5 Fun Facts About the , Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
1, The parade was originally held during Christmas.
Employees organized the parade in 1924 to celebrate becoming the "world's largest store.".
Three years later, it was held during Thanksgiving.
2, They used to let the balloons float away.
Those who found released balloons got a gift certificate from Macy's.
3, The parade was originally broadcast on the radio.
The first radio broadcast of the parade was in 1932.
The celebration was not broadcast on television until 1946.
4.
, The parade route hasn't always been the same.
The route was first changed in 2009 due to new pedestrian plazas.
It has changed a few more times since then.
5.
, The parade hasn't always gone off without a hitch.
The worst incident was possibly in 1997, when winds reached speeds of more than 40 miles per hour.
Four people were injured by rogue balloons, leaving one woman in a coma for a month.
The balloon was caught on top of me and my daughter.
We thought it was going to smother us, Joyce Reis, via 'The New York Times'
