims, “[The parade] definitely should continue! Some people look forward to these parades since it brings people together to watch it in-person or on the screen.”

Viewers also want the parade to continue because it gets people in the holiday spirit.

The parade became a fun holiday tradition to the people of New York after its very first parade. In the 1920s a majority of Macy’s employees were first generation European immigrants. The employees wanted to celebrate Thanksgiving Day with the type of festival they had back home. The first parade took place in 1924, when employees marched through 34th street. The parade was an instant hit to people and what would later become one of the most treasured holiday traditions.

Even though the parade has been losing viewership over recent years, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade should continue because of the floats, acts, and amazing performances.