The Santa Claus Parade: A Canadian Holiday Season Tradition
The fourth Thursday in November is Thanksgiving Day in the U.S. & for many the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade marks the unofficial start of the Christmas season.
In other countries, most notbaly Canada (who had its Thanksgiving Day in the midst of October's harvest) the start of the Christmas season is marked by the "Santa Claus Parade".
The largest is Toronto Santa Claus Parade, held annually near the middle of November in Toronto, which was started in 1905 (along with Winnipeg) by the Eaton's department store, with just a single float. Montrealers enjoyed their first parade in 1925. The largest parade in North America, it often stretched over a mile and a half in length.
It now has over 24 floats, 24 bands, and 1,700 participants. It is one of the biggest productions in North America, and is broadcast to many countries around the world.[citation needed]
In Vancouver, the Roger's Santa Claus Parade has also grown to be one of the largest, with 65 floats and bands. A special train also comes around in the parade, collecting donations for the Greater Vancouver Food Bank and the Lower Mainland Christmas Bureau. In 2005, the parade collected over 4,300 kg of food and 2,300 toy donations.
In Toronto, children applied for the honour of marching in the parade, sometimes waiting 3 years for their turn. Those who were chosen were outfitted in marvellous made-to-measure costumes and were paid a small fee plus hot chocolate and cookies along the parade route.
Unlike Macy's in New York, Eaton's made its own costumes each year. The Merchandise Display Department worked year-round at Eaton's Sheppard and Highway 400 service building to prepare the costumes, the incredible floats and the mechanized window tableaux.
Each year the whole parade would be boxed and trained up to Montreal. There Santa would triumpantly disembark at Windsor Station, and the scemne would be set for the Montreal edition of the Eaton's Parade.
In 1969, following the FLQ bombings, the Montreal parade was cancelled. It only has started running down Ste. Catherine Street over the last decade, after being revived by area businesses and the city government.
The Toronto tradition came to an end in 1982 in its traditional form when president Fred Eaton sadly cancelled Eaton's sponsorship of the parade due to financial reasons.
The Archives of Ontario holds file after file of letters of complaint and lament from the generation that had come to believe "the Eaton's parade is Christmas" (from F 229-207 F.S. Eaton's parade and personal files).
A non-profit organization took over arrangements for the Toronto Santa Claus Parade, which still runs the 6 kilometre route each November.
See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Claus_Parade (Wikipedia)
http://www.thesantaclausparade.com/
http://www.archives.gov.on.ca/english/exhibits/eatons/parade.htm
about Montreal's Santa Claus Parade (from cbc radio): http://www.cbc.ca/homerun/gravenor.html
In other countries, most notbaly Canada (who had its Thanksgiving Day in the midst of October's harvest) the start of the Christmas season is marked by the "Santa Claus Parade".
The largest is Toronto Santa Claus Parade, held annually near the middle of November in Toronto, which was started in 1905 (along with Winnipeg) by the Eaton's department store, with just a single float. Montrealers enjoyed their first parade in 1925. The largest parade in North America, it often stretched over a mile and a half in length.
It now has over 24 floats, 24 bands, and 1,700 participants. It is one of the biggest productions in North America, and is broadcast to many countries around the world.[citation needed]
In Vancouver, the Roger's Santa Claus Parade has also grown to be one of the largest, with 65 floats and bands. A special train also comes around in the parade, collecting donations for the Greater Vancouver Food Bank and the Lower Mainland Christmas Bureau. In 2005, the parade collected over 4,300 kg of food and 2,300 toy donations.
In Toronto, children applied for the honour of marching in the parade, sometimes waiting 3 years for their turn. Those who were chosen were outfitted in marvellous made-to-measure costumes and were paid a small fee plus hot chocolate and cookies along the parade route.
Unlike Macy's in New York, Eaton's made its own costumes each year. The Merchandise Display Department worked year-round at Eaton's Sheppard and Highway 400 service building to prepare the costumes, the incredible floats and the mechanized window tableaux.
Each year the whole parade would be boxed and trained up to Montreal. There Santa would triumpantly disembark at Windsor Station, and the scemne would be set for the Montreal edition of the Eaton's Parade.
In 1969, following the FLQ bombings, the Montreal parade was cancelled. It only has started running down Ste. Catherine Street over the last decade, after being revived by area businesses and the city government.
The Toronto tradition came to an end in 1982 in its traditional form when president Fred Eaton sadly cancelled Eaton's sponsorship of the parade due to financial reasons.
The Archives of Ontario holds file after file of letters of complaint and lament from the generation that had come to believe "the Eaton's parade is Christmas" (from F 229-207 F.S. Eaton's parade and personal files).
A non-profit organization took over arrangements for the Toronto Santa Claus Parade, which still runs the 6 kilometre route each November.
See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Claus_Parade (Wikipedia)
http://www.thesantaclausparade.com/
http://www.archives.gov.on.ca/english/exhibits/eatons/parade.htm
about Montreal's Santa Claus Parade (from cbc radio): http://www.cbc.ca/homerun/gravenor.html
posted by eric model | 10:55 AM
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