PHILADELPHIA, Pa. (Amazing America TV) — Contrary to popular belief, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is not America’s first. The oldest Thanksgiving Day Parade started in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1920, preceding the famous New York parade by four years.
Organized by the Gimbel Brothers Department Store (AKA Gimbels), the parade was introduced as a festive and fun way to kick off the holiday shopping season and draw crowds to the store.
Following a route that started at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and ended at the Gimbels store at 9th & Market, the first-ever parade was on a much smaller scale than modern versions — more of a community pageant than a major broadcast spectacle. The floats were simple but charming, and they were accompanied by marchers in costumes, with Santa Claus riding in the final float to close out the parade.
The event became a much-anticipated annual tradition and evolved into what is now called the 6ABC Dunkin’ Thanksgiving Day Parade, which claims the title of the longest-running Thanksgiving parade in America.
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