Tuesday night, Nov. 20, Appleton continued a robust tradition of holding the nation's largest Christmas parade. It was a cold, wet night with sleet, so I was expecting most people to stay home. Wrong! The streets around College Avenue were packed with traffic, and even though I was nearly 30 minutes early, I had to park about a third of a mile away. College Avenue was packed with spectators for this exciting parade. I couldn't stay long, but managed to get a few photos. A son is in one of them.








While cute, I was actually slightly annoyed by this 60's-style float, which featured flower children and John Lennon's anti-religion anthem, "Imagine," a song which suggests that the world would be better if we'd all just believe there is no God above us. Does that really fit a Christmas parade? Oh well. Nations that official reject the notion of God have been the worst for genocide and violence against millions, so I don't think John Lennon's creed is what the world needs.



A float pointing out that we are celebrating 150 years of Appleton!