In your Easter bonnet with all the frills upon it,
You’ll be the grandest lady in the Easter parade.
In 1917 Irving Berlin wrote “Smile and Show Your Dimple”, a melody that would, 16 years later, become “Easter Parade”, with those opening lines. In 1948 Judy Garland and Fred Astaire were the stars of a film with the same name and the song featured. What is it about bonnets and Easter? Why are they so significant and what is a bonnet anyway?
Easter celebrates Spring and the renewal of life, exemplified by the risen Christ in Christian belief. Dressing-up for Easter has a long tradition: new clothes for a new season. It is said that the Roman Emperor Constantine in the 4th Century ordered that subjects should dress up and parade to celebrate the Resurrection and that idea continues today. The New York Easter Parade began in the 1870s when fashionable people gathered after church to show off their finery while strolling from church to church to see the spectacular Easter floral arrangements. Not to be outdone by the flowers, dress followed suit!
But why bonnets? Traditional belief and Biblical teachings dictated that women should wear veils and head coverings. Over time this evolved into the bonnets that are made specially for the occasion. Nowadays the Easter Parade no longer is a religious event and anyone (including pets) can join in to celebrate the return of the Northern Hemisphere Spring.