It is the time of year for everyone to enjoy the Santa Claus parade, or Christmas Parade as some call it. I am sure all of us can remember standing with our parents, in the cold, sometimes snowing, sometimes raining, and sometimes just plain cold, until we could get to see Santa Claus. We can also remember doing the same with our children and the excitement building in them as the end of the parade got closer. We also used to watch the Toronto Santa Claus parade on TV every year with our kids and Pat’s parents. We made an afternoon of it and enjoyed the show.
On our travels we have experienced a few parades in some places you don’t think of as typically having a Santa Claus or Christmas parade, but in each case they find a way to celebrate the arrival of Christmas. Last year we saw a boat parade in Florida, and the year before a Junkanoo in the Bahamas. This year we experienced a parade in the desert town of Quartzsite.
![]() |
Crystal River Christmas Boat Parade 2023 |
![]() |
New Plymouth Junkanoo, Bahamas, 2022 |
We bundled up because it was cold at about 12C or so. Yes, I know that is still technically shorts weather but it is the desert and when the sun goes down, so does the temperature. We all got bundled up and drove the few miles to the road where the parade would pass by. Everyone stayed in their vehicles until the parade started, but soon everyone was outside wishing those on the floats a Merry Christmas. It is nice when you get in a setting like that to exchange greetings with people you dont know, who are there for the same purpose, and it doesnt take long to get back into the same feeling you had at a parade as a kid.
For the size of the town we were impressed with the turnout, both for spectators and floats. It started just after 7pm and lasted for about 35 minutes before the float with Santa and Mrs. Claus. There were no street lights so it was quite dark but I am fairly certain I saw at least three Santas go by, so I suspect some were just dressed as Santa. Most of the floats were four by four off-road vehicles decorated with all manner of lights, while some were trucks and trailers, police cars and emergency vehicles. The people who participated certainly put a lot of effort in decorating their rigs. My phone does not take particularly good night shots so these are what they are.
![]() |
I think that might have been a Santa |
![]() |
This one too |
![]() |
Not sure who this is….. |
![]() |
Local service bus, the ‘Camel Express’ decorated up |
I actually did not get a picture of the float with Santa on it for some reason, but believe me, he was there.
Just about all the participants on the floats were dispensing candies and treats, while some were running down the road doing the same from sacks. At one point a trailer went by and because of the dark we didnt see it, but heard all kinds of candies hitting the ground at our feet, plus one big thud. We turned on our cell phone lights to gather them up, noting the thud that hit the ground was an onion. Now I know there are lumps of coal that may be left for some at Christmas but we were really puzzled about the onion. It was not really any worse for wear so I brought it home and it will end up being eaten at some point. This was also no random act as I saw other onions on the road after the parade ended. I couldn’t help but wonder about the onion and what the story was about. It was obviously a deliberate act to take onions on the float, but why.
Well I know you will want to know as well, so I googled it. Google found a story from the Arizona Republic on line newspaper from 2019 (go figure). The story is found at this link and apparently there is a tradition centered around the Christmas Onion. So now we know. I hope the link remains viable for you to read over time, but it is an interesting read and basically talks about the various layers of Christmas that elicit more tears/emotion the closer you get to the center/Christmas. I wont be throwing onions at people any time soon but think this was a way for whoever threw it to send a message about Christmas.
It was a nice parade. Interesting story about the onion.
ReplyDeleteYes, pretty impressive a small town can put something like that together.
ReplyDelete