Easter revelers won’t be strolling up Fifth Avenue this year, and it’s tough to find an egg hunt, but at least one traditional New York event is making a bit of a comeback after a year of pandemic living.
Easter Sunday service at St. Patrick’s Cathedral will include about 1,000 worshippers, or 50 percent capacity, and free tickets have already been snapped up by those who want to mark the holy day in Manhattan. The 10 a.m. service will be broadcast on television on WPIX.
“It’s certainly better than last year, when nobody could come,” said Archdiocese of New York spokesman Joseph Zwilling. “This is certainly a step forward.”
Masks are required and social distancing rules will be in effect, a necessary nod to the dangers of COVID-19, which last year forced the cancellation of in-person services. Those who show up this year without a ticket will be allowed to listen from outside the church, and communion will be brought to them, Zwilling said.
Paraprofessionals Rafaela Bussi and Ayalibi Abreu and volunteer retired family worker Yun Ho Poon line students up to go back into the classroom after taking part in a bunny hop and having class portraits taken in the schoolyard at Yung Wing School P.S. 124 on March 25, 2021. Getty Images“Each Sunday, there’ve been more and more people coming, that’s a really encouraging sign. People are getting vaccinated, they’re feeling more comfortable coming out,” he said, adding, “We want to do it safely. We’ll follow the guidance of the medical professionals and hope to go back to 100 percent capacity soon.”
Pope Francis will continue Holy Week celebrations at the Vatican with limited participants as Italy struggles to contain another wave of the coronavirus. Festivities are set to culminate in Easter Sunday mass at St. Peter’s Basilica, with the pope giving the traditional blessing “Urbi et Orbi,” “To the city, and the world.”
Pope Francis, framed by a fountain, delivers his Angelus blessing from the window of the former Papal apartments overlooking St. Peter’s Square on Feb. 23, 2014. Getty ImagesThe annual Easter Parade — in which New Yorkers dressed in their finery, or just crazy hats, take an iconic stroll up Fifth Avenue — will be virtual for the second consecutive year.
The Fifth Avenue Association will have a panel of fashion judges consider headgear in five categories: Matching Mask & Hat, Eco-Chic, The Fashionista, Glam Pet and Easter Best, offering a one-night stay at the Pierre hotel as a grand prize. To enter, follow the group on Instagram at @fifthavenue and use the hashtag #EasteronFifth.
People walk by St. Patrick’s Cathedral on Easter Sunday as the coronavirus outbreak has kept most churches empty this Easter on April 12, 2020. Getty ImagesThe nonprofit NYSOM, or New York State of Mind, will resume its annual egg hunt at Rodale Community Park in East Harlem Saturday, after canceling for the first time last year because of the pandemic, said executive director Paul Dawkins.
People gather in Midtown East for the annual Easter Parade on April 21, 2019. Getty Images“The response has been pretty positive,” said Dawkins, noting social distancing rules required limiting the number of people who could attend. “Usually we have 1,000 people. That’s one of the reasons we wanted to do the event, it’s kind of a little bit back to normal.”
Masks are required, said Dawkins, who urged patience for those waiting longer than usual.
“Only a certain amount of people are allowed in the egg hunt at one time, so it’s safe for everybody,” he said.
A child poses for a photo with the Easter Bunny at a drive-thru Easter party in Hawthorne, NJ, on April 3, 2021. Christopher Sadowski





