New Year’s Day has been saved. At least for those who believe you cannot start a new year without a strut up Broad Street.

“Dem golden slippers,” along with all those feathers and sequins, will do their annual march. The Mummers and the city have signed off on a deal that will insure there will be a parade up Broad Street come Jan. 1, but it will be a different show. For starters, it will be a lot shorter. That’s not necessarily a bad thing.

All of this is the result of the financial squeeze the city finds itself in. The Nutter Administration informed the Mummers that they would cap the city’s contribution toward paying for the parade at $300,000. They also have axed the city’s contribution to the prize fund for the parade. Anything over $300,000 ceiling would then fall in the laps of the Mummers’ organizations.

To say there are some ruffled feathers out there would be an understatement. But that was the city’s final offer. That much was made clear during a final meeting between the two sides Wednesday afternoon.

Mummers organizations met last night and signed off on the deal. The best guess is that the tab for the shortened parade will come to at least $347,000 for police and cleanup. That means the Mummers are on the hook for $47,000, as well as the prize money.

But the truth is that they’re likely looking at a much larger deficit. Just the elaborate costumes of some of the groups – money the Mummers already have shelled out, can at times soar into the thousands of dollars.

The parade will still make its way from South Philly to City Hall, but the at times marathon event will now be confined to 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

In the meantime, the Mummers also are asking for the public’s help in solving the financial dilemma. They’ve set up a Web site, www.savethemummers.com, where you can donate money.

Congressman Bob Brady, D-1, is vowing to raise the money to cover the difference. He’s saying he’ll come up with the bucks, or chip it in himself.

I realize opinions are split on the Mummers. But there is no arguing they are an icon of the region, right up there with the cheesesteak and Rocky ascending the steps of the Art Museum.

So the parade will be a bit shorter this year. The bottom line is that on New Year’s Day, Mummers will be strutting on Broad Street for the 108th time.

This might be a good time to seek ways to help out our fine, feathered friends. And here’s a suggestion. Eagles owner Jeff Lurie seems to get a bad rap among fans. Most look at him as something less than “one of us.” He’s too often depicted as an effete snob playing a game of fantasy football with his pal, Joe Banner.

So imagine if Lurie were to step forward and say the team would cover the difference to bail out the Mummers Parade. The guy would be a hero in this town.

Then again, cynics would point out that Lurie already owes the city a big chunk of money, a point the team disputes by the way.

And then again, maybe the sports teams would be wiser to step into the breech and fund the city libraries, many of which are being closed due to funding cuts.

In the meantime, dust off those feathers, folks. New Year’s Day is two weeks from today.