I am sure many of you remember the days of Easter bonnets. I look back at some of the pictures that were taken and I wonder, “What was I thinking?” I am sure that you remember a certain president’s wife who always looked like she had the latest fashion in her little pillbox hats. There are many photographs of her as she attended Easter services as well as other occasions.

I got to thinking about the Easter customs that are so familiar. It was ever so fashionable to wear a hat to church in days gone by. I wore a hat with my going-away outfit when I was married that my husband never let me forget. There are pictures to prove that I wore it, but he never cared for me to wear a hat. I was happy to wear that hat because I had worn it the summer before, when I attended my mother at her wedding.

I guess some people still make a big deal about Easter outfits. I see a ton of Easter hats advertised on the Internet. After I became a farm wife I never thought much about the tradition of dressing up. I made sure the children had something nice to wear, but I did not worry about myself. One year my daughter had a new white dress with a yellow overlay that I had sewn for her. She was delighted and thought it was very nice. We stopped at the barn on our way to church. It must have been a late Easter because the cows were already out on pasture grass. The cow near the entrance to the barn lifted her tail, spraying my daughter with a greenish mess. We hurried home for another outfit. I did manage to get the stain out, but she did not wear her new dress to church.

When I was young I sang the song “Easter Parade” for a talent show. I won that year and earned a new pair of shoes. Now some of you may remember that I talked before about winning new shoes. I think during the duration of that contest I won four pairs of shoes.

I looked online to see what I could find about Easter hats and outfits. It seems that Irving Berlin gets the credit for reviving the tradition of Easter hats. In his song he penned the words “In your Easter bonnet with all the frills upon it, you’ll be the grandest lady in the Easter parade.” The Easter parade he referred to was the walk in New York City along Fifth Avenue to St. Patrick’s Cathedral.

Actually, the custom of wearing Easter finery goes back much further than that. In fact, the ritual of dressing up goes back to biblical times. It is said that when Jewish Christians combined the feast of the Passover with Easter, new believers wore their finest to the celebrations.

Easter was the customary time for the baptism of infants as well. It historically was also a day for marriages in the old church. In my home church it was always confirmation Sunday when the youth who had been instructed joined the church. All of these occasions called for the people attending to dress in their finest.

I also found a quote that said that dressing in finery was a matter of competition for a time with each lady trying to outdo all of the others. Maybe that is why it no longer matters what you wear to church on Easter. It was not right to take the sacred message of Easter and dismiss it in favor of clothing.

I have seen church wear become more informal throughout the years. Gone are the days of fancy hats, new clothes, and elaborately color coordinated outfits. It is more important to attend the church service no matter what you wear. The Lord does not care how you dress – he is simply happy that you are in attendance.

I have worn jeans to church, but not on Easter or Christmas. To me, those are festival days that deserve respect. I would not have dreamed of wearing jeans any Sunday back in the day. Of course we have Jimmy Carter to thank for the popularization of jeans. Our culture has not been the same since.

The Easter parades of the early 20th century were bolstered by the merchants who were more than happy to have a new spring marketing tool.

In a book by Ace Collins he says, “In today’s casual world it might be good to occasionally put on the finest in order to honor the one who was stripped bare and crucified for man’s sins. If placed in that perspective, the tradition of dressing up for Easter could continue with the focus on showing honor and respect for the King who laid down his life so all his subjects could inherit his kingdom.”

March 20 was Palm Sunday, a joyful occasion, but a lot happens between the Sundays. Last year, I attended the Good Friday service held at our local high school. It was a very inspirational service. I am not sure if I will make it this year, but I hope to. It is important to remember not only the special occasions but the trying times that Jesus endured.

I wish you and yours a joyful and blessed Easter. Even if you are just visiting somewhere try to attend an Easter church service. Happy Easter.

Ann Swanson writes from her home in Russell, Pa. Contact her at hickoryheights1@verizon.net.