A
parade (also called
march or
marchpast) 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
celebration of some kind.
In Britain
the term parade is usually reserved for either
military parades or other occasions
where participants march in formation; for celebratory occasions
the word procession is more usual.
In the
Canadian Forces the term also
has several less formal connotations.
Protest demonstrations also sometimes take
the form of a parade, but in such cases are usually referred to as
a march instead.
Floats
The
parade float got its name because
the first floats were decorated
barges that
were towed along canals with ropes held by parade marchers on the
shore . 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. Today, parade floats are
traditionally pulled by
motor
vehicles or powered themselves.
Aircraft and boats
250 px
Since the advent of technology, it is 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, e.g., 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 Marksmen's Parade that takes place in
Hanover
every year during the Schützenfest. The parade is 12
kilometres long with more than 12,000 participants from all over
the world, among them more than 100 bands and around 70 floats and
carriages.
Types of parades
Parade examples
Yonkers High School students get ready
for the Yonkers Saint Patrick's Day Parade
Observances marked by parades
See also
External links
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
always held on the first Sunday in
September
, Munich
, New York
, Boston
, and
San
Diego
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