Easter in New York has become synonymous with a pageant of people who march down Fifth Avenue, many wearing large, over-the-top hats, and reveling in the sunshine.
The tradition of the Easter parade began after the Civil War as a “fashion promenade,” rooted in the custom of a Sunday walk following religious service. Wealthy New Yorkers would emerge from their respective houses of worship along Fifth Avenue to stroll down the street, dine at nearby hotels, or pay social calls. Some members of the congregation at St. Thomas Episcopal Church, located at 5th Avenue and 53rd Street, carried flowers used in the Easter service to St. Luke’s Hospital at 54th Street.
The most popular Easter Parade was the one that took place on New York City’s Fifth Avenue, but Easter parades were held in other cities as well. The New York Parade started as a spontaneous event in the 1870s and grew more extensive every year. In 1947, it attracted more than a million people.
Each year on Easter, celebrants don festive finery and show off their very best bonnets along Fifth Avenue. Immortalized by Irving Berlin (with some help from Judy Garland and Fred Astaire), the pageant is a New York City tradition that stretches back to the 1870s.
Starting at about 10 am and continuing until 4 pm, the parade marches north on Fifth Avenue, from 49th Street to 57th Street. The best place to watch is from the area around St. Patrick’s Cathedral; better yet, people bring your bonnet and join the parade.
Easter Parade is a 1948 American musical film starring Judy Garland and Fred Astaire, featuring music by Irving Berlin, including some of Astaire and Garland’s best-known songs, such as “Easter Parade”, “Steppin’ Out with My Baby”, and “We’re a Couple of Swells”.
