What do New Yorkers have for breakfast on Thanksgiving morning?
Well, if you’re watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, it might be a cup of coffee and a bagel with lox — at least, on the TV screen.
For the second year in a row, keep an eye out for an adorable pairing of a lox bagel and a coffee trycaloon — a sort of balloon-tricycle hybrid — seated on the back of a tricycle, pedaled down Central Park West and then Sixth Avenue by a performer dressed as a deli employee.
“Lox” and “Java,” as the trycaloon characters are known, are a couple of big-eyed, bodega breakfast staples: Lox is an everything bagel with dill cream cheese, cucumber slices and capers, decked out with a lox slice hair bow; Java wears a take on the classic “Anthora” Greek-style coffee cup design, coffee spilling out the top.
In real life, the bagel is, of course, a yeasted, boiled-then-baked, round bread of Eastern European origin that has become synonymous with New York City’s Jewish community, brought to the United States amid a wave of Jewish immigration from Poland that began in the late 19th century. According to historian Jeffrey A. Marx, the classic bagels-and-lox combination was created in 1920s New York City, combining two Jewish ethnic staples.
Now — far, far from its humble shtetl beginnings — a cartoon-ified balloon version of this Jewish classic will make its way down Central Park West, just six blocks away from the city’s lox capital, Zabar’s gourmet grocery, as it’s broadcast to millions across the country.
Lox and Java, each more than 10 feet tall, were first introduced to the iconic parade lineup in 2024 — when the show saw its largest audience ever, drawing 31.3 million viewers on television.
“Each year, our talented team of artisans and production specialists at Macy’s Studios work tirelessly to develop an exciting and eclectic lineup of larger-than-life balloons, fantastical floats and showstopping performances to amaze live spectators in New York City and viewers nationwide,” executive producer Will Coss said in a statement.
“Our team is always looking for new and creative ways to delight Parade fans on Thanksgiving morning,” he added, “and we saw the opportunity to include Lox and Java as a way to highlight quintessential New York delicacies in one of the City’s most beloved events.”
Last year, Lox and Java cycled down Central Park West, surrounded by other breakfast foods including toast and butter.
“From concept to production, our elements take, on average, six months to create at our Macy’s Parade Studio located in New Jersey,” Coss said. “All elements are conceived, designed, and produced by our talented artisans and production specialists.”
Also a New York City staple, Macy’s was founded in 1858 by Rowland Hussey Macy as a dry goods store, its original location between 13th and 14th Streets on 6th Avenue. As business grew, the store expanded into more locations and more departments. Lazarus Straus, a Jewish businessman from Germany, convinced Macy to open a dinnerware department in the basement of the store. His sons, Isidor and Nathan, soon became partners of Macy’s, and, eventually, the store’s full owners. (Isidor later famously died on the Titanic with his wife, Ida; the pocket watch that was recovered from his body sold this week for $2.3 million.)
Macy’s longtime flagship on 34th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues is where the parade ends.
You can catch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on Thursday at 8:30 a.m. on NBC and Peacock — or, if you’re so lucky, along Central Park West.
