Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade Wiki strives to be the most reliable source of historical information for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, and other Macy's Iconic Events. As such, we have created this style guide to ensure all articles have a consistent layout and feel.
For formal information on Parade element names, details, and facts, please utilize the unofficial Macy’s Parade Press Kit Archive curated by JamarcusMudkip, one of the Wiki’s co-owners.
Basics[]
The most important rule on any wiki is to create pages with your own words. Copy and pasting passages word-for-word from Wikipedia or other sources is not allowed. It is suggested that you paraphrase if you find useful information from another source, or directly quote it with a citation.
Articles on the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Wiki should balance the line between informative and fun. Being an online encyclopedia dedicated to a joyous event like a Parade should not be written in a boring, monotonous way. Add words that may give pages "zing" and "pep" to match the high-energy of the Parade are welcome. However, articles still need to be informative without using too many descriptive words or "fluff," which can often make it seem as though an AI has written the article.
Grammar[]
Edits on the Macy’s Parade Wiki are expected to be made with proper grammar and punctuation. It is important that you do not make any edits in haste as any errors may not be picked up on until long after you’ve made your edit. Some of the most important practices for editors to remember are:
Parade element names do not belong in quotes. “Tom Turkey” is incorrect, but Tom Turkey is correct. Names of characters should be capitalized: Bullwinkle Moose, Snoopy, Mickey Mouse, etc. Present dates in full: November 27, 1924 Use American spelling of words; use “color” instead of “colour,” “organize” rather than “organise,” etc. Punctuation belongs inside quotation marks.
Names and Titles[]
Capitalization of float names and other media should follow these rules:
- Capitalize the first and last words.
- Do not capitalize articles (a word that becomes before a noun to show if it’s specific or general: a, an, the), conjunctions (part of speech that connect words, phrases, clauses, or sentences: for, and, but, nor, or, yet, so), or prepositions (words used to link nouns, pronouns and phrases to other words in a sentence: at, by, for, from, of, to, without).
- Capitalize all nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs, and adverbs in titles.
- Capitalize subordinate conjunctions (after, as, because, how, who, if, than, what, why, that, when, where, whether, while).
- When referring to the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in a shorthand way, capitalize the P in “Parade.”
- Movie, television series, and album names are in italics: Chicken Little; A Very Darren Christmas
- Song and episode names belong in quotation marks: “Sweet Talker,” “Truth or Square,” etc.
Linking[]
- When linking an article using a word or subject that ends with an apostrophe, do not include the apostrophe or the letter s. For example:
- Kermit the Frog’s is correct
- Kermit the Frog’s is incorrect.
- Only link an article on another article when it is first mentioned (an exception is made for lineup articles).
Link sponsored elements as one of the following:
- Louisiana Office of Tourism's Celebration Gator float.
- The Celebration Gator float from Louisiana Office of Tourism.
Page Formatting[]
All pages on the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade Wiki follow a certain format depending on their subject. For extra help, browse other articles on the Wiki that relate to the subject to get a better understanding of their structure.
Parade Element Article Formatting[]
- The opening paragraph of a parade element article should contain important details about the character, brand, or product the parade element is based on and/or promoting. This can include (but is not limited to) founders/creators and founding dates, debut dates, media the character has appeared in, and cultural impact. The opening section of the article should be a maximum of two paragraphs, depending on the historical significance of the character/brand.
- For Macy’s-owned elements, please use one of the following phrases:
- “ELEMENT NAME is a balloon/float/specialty unit from the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade,” or
- “BALLOON NAME is an original Macy’s character that appeared as a balloon in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.”
The “History with the Macy’s Parade” section should, aptly, contain all historical information relating to the element’s history in the Parade. To make the article easier to navigate, please utilize sub-headings to organize variations a parade element may have had.
Parade Lineup Article Formatting[]
The proper formatting of a lineup article can be seen on pages for the 2022 Macy’s Parade, the 2021 Macy’s Parade, and many others. They should include:
- An introductory paragraph that includes the date and location of the event, where it was aired, the hosts, and stats on the lineup.
- A lineup section that goes over all Parade elements.
- A trivia section that goes over any notable accidents or defects, facts, etc.
- A “See also” section that includes links to the Parade’s respective gallery and marching order pages, or any other pages with information that relates to that specific procession.
Talent Article Formatting[]
Articles for marching bands, performers, and performance groups fall under this category.
- Marching band and performance group articles should begin with a brief description of where the ensemble is located, what school they originate from, details on their founding, awards and accolades, notable appearances, etc. The “History with the Macy’s Parade” section can include details about the band’s invitation announcement, what they did to fundraise for their trip, details on their NYC trip/Parade appearance, etc.
- Performer pages should begin with a paragraph or two explaining who they are. Information in this section can include their genre, awards, a very brief career timeline, notable collaborations, etc. The main section of the page can include details on their Parade appearances
Gallery Formatting[]
Galleries for Parade elements can only be created if the subject has three or more images. If a gallery is made for a one-time element, there is no need to include any headings. If an element has only one variation, headings should be divided into each separate appearance, and one for its development and creation if needed.
If an element, such as Mickey Mouse or Snoopy, has several variants, each variant should have their own heading. The sub-headings of each element should categorize each separate appearance the element made, in addition to its development and creation.
Image captions in galleries should be sparse as most people can discern what is happening in an image. This does not extend to images where what is happening may not be clear to the viewer, such as images of accidents or of a balloon with a deflated limb.
Marching Order Formatting[]
Marching order articles should include a logo of the specific year’s procession at the top of the page, in addition to a duplicate of the opening paragraph from the main lineup page.
To center the text and image, view the source of another marching order page and copy-and-paste the needed source text. The “See also” section at the very bottom of the page should not be centered, however.