Although it will be hard to find something to be thankful for in this turbulent and unexpected year of tragedies the festivities will still occur as scheduled including the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. This year’s Thanksgiving will definitely be different than the rest. The CDC recommends limiting gatherings to only the residents in your house and having extended family dinners virtually. They also recommend avoiding going to huge parties and parades and if the person does they shouldn’t drink alcohol or use drugs. After Canada’s Thanksgiving celebrations and the huge spike in cases, Americans should be more careful in order to prevent an even further rise of cases.

According to John Hopkins University with over “9.1 million infections…230,548 deaths…At least 31 states across the US reported at least one record-high day of new coronavirus cases in the past month…” it is extremely important that social gatherings of any sort should be avoided this Thanksgiving. Dr. Fauci recommends not getting together with any family unless they “…are not infected…been recently tested…living a lifestyle in which they don’t have any interaction with anybody…” 

According to Macy’s typically “3.5 million spectators and more than 8,000 volunteers…” come to the parade every year. All the floats and street performers will still be present during this year’s parade. However, they “won’t have human handlers…they’ll be carried …by an innovative, specially rigged anchor vehicle framework of five specialty vehicles.” They are really taking all precautionary measures possible to ensure that the parade will be safe and still provide joy to millions of Americans on Thanksgiving. It will be pre-recorded and they are cutting down “…participants by about 75%”. They are also canceling the balloon inflation event and all participants in the parade must be over 18 years old. 

According to the App, some things to look forward to while watching the parade are the new balloons “Boss Baby and Red Titan from the Youtube series “Ryan’s World”. There are also three new floats one dedicated to Tom and Jerry another “Christmas in Town Square” inspired by Lifetime’s “It’s a Wonderful Lifetime” and “Her Future is STEMsational” from Olay. Macy’s says they “are all about giving back to people…” and “…felt…an obligation to the country to continue with this very important tradition…” Thanks to the employees at Macy’s this Thanksgiving just got a little brighter.