The Easter Bonnet

Easter Bonnet, 1959, United Kingdom.

Why do we dress up on Easter and wear our Easter bonnet? I searched online and found a few answers. Spring is a re-birth. The celebration of new life after a long winter is evident. After the Christian custom of fasting at Lent, it's all about emerging into the world in your "Sunday best." New clothes are often a symbol of this. The Easter Parade in New York was started in the 1870s, after the Civil War when people wanted to be positive about life after such a horrible war. After people left church on Easter Sunday, they paraded down Fifth Avenue and thus began the tradition. 

Easter Bonnet Parade, 1965, Catholic Woman's Club, Beverly Hills. Valley Times Collection

Every year our gracious friends, Carol and Thane host an Orphan's Easter barbecue in their backyard. We all bring food to celebrate the joys of Spring. Since we're outside, I usually wear a festive hat. I just can't decide what to wear this year!

Ellen's Festive Easter headgear

Will you be wearing your Easter bonnet this Sunday?