Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Turns 100

The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade was drenched in rain Thursday and briefly disrupted by pro-Palestinian demonstrators. New York City police said they arrested 21 people after protesters sat down on the parade route with Palestinian flags and a "Don't Celebrate Genocide" banner. People protesting Israel's war in Gaza also interrupted last year's parade. Thanks to the wet weather, this year's parade saw lots of ponchos and umbrellas along with the usual lineup of giant balloons, floats, and star-studded performances, the AP reports.

• The latest edition of the annual holiday tradition featured new Spider-Man and Minnie Mouse balloons, zoo and pasta-themed floats, an ode to Big Apple coffee and bagels, performances from Jennifer Hudson, Idina Menzel, and Kylie Minogue, and more.

• The lineup was a far cry from the parade's initial incarnation a century ago, which featured floats showing scenes from Mother Goose, Red Riding Hood and the Wolf, Miss Muffet and the Spider, and other fairy tales. Some things remained the same, though. As in November 1924, there were plenty of marching bands and lots of clowns, followed by the grand finale of Santa Claus riding through Manhattan and ushering in the holiday season. In 1924, it was called "Macy's Christmas Parade" and featured animals from the Central Park Zoo, NPR reports.
• This year's parade featured 17 giant, helium-filled character balloons, 22 floats, 15 novelty and heritage inflatables, 11 marching bands, 700 clowns, 10 performance groups, award-winning singers and actors, and the WNBA champion New York Liberty.

• One new float spotlighted the Rao's food brand, featuring a knight and a dragon in battle made with actual pasta elements. Another celebrated the Bronx Zoo's 125th anniversary with representations of a tiger, a giraffe, a zebra and a gorilla.
• The rain didn't stop anything—the parade has only been canceled three times, from 1942 to 1944 during World War II—but organizers monitored wind speeds throughout the festivities to make sure it was safe for the big balloons to fly.

(More Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade stories.)