Easter & Passover Celebrations in NYC & Boros

Next Sunday is Easter for Western Christians and the Following Week it's Easter for Orthodox Christians

April 3, 2023 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Things To Do Events / Gotham Buzz NYC.

Very Brief Introduction to Christian Easter Traditions

On Friday, April 7th, Christians observe Good Friday, which is when the Bible tells us that Jesus died on the cross. On Sunday, April 9th, Christians celebrate the Biblical account of Jesus rising from the dead.

Emperor Constantine became the Roman Emperor in 306. In 324 Constantine made Christianity the official religion of the Empire. In 1054, the Great Schism occurred, wherein Christianity split into two different sects - Roman Catholic Christians [primarily in Western Europe] and Orthodox Christians [primarily in Eastern Europe]. The traditions have much in common, but one of the differences is in how they calculate the time of Good Friday and Easter Sunday. The Western European Christians [Protestants and Catholics] use the Gregorian Calendar which was created in the 16th century and made the official calendar by Pope Gregory, while the Orthodox Christians use the Julian Calendar which was made law in the Roman Empire in 45 B.C. by Julius Caesar.

Thus there are years where the Western European and Eastern Orthodox Easter events fall at the same time, and there years where they do not. This year [2023] the celebrations of the two traditions are separated by a week, with the Western European Christians celebrating next weekend and the Orthodox Christians celebrating a week later.

• CLICK here to view our report on NYC Easter events, Easter parades, Easter egg hunts, Easter brunches & Greek Orthodox Holy Friday processsions in NYC, Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Bronx & Staten Island.

Easter & Passover Celebrations in NYC & Boros

Next Sunday is Easter for Western Christians and the Following Week it's Easter for Orthodox Christians

April 3, 2023 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Things To Do Events / Gotham Buzz NYC. Continued.

Non - Denominational Spring Celebrations NYC

• MANHATTAN. March 26 - April 10, 2023 - The Macy's Flower Show at Macy's Herald Square in Midtown. Macy's is open from 10 am - 9 pm weekdays and until 10 pm Friday & Saturday and opening at 11 am on Sunday.

• BRONX. Through April 23rd, the Orchid Show will be at the New York Botanical Garden. This year the installation was designed by Lily Kwong a landscape artist who explores Asian cultural themes.

Various Events Surrounding Traditional Christian Celebrations of Easter

• BRONX Easter Egg Hunts. Saturday, April 8, 2023 from 10 am - 2 pm, there's an Easter Egg Hunt in at the Bartow Pell Mansion at 895 Shore Road in Pelham Bay Park. The hunts are one hour long sessions, costing $10 per child, and adults accompanying children are free. For details and tickets see - https://www.bartowpellmansionmuseum.org.

• BRONX Easter Brunches. Saturday & Sunday, April 8 & 9, 2023. Some of the restaurants and shops of Bronx Little Italy celebrate Easter in their own small ways, which can sometimes be an unsuspecting culinary delight to visitors. For details about Bronx Little Italy see - https://www.bronxlittleitaly.com.

• BROOKLYN Easter Egg Hunts & Events. Saturday & Sunday, April 1 & 2, 2023 - there were several Easter Egg / Easter Bunny events including at Pierrepont Playground in Brooklyn Heights, Crossroads Christian Church in Bay Ridge and Trinity Grace Church in Prospect Park.

• BROOKLYN Easter Events. Fridays, Saturdays & Sunday, April 7 - 16, 2023 [and beyond]. Luna Park Amusement Park at Coney Island opened Friday, March 31, 2023 from 12 noon - 8 pm. It's now open 11 am - 8 pm weekends in April and all week between the Christian and Orthodox Easter Sundays [April 9 - 16].

