Historic parade held in California for New Year celebration

Los Angeles, Jan 3

Tens of thousands of people lined the streets to watch the 134th Rose Parade, the most famous annual celebration event for the New Year in southern California.

The Rose Parade on Monday, usually an iconic New Year's Day tradition, was pushed by one day this year in keeping with the event's "Never on Sunday" tradition kept since 1893, Xinhua news agency reported.

The Rose Parade travels five and a half miles down Colorado Blvd. in Pasadena, a city in the western US state of California. The event is famous for its gorgeous, spectacularly-designed floats of all shapes and colours. This year, the parade features 39 floral-covered floats, 16 equestrian groups and 21 marching bands from across the country and around the world.

"Turning the Corner" is the theme this year for the event.

"Whether that corner is actual or figurative like the unlimited potential that each new year brings -- we all enjoy the opportunity of a fresh start," explained Amy Wainscott, the 2023 Pasadena Tournament of Roses president, in a statement posted on the event's website.

"Turning a corner means rising above -- alone, or with family, friends and community. This year, as we turn the corner together, we share in the hope, beauty and joy of what 2023 will bring," she noted.