Traditions are always made when they're unique and they carry on for years. For example, a common tradition on New Year's Eve is kissing a person when the clock hits midnight and having a resolution to start a new experience and getting another chance. The one tradition that people seem to be very interested on New Year's Day are the activities going on in Pasadena, California. Every year on the first day of January, Pasadena hosts a big event called the "Rose Parade" and after the last float, the Rose Bowl game starts. The sporting event is a traditional college football game between two ranked teams and always takes place at the historical Rose Bowl stadium. Throughout my years of being an Angeleno, I have always wondered why Pasadena always has big events on New Year's Day and why it's a big deal. Here is what I found out.
Let's start off with the Rose Parade since it happens first thing in the morning. It all began in 1890 from a promotional club called the "Valley Hunt Club." It was a way to promote the "Mediterranean of the West." They would host activities such as chariot races and tug-of-war. With the success of the first parade, the club members decided to keep the tradition going and by having people decorate their carriages with fresh flowers and present it to the public; thus, the Tournament of Roses was introduced. In the next few years, the event expanded so much that it included marching bands and huge floats.
Right after the big parade comes the sporting event called the Rose Bowl game. Years after the birth of the Tournament or Roses, the first ever Rose Bowl game was played between Washington State University and Brown University. The result of the game came out to be Washington State defeating Brown 14-0. The game took place in Tournament Park before the Rose Bowl stadium was built. Finally, in 1922, the Rose Bowl was constructed. The first college football teams to ever play there were Penn State and USC. USC ended up defeating Penn State 14-7. Since then, the Rose Bowl game has found its rightful home. Coincidentally, both teams will be playing against each other in this year's game.
This whole day about flowers is what made Pasadena more unique and gets viewer's attention whether they are present at the parade or watching from their home. It has become a tradition to celebrate the New Year's with a good start. This year has become a change because since New Year's Day landed on a Sunday, the parade and the game were moved to Monday January 2. Although, this is not the first time that both events had to be moved to Monday. According to Onward State, this will be the 15th time that both events had to be delayed. The reason behind this is because the organizers were concerned that the floats would scare the horses which were parked in front of churches. So sit back and watch the beautiful floats as they will blow your mind and watch how historic the Rose Bowl game can be.
