In 2007, Koons created a large-scale helium-filled balloon of his original Rabbit sculpture, measuring approximately 16 meters in height, for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Thanksgiving is a North American holiday rooted in the tradition of expressing gratitude for the fall harvest, which traces back to the Colonial era. Every year on this day at the end of November, Macy’s department store sponsors a widely attended and televised parade that marches down New York City’s Fifth Avenue. Along with this New York parade, his own childhood memories, including participating in Colonial Day Parades in his hometown of York, Pennsylvania, served as inspiration; in this case fusing tradition and contemporary art in pursuit of social celebration.