The Easter Bonnet

The Easter Bonnet tradition wasn’t started by my Great-Grandma Erma, though she did start the tradition for me. GG as I called her always wore a hat on Easter and often would wear one on Sundays. As long as I can remember I have worn an Easter Bonnet and haven’t missed an Easter Sunday. My mother made my bonnets when I was younger, but as I grew we purchased them and now I always keep an eye out for hats at malls, yard sales, thrift stores, and more.  I love hats in general and feel like I was born 100 years too late. It doesn’t have to be Easter to wear a hat, but it seems like I stand out a little less. On my “bucket list” is the Kentucky Derby, another great reason to wear a hat. The brighter, bigger, and fancier the better.

 A little history lesson:
 The first Easter bonnets were worn before we even started celebrating Easter. The first bonnets were not even bonnets but were a circle or wreath of leaves and flowers to celebrate the coming of spring.
The custom of new clothes for Easter goes back to early Christianity and what was known as white week. White week was a time that newly baptized Christian wore white linen robes for a whole week to symbolize their rebirth and new lifeAn Easter Bonnet represents the tail-end of a tradition of wearing new clothes at Easter, in harmony with the renewal of the year and the promise of spiritual renewal and redemption. 1870 was the start of the modern Easter Bonnet Tradition. Easter Bonnets are becoming harder to find, as fewer and fewer women bother with the tradition.

I hope each and every one of you has a blessed Easter!

 Oh to be the Queen of England and wear a matching hat everyday!