Easter Bonnets (Revisted)

One advantage seniors have is the ability to remember the "good ol' days." Of course, that could be spelled "good ol' daze" as well. One thing we remember are Easter Bonnets. We also remember the Sunday-go-to-meeting attire when people dressed up to go to church. This also applied to weddings, funerals, anniversaries, travel by airplane and other special occasions. Nowadays, even in the church, the welcome signs read Come As You Are and so it happens.

Things change. Old-fashioned becomes newfangled. Tradition gives way to innovation and some things become obsolete. Like Easter Bonnets? I'm not sure but it seems that the tradition of Easter Bonnets moved from Europe to the United States. The tradition seems to have stemmed from the "olden times" when people dressed up every Sunday. Ladies would often purchase new and elaborate designs for particular church services including Easter.

Now, in a more casual society, at home and abroad, Easter Bonnets are becoming less popular and fewer women maintain the tradition. Typical Easter Bonnets for children were usually white wide-brimmed hats with a pastel colored satin ribbon around it, tied in a bow. It also may have included flowers or other springtime motifs on top, possibly matched by a special dress. Since Easter was so special, efforts were made to create something special, including Easter Bonnets. Children in school were encouraged to make special bonnets hoping their mothers would wear them to church on Easter..

Easter Bonnets came from European traditions of wearing flowers on a hat to celebrate spring. As it was developed over the years into a way of ladies celebrating Easter and of showing off to family and friends, competition emerged as to who had the best Bonnet. Shops on 5th Avenue in New York City, U.S.A., often had (and perhaps still have) displays of Easter Bonnets in their windows. Shops competed to see who has the best display and the windows became a tourist attraction.

Then there were Easter Bonnet contests and Easter Parades. The bonnets have mostly disappeared but there are still Easter Parades, often a curious mix of secular and sacred themes. Irving Berlin helped popularize it in music in 1948 although the New York Easter Parade may have begun as early as the 19th century:.

In your Easter bonnet, with all the frills upon it
You'll be the grandest gal in the Easter parade.
I'll be all in clover, and when they look us over
We'll be the proudest couple in the Easter parade.

Karen Blakeney in BellaOnline wrote "Just after the Civil war Easter was known as "Sunday of Joy," Mother and daughters who had worn the dark colors of mourning for such a long time decided to start wearing the wonderful colors and flowers of spring. Their hats were adorned with the latest flowers. If the flowers were not blooming they would make them from paper, fabric, ribbon, hair, feathers or sea shells . . .When I was a child Easter always meant that I would get a new dress, gloves and shoes but the most fun was the new purse and hat that always had those wonderful little soft flowers . . . I will be having my own parade. I am working on a wonderful straw with flowers and will ride around in a 1926 model T. If you see me, wave or join my parade. Happy Easter!"

Margery Eagan in the Boston Herald (April 16, 2006) wrote: Here's a safe bet: If you see any Easter bonnets today, they'll adorn the head of someone under 8 or over 80. Almost nobody wears them anymore. Or corsages, either . . . The bonnets have mostly disappeared but there are still Easter Parades, often a curious mix of secular and sacred themes.

Ladies, would you like a memorable, meaningful senior moment this Easter? Wear an Easter Bonnet.