Santa Claus parade

The parades usually include themed floats, dancing or marching groups and bands playing Christmas songs.

The Christmas parade is a direct descendant of late Medieval and Renaissance revivals of Roman Triumphs, which had music and banners, wagons filled with the spoils of war, and climaxed with the dux riding in a chariot, preferably drawn by two horses, and thus called the biga.

In Vancouver, the Santa Claus Parade, originally sponsored by Rogers, and later Telus, has also grown to be one of the largest, with 65 floats and bands.

A special train also circulates through the parade, collecting donations for the Greater Vancouver Food Bank and the Lower Mainland Christmas Bureau.

In New York City, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, famous for its giant helium-filled balloons, began in 1924, inspired by the Eaton's parade in Toronto, with Macy's employees in costume, and— a distinctively Roman touch— animals borrowed from the Central Park Zoo.

The inflation of the balloons in the streets flanking the American Museum of Natural History the night before has become a traditional gathering for New York's Upper West Side.

Among the early features were large papier-mâché heads similar to those seen by Hudson's display director, Charles Wendel, on a recent trip to Viareggio, Italy.

As part of its citywide Christmas celebrations, known as Gran Festival Navideño, Mexico City holds a parade on Eje Central.

[citation needed] In New Zealand most main centres have a Santa Parade, with many held since the early 20th century.

[4] Early New Zealand parades often had Santa arrive by unusual means, including on an elephant, by plane, and by parachute.