#celebrations

#celebrations

The annual Easter Bonnet and Parade Festival is all about the hats-lavishly decorated, from the exquisite to the outlandish. Anyone is welcome to join, just show up near St. Patrick's Cathedral at 10am on Easter Sunday to watch or saunter with the group up Fifth Avenue.

Turn your Saturday afternoon at 14Y into a choose-your-own adventure bursting with Passover energy, creativity, and moments to slow down. Enjoy family yoga, a Passover puppet show, a Seder plate making activity, open play and story time, and more!

"We really appreciate the support of the community," said Danial Shahbaz, Mohammad Shabaz's son, accepting the certificate on Tuesday. "We hope to be here for many, many years."

On Staten Island, Shrove Tuesday is a chance to celebrate with neighbors and friends before the hush of Lent settles over the borough. But the tradition has grown surprisingly scarce. This year, based on my research, only three congregations are firing up their griddles for the pre‑Lenten ritual-all free, with freewill donations accepted-serving pancakes, sausage, and the kind of fellowship that has defined the day for generations.

It's a standard trope in portrayals of assimilated Jews to open with a scene built around a Christmas tree. That's how Tom Stoppard's " Leopoldstadt" and Alfred Uhry's " Last Night of Ballyhoo" begin, and also Ian Buruma's memoir about his grandparents, " Their Promised Land." The idea is, as soon as you show that, you've got the audience's full attention, especially if it's a Jewish audience, because it's so peculiar.

There's something about the holiday season that makes us all feel like kids again. Maybe it's the crisp air, the smell of pine, or the anticipation of gathering with loved ones. For me, though, it's the lights. Those twinkling, shimmering displays that transform ordinary streets into something magical. Across America, entire towns take this tradition seriously, turning themselves into winter wonderlands that draw visitors from all over the world.