In the final days before Christmas every year, malls are bustling with shoppers who have waited until the last minute to purchase holiday gifts.
This tradition has been going on for decades. Check out these photos from 1946, which show hundreds of shoppers gathering outside Macy’s Herald Square in New York City on Christmas Eve.
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| A Christmas Eve shopper with a crated rocking horse tries to hail a cab outside Macy’s department store in New York City on December 24, 1946. (Photo by Carl Nesensohn/AP Photo) |
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| In this December, 24, 1946, file photo, last minute Christmas Eve shoppers gather in front of Macy’s window display in New York. A $400 million makeover is giving New York’s iconic Macy’s store a sleek, new 21st century style. (Photo by Carl Nesensohn/AP Photo) |
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| Mrs.Frances Corless her daughter “Chickie” are loaded down with bundles after doing some last minute shopping at Macy’s on Christmas Eve in New York, December 24, 1946. (Photo by Carl Nesensohn/AP Photo) |
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| General scene showing Christmas Eve shoppers near Macy’s in New York, December 24, 1946. (Photo by Carl Nesensohn/AP Photo) |