• BROOKLYN Easter Egg Hunts. Saturday, April 8, 2023 from 10 am - 4 pm - there's an Easter Egg Hunt & Many other Activities on Governor's Island. The event is free, but you're advised to plan in advance as this event is very popular. To give you an idea of how popular, consider that 10,000 wooden eggs are hidden over the 120 acres of park. For details and ferry passage planning & ticket purchases [$4 / ride] see - https://www.govisland.com

• BROOKLYN Easter Brunches. Sunday, April 9, 2023 - The Wicked Monk in Bay Ridge is offering Easter Brunch Specials.

• MANHATTAN Easter Parades. Sunday, April 9, 2023 from 10 am - 3 / 4 pm - Easter & Easter Bonnet Parade. The parade takes place along 5th Avenue from 49th to 57th Streets. It's more of a milling about in bonnets and Easter outfits, than it is a real parade. More like a themed costume party.

• MANHATTAN Easter Events. Sunday, April 9, 2023 from 10 am - 3 / 4 pm - Easter at the South Street Seaport. This series of events are organized by the Seaport Business District in tandem with participating businesses. Registration begins at 10 am, but the Easter Egg Hunt & Crafts doesn't begin until 11 am in Seaport Square between Pier 16 & 17 - free with rsvp. The Ukrainian egg decorating workshops begin at 11 am for kids and at 5 pm for adults at Malibu Farm in Pier 17 at 89 South Street. From 11 am - 5 pm there's a flower hunt aboard the 1885 tall ship Wavertree. Free but must rsvp as there's limited space. There are also numerous restaurants serving brunch and dinner, a few of which offer East River waterfront views.

• QUEENS EASTER Weekend Events. Saturday, April 8, 2023 from 1 to 4 pm, there's an Opening Reception for Climate Change at Home at the King Manor Museum at 150-03 Jamaica Avenue in Queens. The exhibit is described as follows, " ... [the] exhibit [is] dedicated to understanding how every day objects affect our environment. Using QR code technology with a smart phone, visitors can scan codes next to several objects in our museum collection and discover just how much of an impact these objects have on climate change. Ranging from a 19th century deer skin trunk to our 1850s kitchen stove, these objects tell a story that goes beyond the past ...". Admission is FREE but an rsvp is recommended if not required. For further details and registration see - https://www.kingmanor.org.

• QUEENS EASTER Egg Hunt. Saturday, April 8, 2023 from 12 noon to 7 pm, there's an Easter Egg Hunt in Roy Wilkins Park at 177th Street and Baisley Blvd just south of the Jamaica neighborhood in Queens. Tickets are $29, which you may obtain on Eventbrite. It's organized by Nooks and Gems, which is a private company located in Brooklyn, but for which I could not easily find a website linked to the company.

• QUEENS EASTER Parties. Sunday, April 9, 2023 from 11 am - 1.30 pm and 3 - 5.30 pm, there's an Easter Party at Astoria World Manor at 25-22 Astoria Blvd. For details and $43 tickets see - https://mtsproductions.com.

• STATEN ISLAND Easter Brunches, Egg Hunts & Events. Saturday, April 8, 2023 beginning at 10 am and 1 pm, there's Easter at the Mount [Loretto] at 6541 Hylan Blvd in the Charleston neighborbood of Staten Island. They describe the event as follows, " ... Enjoy buffet breakfast, music and dancing, then take a professional photo with the Easter Bunny that you can take home. Grab your Easter Basket and hunt in the island’s largest Easter Egg Patch loaded with more than 3,000 eggs plus 10 Golden Eggs filled with special prizes. Two seatings to choose from ...". For details and $30 & $20 tickets see - https://cc-si.org/ . Just in - the 10 am seating is SOLD OUT, but tickets still available for 1 pm.

• STATEN ISLAND Easter Brunches / Events. April 8, 2023 from 11 am - 2 pm, there's a Bunnies & Bonnetts, Tea Party. There's a high tea, an indoor Easter Parade and you get to create your own Easter bonnet. At the Grand Colony Hall at 460 Brielle near the Manor Heights neighborhood on Staten Island. For details and tickets see - https://www.facebook.com/GrandColonyHall/ - scroll down past the notice of a fraudster.

