"the fervour with which you throw yourself into..." ~ Jane Eyre

I believe many people think about what it would be like to enter a scene in a movie and live it for a few moments. If I could throw myself into any movie, it would be Easter Parade.

No, I wouldn't be one of the swells; that has to stay a couple.

I would throw myself into the end of the film when Judy Garland and Fred Astaire are walking down Fifth Avenue on Easter Sunday. The Avenue is filled with people in their Sunday best, with big bonnets and top hats. Astaire gives Garland a ring, and then the pan-out is of St. Patrick's Cathedral.

I think cities are sometimes synonymous with holiday fervor. Christmas in New York is amazing, but Easter in New York is also quite lovely. The store window mannequins are draped in pastels, Rockerfeller Center has flowers and plants lining the pathway to Prometheus, and there is always a crowd of children with their families on 6th Avenue outside of Radio City Music Hall for their Easter Show.

Sidewalk tables are beginning to be used for Sunday brunches, boutiques open their doors in Soho inviting every woman in to get the latest spring fashion. This year, I hear anything in the color turquoise is extremely fashionable. The biergarten in Astoria opens up as well as the garden at Cavo where amazing sangria and mezze is served. Central Park becomes a mecca for all urbanites, and the Meatpacking District becomes the place for dinner aside cobblestone streets. The subways crowd more and more baseball fans heading to the Bronx.

The city is reborn at Easter.

The past few Easter Sundays have been spent at St. Vartan's for the divine liturgy. The cathedral becomes so crowded that Armenians are unable to sit; they stand in the back and even in the walkway outside of the actual church. After holy communion is taken, we gather in the courtyard and doves are released. Each year the release of the doves always makes the local television news stations. Indeed, it is a beautiful sight.

Yes, I would love to be in that moment of Easter Parade where a chorus is singing about writing sonnets by inspiring Easter bonnets. The sun is shining, people are walking leisurely, and everyone is smiling. What is better than Judy Garland smiling?

There is still an Easter Parade in New York City. Sadly, it is not the parade of Garland and Astaire, but at least it honors their tradition. Many women make their own bonnets now, and some of them are absolutely amazing.

To those who are celebrating Easter, Happy Easter. May it be filled with sonnets of bonnets, tons of jellybeans, and pink peeps! Above all else, may it be filled with peace. Oh, and hopefully some Judy Garland and Fred Astaire walking down the Avenue as a couple of swells...