When I was very young, back in the early sixties, all little girls wore Easter bonnets to Mass on Easter Sunday. It seems like kids didn't get as many new things back then as they do today--at least the kids in my family didn't; but there was one time of year when we all got new clothes, and that was at Easter. I remember I would get a new dress, a shiny new pair of Mary Jane's to wear with lace-trimmed ankle socks, and best of all, a white straw hat decorated with flowers and ribbon streamers.
I think this picture is priceless. That's me, front and center (almost 3-years-old), all decked out in my Easter finery, including a pretty new hat and dress, and even a cute little purse that I'm sure held some vitally important items I had to have with me at all times. Now look up on the hill and you'll see my older brother, who's cutting quite a dapper figure himself in short pants, long socks, a button-down shirt, and--not to be outdone by me--his own spiffy Easter chapeau. How adorable is he? (Little boys just don't look like this anymore!)
I am so nostalgic for those days! Today, people generally don't get all gussied up in their "Sunday best" for Mass, even on Easter. Little girls rarely wear bonnets. I think it's sort of sad. Of course, females no longer cover their heads when they're in church, as we all did back then, so the absence of Easter bonnets isn't that surprising. But I tell you, when we got ready for Mass on Easter morning back in those long-ago pre-Vatican II days, there was no doubt in our minds that we were getting ready for something very special.
Cute picture! You're so right. I've been thinking about covering my head for Mass, but why can't I seem to take the plunge and do it!?
ReplyDeleteI know exactly what you mean. It took me over 5 years after I first thought of it to actually get up the nerve to do it, because I hate the idea of standing out in any way!
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