The rain held off all day, providing for a warm, beautiful backdrop for hundreds of people to come out wearing their brightest bonnets for the annual Easter Day Parade on Fifth Avenue. According to Midmanhattan.com, the tradition dates back to the middle of the 19th century, "when the social elite would attend services at one of the 5th Avenue churches and parade their new fashions down the Avenue afterwards."
The paraders began strutting their stuff outside of St. Patrick's Cathedral in Midtown earlier today, where about 3,000 people gathered to hear Archbishop Timothy Dolan preside over his second Easter Mass as the head of the local Catholic diocese. If you have more photos from today's parade, send them to [email protected] or tag them as "Gothamist" on Flickr.
