NEW YORK, Nov. 26 (Xinhua) -- The 89th annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade returned to march down streets of New York City on Thursday, ushering in the start of holiday season with a large number of participants and spectators.

More than 8,000 participants including clowns, balloon handlers, marching bands, dance troupes and special celebrity guests traveled through Manhattan, with more than 3.5 million spectators lining the streets of New York City.

Calvin Jay, 37, who came from New Jersey told Xinhua that it is the first time for him to bring his family here. "We love the parade, it gets everybody together at the holiday," he said.

Since 1924, the Macy's Parade has marked the official start of the holiday season, introducing a cherished march of magic that has dazzled generations of fans. For the 89th edition, the famed spectacle's line-up features 17 giant character balloons.

Among the four new character balloons for 2015: a 45-foot-tall Angry Birds' Red, the 72-foot-long DINO, Scrat and his Acorn (from the Ice Age films), and a brand-new Ronald McDonald. They were joining returning favorites like Hello Kitty, Snoopy and Woodstock, Thomas the Tank Engine, and SpongeBob SquarePants.

Several stars of film, television, stage, sports and music also took part in the march, providing the nation first-class performances along the way. Joining the festivities this year are Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo, Mariah Carey, Dove Cameron among others.

After Friday's attacks in Paris, which killed at least 129 people and left hundreds more wounded, the New York Police Department has deployed an increased security presence along the parade route.

NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton told reporters before the parade that NYPD has the largest number of officers it has ever had for this event, over 2,500, this year, its newly formed Critical Response Team was watching the event, and extra uniformed and plainclothes cops, K-9 unites, bomb-sniffing dogs were also being deployed.

The nation's biggest and most anticipated Thanksgiving celebration, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade was being broadcast nationally on TV, with millions of families nationwide tuning in to watch the excitement unfold.