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A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually some variety of celebration.

The term "parade" may also be used for multiple different subjects; for example, in the Canadian Armed Forces, "parade" is used both to describe the procession and in other informal connotations.^[1]

Protest demonstrations can also take the form of a parade, but such cases are usually referred to as a march instead.

History

The first parades date back to c. 2000 BC, only being used for religious or military purposes. The Babylonians celebrated Akitu by parading their deities and performing rituals.^[2]

To celebrate the federal government's victory in the American Civil War, 145,000 Union soldiers marched in a two-day Grand Review of the Armies in Washington, D.C. They passed before the President, the Cabinet, and senior officers from May 23–24, 1865.

At the end of hostilities in Europe in 1944–45, "victory parades" were a common feature throughout the recently liberated territories. For example, on 3 September 1944, the personnel of the 2nd Canadian Infantry Division marched six abreast to the music of massed regimental pipe and drum bands through the streets of Dieppe, France, to commemorate the liberation of the city from German occupation, as well as commemorate the loss of over 900 soldiers from that formation during the Dieppe Raid two years earlier.^[3] On the Moscow Victory Parade of 1945 held in Moscow, Soviet Union in June 1945, the Red Army commemorated Victory in Europe with a parade and the ceremonial destruction of captured Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS standards.

Parade float

The parade float got its name because the first floats were decorated barges that were towed along the canals with ropes held by parade marchers on the shore^{[citation needed]}. Floats were occasionally propelled from within by concealed oarsmen, but the practice was abandoned because of the high incidence of drowning when the lightweight and unstable frames capsized. Strikingly, among the first uses of grounded floats – towed by horses – was a ceremony in memory of recently drowned parade oarsmen.^{[citation needed]} Today, parade floats are traditionally pulled by motor vehicles or are powered themselves.

Parade grand marshals

Multiple grand marshals may often be designated for an iteration of the parade, and may or may not be in actual attendance due to circumstances (including death). A community grand marshal or other designations may be selected alongside a grand marshal to lead the front or other parts of the parade.

Aircraft and boats

Since the advent of such technology, it became possible for aircraft and boats to parade. A flypast is an aerial parade of anything from one to dozens of aircraft, both in commercial context at airshows and also to mark important dates, such as national days or significant anniversaries. They are particularly common in the United Kingdom, where they are often associated with Royal occasions. Similarly, for ships, there may be a sail-past of, e.g., tall ships (as was seen during Trafalgar 200) or other sailing vessels as during the celebrations of the 60th anniversary of World War II.

Longest parade

The longest parade in the world is the Hanover Schützenfest that takes place in Hanover every year during the Schützenfest. The parade is 12 kilometres (7.5 miles) long with more than 12,000 participants from all over the world, among them more than 100 bands and around 70 floats and carriages.^[4]

Types of parades

Examples of annual event parades

Anheuser-Busch Washington's Birthday Parade, held annually in Laredo, Texas
Bastille Day Military Parade - Held annually in Paris, France, in celebration of the Bastille Day
Bud Billiken Parade and Picnic - Second largest annual parade in the United States, held on the second Saturday in August in Chicago, Illinois.
Calgary Stampede Parade
Carnaval San Francisco
Carnival in the Netherlands
Dahlia parade in Zundert always held on the first Sunday in September
Days of '47 Parade in Salt Lake City
Disney Parks Christmas Day Parade
Dragon of Shandon Samhain parade in Cork, held annually on the 31st of October at night
Easter parade
Gasparilla Pirate Festival in Tampa is the third largest parade in the US and commemorates a pirate sack of the city.
Independence Day parade in Yerevan, Armenia
International Bank of Commerce "Under the Stars" youth parade, held annually in Laredo, Texas
Independence Day Parade parade in Kyiv, Ukraine.
London's New Year's Day Parade
Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
Mardi Gras
Main Street Electrical Parade
Marksmen's Parade, Hannover
May Day Parade
McDonald's Thanksgiving Parade, Chicago, Illinois
Independence Day Parade parade in Minsk, Belarus.
Mummers Parade
National Memorial Day Parade
New York's Village Halloween Parade
Nickelodeon Celebration Parade
Notting Hill Carnival
Orange Bowl Parade
Orange walk
Orlando Citrus Parade
Philippine Independence Day Parade
Procession of the Species
Republic Day Parade in India
Republic Day Parade in Pakistan
Rose Parade in United States
Saint Patrick's Day Parade Dublin, Munich, New York City, Boston, Holyoke, Quebec City and San Diego
San Francisco Chinese New Year Festival and Parade
Singapore National Day Parade
Torchlight Parade, Seattle, Washington
Toronto Santa Claus Parade
Tournament of Roses Parade
Trooping the Colour
Independence Day Parade in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan
Victory Day Parade, held annually in the Russian Federation, formerly held in Ukraine, and celebrated in post-soviet nations.
Vikingland Band Festival Parade Marching Championship
West Country Carnival
Zinneke Parade

Observances marked by parades

Anzac Day
Armed Forces Day
Canada Day
Caribana
Carnival
Chinese New Year
Christmas
Easter
Independence Day
International Firefighters' Day
Labor Day
Mardi Gras
Memorial Day
Navy Day
New Year's Day
Olympic Games (Summer, Winter, Summer Youth, Winter Youth and all Olympic-style sporting events and a few world championships), usually in the form of the Parade of Nations, where the teams or the flags of the participating teams enter one by one in alphabetical order of the host country
Police Day
Pioneer Day (Utah) – Days of '47 Parade
Puerto Rican Day Parade
Republic Day
Samhain
Schützenfest
Solstice
St. Patrick's Day
Thanksgiving
Vaisakhi
Victory Day

Notes

^ An evening parade in the reserve force refers to any assembly of troops for a period of instruction, drill, or office work while a first parade refers to a preliminary inspection of a vehicle before a road march. A C.O.'s Parade is an inspection by the Commanding Officer. There are also Defaulters Parades and Kit Parades.
^ "Parade History: When Did We Start Doing This All The Time?". History Daily. 12 March 2021. Retrieved 2024-03-23.
^ [1] Archived April 2, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
^ "Thousands of people march in world's longest parade". The Local Germany. 3 July 2011.