Easter Parade

The Easter Parade is an American event that includes a strolling procession on Easter Sunday. Most often, it is informal and unorganized without too much religious significance. It is closely associated with Fifth Avenue in New York City, but there are many other Easter parades held in other cities.

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About Easter Parade

The Easter Parade of New York City started in the 1870s and was increasingly popular in the mid-20th century. In 1947, the Easter Parade drew over a million people, but in 2008, there were only approximately 30,000 people present.

Processions have been used to celebrate parts of the Christian culture for a long time. The Bible is record of processions used in ancient times: two are even recorded in Holy Week. The first was on Palm Sunday when Jesus was welcomed into Jerusalem and the second was when Jesus carried the cross to Calvary. Many churches reenact these processions in order to honor and commemorate these events.

It was during the Dark Ages that the Christians would gather in designated spots before Easter church services in Eastern Europe and then walk solemnly together to the church. Sometimes churchgoers would walk back in the same line, this time singing.

During the Middle Ages, the Church used processions as a teaching tool and created the ''stations of the cross.'' Paintings and statues were erected so churchgoers could walk to each station as part of a procession. This was a perfect learning tool for those who could not access the Bible or understand Latin.

*You can play ChaCha's EggHunter and find some wacky eggs in Quirkville. Txt EGGHUNTER to start. (NOTE: Some eggs PG13.)

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