The origins of the parade came out of the practice that arose in the mid-19th century of decorating sanctuaries with floral arrangements for Easter.

Though conservative clerics fought back against the practice, it quickly became popular amongst parishioners. The sanctuary decorations became more and more elaborate. Seeing these elaborate displays, worshippers wished to match the arrangements and began to dress accordingly.

Worshippers would arrive for the Easter Parade bedecked in finery. The luxurious clothes are apparent here as the parade passes the Croton Distributing Reservoir on 5th Avenue and 42nd Street in 1897. The rich of the gilded age were not going to let a chance to dress up go unmissed.

Nor did retail fail to notice this. One of the extravagant department stores of Ladies Mile, Simpson-Crawford catered to high-end clientele and would put on lavish displays for Easter to dazzle and draw shoppers. It quickly became the most important retail day of the season (akin to Christmas today). The department stores began massive advertisement campaigns and would even sponsor parts of the parade.

Soon the parade became famous throughout the country, a hallmark of the holiday season. The extravagance quickly attracted criticism as un-Christian, the clothing and flowers were often made by underpaid workers. Social critics objected to the commercialization of a religious holiday and the deliberate flaunting of wealth. Sweatshop laborers would even join the parade in rough clothing as a protest against it.

A photo of a quiet Trinity Church taken on Easter Sunday. The Easter Parade is still a valued part of the New York holiday but no longer embodies the commercial aspects it was once criticized for.