上升并远离，伴随着感恩节的传统

For pure, kitschy Americana, it's tough to beat a huge, helium-filled cartoon character floating down the streets of New York City.

对于纯粹、俗气的美国人来说，很难打败一个漂浮在纽约街头、充满氦气的巨大卡通人物。

It wouldn't be a party (or a parade) without Spongebob Squarepants. (Photo: Scott Cornell/Shutterstock.com)

Who among us doesn't enjoy gawking at a Pillsbury doughboy so big that if he really was made of dough, he'd make about 4 million crescent rolls? Or a single, angry eyebrow on a bird — as in an Angry Bird — that checks in at 7 feet long?

我们中有谁不喜欢呆呆地看着一个大面团堡，如果他真的是面团做的，他会做400万个新月形卷饼?或者是一只小鸟的一只愤怒的眉毛——就像一只愤怒的小鸟——有7英尺长?

The 93rd Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade rolls on again this week with its usual complement of marching bands (11 of them this year), floats (26 of them), clowns (1,000-plus) and other performers. But, c’mon. We all know who the stars of the show are.

本周，第93届梅西感恩节大游行又开始了，游行队伍中通常有游行乐队(今年有11支)，花车(26支)，小丑(1000多名)和其他表演者。但是,来吧。我们都知道谁是这部剧的主角。

If the wind allows — and that's a big if for this year — Macy's says 16 giant character balloons will make their way down the streets of Manhattan on Thursday, among 3.5 million or so people lining the parade route and 50 million others watching on TV. These balloons are a testament to American ingenuity and engineering — maybe even more than being kitsch or Americana or unbridled commercialism.

如果风允许，而这是最重要的，梅西百货表示，16个巨大的角色气球将在周四在曼哈顿的街道上走过去，大约350万人排在游行路线上，另有5000万人在电视上观看。这些气球是对美国创造力和工程技术的证明——也许甚至比庸俗、美国式或肆无忌惮的商业主义还要重要。

Really, who else would take months to design and build a balloon shaped like an acorn that's large enough to hold 15 million real acorns?

真的，还有谁会花几个月的时间来设计和制造一个形状像橡子的气球，大到可以装下一千五百万颗真正的橡子呢?

How big are these things? At 67 feet, the Ronald McDonald balloon is as high as a six-story building. The Red Mighty Morphin Power Ranger is 78 feet long, which Macy's points out is as long as 13 bicycles. They can weigh 400 pounds or more.

这些东西有多大?麦当劳叔叔气球高67英尺，有6层楼那么高。这款红色的大变形金刚金刚战士有78英尺长，梅西百货指出它有13辆自行车那么长。它们可以重达400磅或更多。