NYC Easter Parade, Events & Services in NYC & Boros

There are Two Easters Observed in Christianity - One for Western European Christians and One for Eastern Orthodox Christians

April 10, 2026 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Things To Do Events / Gotham Buzz NYC.

USE THE LINKS BELOW FOR UPDATED 2026 GREEK ORTHODOX HOLY FRIDAY PROCESSIONS IN ALL FIVE BOROUGHS TONITE 4.10.26.

Very Brief Introduction to Christian Easter Traditions

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

Emperor Constantine became the Roman Emperor in 306. In 324 Constantine made Christianity the official religion of the Roman 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 to calculate when to celebrate Good Friday and Easter. The Gregorian calendar was created in the 16th century and made the official calendar by Pope Gregory. Orthodox Christians use the Julian Calendar, which was made law in the Roman Empire in 45 B.C. by Julius Caesar. The primary difference between the Julian and Gregorian calendars is that the Gregorian calendar uses Leap Year [this year is one of them] to adjust the calendar for the 1/4 extra day per year, that to our rotation around the sun requires. Thus the calendar differences, and how the date of Easter is calculated, is why the Orthodox and Roman Catholic / Protestant Christian Easters oftentimes occur on different dates.

This year [2026] the celebrations of the two traditions are celebrated one week following another, whereas in 2025 they were celebrated the same week, and in 2024 the celebrations were celebrated five weeks apart. So both the traditional Western European Christian and the Eastern Orthodox Christians are celebrating Easter on different weeks this year [April 5th and April 12th, 2026].

Next Up - The History of the Easter Bunny & Related Traditions

• CLICK here to view our report on Easter parades, Easter events, Easter egg hunts and Easter brunches in NYC, including the boroughs of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Bronx & Staten Island. We start off with a brief history of the Easter Bunny and the origin of related traditions.

Easter Parade, Events & Services in NYC & Boros

There are Two Easters Observed in Christianity - Easter for Western Christians and Easter for Orthodox Christians

April 3, 2026 / NYC Neighborhoods / NYC Things To Do Events / Gotham Buzz NYC. Continued.

The Origin of Easter Bunny & Related Traditions

The origin of the Easter Bunny and the related traditions of painting and hiding eggs dates back to southern Germany in ancient times. Eggs were a sign of fertility, and according to some accounts, the Easter hare originated as a bird before becoming the rabbit. The rabbit is also known as a fertile animal giving birth to litters of little rabbits.

The tradition arrived in America in Pennsylvania in the 1700's. From there it evolved into the whole slew of grand traditions it has become today, which in NYC include an Easter parade of fashion on Easter day in front of St. Patrick's Cathedral on 5th Avenue, numerous Easter Egg hunts in parks and other places in all five boroughs, as well as numerous Easter Brunches organized by numerous restaurants around the city.

What follows are a selection of many of the Easter events occurring in NYC in the coming week. These include a number of Orthodox Easter events, including one of my favorites, which is the Greek Orthodox Holy Friday procession of re-enacting Christ's climb up Mount Calvary. The Greeks call Mount Calvary, Golgatha, translated means the Place of the Skull. We have also included a few non-Easter events we believed are timed to take advantage of folks looking to use their leisure time in non-traditional Easter ways. Have a Happy Easter.

How this Page is Organized and Why Orthodox & Western European Easters Sometimes Fall on Different Weeks

This page is organized as follows this year [2026].  First we included all of the Western European / Roman Catholic Easter events and brunches.  And next week will update the Greek Orthodox Holy Friday evening processions carrying the epitaphios. All Easter related events are organized by borough as you can see by the links below. It's worth mentioning that this year the Western European Christian and the Eastern Orthodox Christian Easter events occur one week after another, while in 2025 they were on the same week, and in 2024 the Orthodox Easter events occurred five weeks after the Western European Christian Easter events. The difference occurs because the dates of the Eastern Orthodox Christian events are calculated using different calendars [Julian vs Gregorian], and there are additional rules guiding the calculation of the Orthodox dates [it must follow Passover for some unknown reason].

Click to view a page with the following -

Brooklyn Easter Events & Things to do BK

Bronx Easter Events & Things to do BX

Manhattan Easter Events & Things to do MHTN

Queens Easter Events & Things to do QNS

And click here to see NYC Easter Events in all five boroughs of NYC 2026.