Thirty-one photos from Easter celebrations in Toronto over the decades
Featuring time with family, vaguely sinister bunny costumes and lots of chocolate
By Morgan Cameron Ross
| April 7, 2023
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Toronto Star
Easter has been celebrated in Toronto since the days of York, but the ways it has been celebrated have certainly changed over the years. (You don’t see too many public resurrection reenactments these days.) Whether it’s the annual Beaches Parade, the festivities along Dundas West in Little Portugal and Little Italy, or the many church services and ragtime walks around Sunnyside Pavilion, Toronto has always found ways to come together to enjoy Easter. For some, the holiday signifies the resurrection of Jesus Christ; for others, it’s a time for family, bunny-themed greeting cards and, if you’re lucky, chocolate—lots and lots of chocolate.
Here’s a collection of photos of past Toronto Easter events.
Related: Nineteen archival photos of US presidents and their families visiting Toronto Easter fundraising for a Toronto nursery in 1908. Toronto Public Library
An 1892 Grand Trunk Railway brochure for Easter travels in Ontario. Toronto Public Library A Good Friday procession on Dundas Street West in 1988. Toronto Star
A mother and son with an Easter Bunny on Mount Pleasant Road in 1998. Toronto Star
A religious Easter ceremony at city hall in 1983. Toronto Star A 1981 Good Friday procession in Little Italy. Toronto Star A traditional Austrian Easter celebration in Toronto in 1971. Toronto Star Two toddlers celebrating Ukrainian Easter in 1987. Toronto Star A 1991 Good Friday procession in Little Italy. Toronto Star Easter celebrations in Toronto in 1993. Toronto Star A girl decorating eggs in Toronto in 1974. Toronto Star An Armenian Easter dinner in Toronto in 1971. Toronto Star A Ukrainian girl celebrates Easter in Mississauga in 1986. Toronto Star A young girl and the Easter bunny in North York’s Mel Lastman Square in 1990. Toronto Star A Good Friday procession in Little Italy in 1998. Toronto Star A Portuguese group celebrating Easter in Toronto in 1998. Toronto Star Two girls painting Easter eggs in Toronto in 1998. Toronto Star An Easter card sent from Toronto in 1906. Toronto Public Library The Beaches Easter Parade in 1981. Toronto Star The Beaches Easter Parade in 1987. Toronto Star The Beaches Easter Parade in 1992. Toronto Star The Beaches Easter Parade in 1993. Toronto Star The view facing north from Queen Street up Yonge Street, with the area blocked off for pedestrians on Easter in 1961. Toronto Star An Easter card sent from Toronto around 1905. Toronto Public Library An Easter card sent from Toronto around 1905. Toronto Public Library An Easter card sent from Toronto around 1905. Toronto Public Library An Easter card sent from Toronto in 1910. Toronto Public Library Easter celebrations at Sunnyside Pavilion in 1925. City of Toronto Archives Easter celebrations at Sunnyside Pavilion in 1927. City of Toronto Archives Easter celebrations at Sunnyside Pavilion in 1925. City of Toronto Archives An anti–Vietnam War protest poster for Easter at city hall in 1969. Toronto Public Library
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