• STATEN ISLAND Easter Events. On April 9, 2023 beginning at 10 am, 11 am, 1 pm & 2 pm, there's the Grand Oaks Country Club Annual Easter Egg Hunt & Brunch. For details and $30 [kids] and $60 [adults] tickets see - https://www.grandoaksnyc.com/

• STATEN ISLAND Easter Events. April 9, 2023 from 1 - 2.30 pm Clove Lakes Easter Egg Hunt. Free. They describe the event as follows, " ... Learn the fun sport of orienteering with compasses around Clove Lakes Park and practice your skills with this classic Springtime game. ...". Begins at Clove Road and Park Drive in Castleton Corners on Staten Island NYC. For details see - https://www.nycgovparks.org/

Various Events Surrounding Orthodox Christian Celebrations of Easter

• BRONX ORTHODOX Easter Events. As of this post [4.2.23] I could not find any specifics regarding Greek Orthodox Holy Friday Easter processions in the Bronx. But here are a few Orthodox churches in the Bronx, including an Ethiopian one. 1) Zoodohos Peghe Greek Orthodox Church at 3573 Bruckner Blvd / 718.823.2030 / https://www.zoodohospeghe.org/ 2) St. Peter Greek Orthodox Church at 3245 Kingsbridge Ave,nue / 718. 549.8773 / https://stpeter.ny.goarch.org/ and 3) Holy Trinity Ethiopian Orthodox Church at 140 West 176th Street / 718. 299.2741 / http://www.holytrinityeotcny.org/.

The photo at right was taken in Astoria of the Holy Friday evening procession, where the Greek Orthodox church members reenact the carrying of Christ's body back from Mount Calvary, by carrying a florally decorated epitaphios, which is a casket.

• BROOKLYN ORTHODOX Easter Events. Friday, April 14, 2023 begins at 10.30 am with the decoration of the epitaphios, followed by the unnailing service at 2.30 pm, and at 7 pm the Lamentation and carrying of the epitaphios around the neighborhood of the Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Church at 8401 Ridge Blvd in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. For details see - https://www.holycrossbrooklyn.com/.

• MANHATTAN ORTHODOX Easter Events. Friday, April 14, 2023 beginning at 7 pm a Greek Orthodox Church Trisagion Service commemorating Holy Friday and the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ with the carrying of the epitaphios through the streets of Gramercy Park in a candlelit procession. The religious and cultural event includes a procession from the Church of St. John around several nearby blocks, before returning to the church. St. John is located at 148 East 17th Street at 3rd Avenue in the Gramercy Park neighborhood of Manhattan. For more details, including of Greek Orthodox Easter Sunday mass see - https://www.stjohn.ny.goarch.org/

• QUEENS ORTHODOX Easter Events. Friday, April 14, 2023 beginning at 7 pm a Greek Orthodox Church Lamentation Service commemorating Holy Friday and the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ with the carrying of the epitaphios through the streets of Astoria in a candlelit procession. The religious and cultural event includes a procession from the St. Demetrios Cathedral in Astoria around several nearby blocks before returning to the church. St. Demetrios is located at 30-11 30th Drive at 31st Street in Astoria. In past year, several of the Astoria Greek Orthodox churches held their own Holy Friday celebrations and processions, but as of this posting [4.2.23], only St. Demetrios has posted any specifics for 2023. The other two churches which I have reported on in the past include St Irene Chrysovalantou and St Markella. For more details, including of Greek Orthodox Easter Sunday mass see - https://www.saintdemetriosastoria.com/church/ https://www.stirene.org / https://www.saintmarkellagoc.org

• STATEN ISLAND ORTHODOX Easter Events. There is a Greek Orthodox Church, Holy Trinity Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, at 1641 Richmond Avenue on Staten Island [718.494.0658]. For details see - https://htsaintnicholas.ny.goarch.org/. Nothing has been posted regarding Easter services as of this post [4/2/23].

Have a Happy Ramadan, Passover & Easter.