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Event Information:
Santa
Claus parades or Christmas pageants
are parades held in some countries
to celebrate the official opening of
the Christmas season with the
arrival of Santa Claus. The parades
usually include themed floats,
dancing or marching groups and bands
playing Christmas songs. They are
moving pageants that typically end
near the center of a city. Often
sponsored by department stores, they
may reinforce the store's brand
recognition during the important
Christmas shopping season.
It 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. (A quadriga such as
surmounts the Brandenburg Gate is
drawn by four horses.) Similarly,
the climax of a Santa Claus parade
is always Santa in his sleigh, drawn
by eight reindeer (an octigia).
Roman Triumphs were themselves
consciously modeled on ceremonies
honoring the gods, and Santa Claus
himself is the descendant of Saint
Nicholas. The Santa Claus parade
directly corresponds to the modern
triumphal entry of Santa Claus.
In
Vancouver, the Rogers' 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.
Local
Weather:
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