From our archives: Delaware Easter celebrations through the years

Caitlin Novak, 3, pulls a wagon of Easter flowers at Richardsons near Newark in 1995.

Easter Bunny leads a parade through downtown Wilmington in 1980.

Sunrise Easter service at Ebenezer United Methodist Church on Polly Drummond Hill Road near Newark.

Easter photo from The News Journal archives from 1972.

Easter Bunny leads a parade through downtown Wilmington in 1980.

Patty Fenland puts the finishing touches on 3-year-old Jeff's Easter suit in this 1988 photo in New Castle.

Rosemary Neville and Anthony Mombro work on alter flowers for Easter at St. Peter church in Wilmington in 1989. Jeff Neville arranges flowers behind them near the crucifix.

A toddler is not sure what to think about this Easter Bunny in 1976.

Children scramble to find hidden eggs at a 1989 Easter egg hunt.

Cody, 9, and Carton, 13, Hall show off their winning outfits at the Easter Parade on the New Castle Green in 1988,

The Easter Bunny leads children in an Easter parade on the Green in New Castle in 1993.

Easter Bunny (Kay Nardone) give 8-month old Elissa Cashman a ride in an antique carriage on the Green in New Castle in 1990.

Easter bunnies Linda Lewis, left, and Gail Mackinson take a break from entertaining at the Penny Hill Flower Shop on Concord Pike in 1976.

Members of the Catholic Youth Organization sit with the Easter baskets they prepared for the needy in 1989.

Erin Chorman, 6, of Ellendale, meets Barbie (Erin Whitney) at the Easter Promenade at the Rehoboth Beach Convention Center in 1989

Nathaniel Ferry, 4, shows off his haul from the Easter egg hunt at Stapler Park in Wilmington in 1987.

Among the children who took part in the Easter egg hunt at Kosciuszko Park were, from left, Lorenzo Gray, 7, who won a trophy for collecting the most eggs, Stephanie Burg, 2, and Adam Szerwinski, 5.

Allen Sylvester, 2, decides to stop and eat some eggs during the hunt at his home in 1985.

Children run for an Easter egg hunt in this undated photo from The News Journal archives.

Children decorate and Easter egg tree in day care at Shortlidge Elementary in Wilmington in 1982.

Volunteers prepare chocolate Easter Eggs in Wilmington in 1977.

Marian Wangsgard watches Loretta Rice dip chocolate eggs in Wilmington in 1977.

Hard at work making Easter eggs in 1978.

Dawn Holding, 12, models her entry in a Homemade Easter Bonnet Contest in 1984.

Amy Klosiewicz runs through trees searching for eggs at Banning Park in 1984.

A selection of Easter goodies at Thomson Candy Store in Avondale, Pa.

Billy Joyce, 4, eyes chocolate Easter eggs in 1977.

Michael Sylvester picks up eggs at his home in 1993.

Nicole McCoy, 18-months, hunts for Easter eggs at the Kings Croft and Scarborough Manor Developments hunt in Bear in 1995.

Danny McConnell, 8, of Wilmington won a trophy for best Easter bonnet in the Rehoboth Beach Easter Parade after his sister decided she didn't want to be in the 1987 parade.

Proud mothers display their babies for the judges at the Easter Promenade at the Rehoboth Convention Center in 1989. From left are Betty Strickler with 10-month-old Jessie Lou, Alberta Allen with 8-month-old Andrianne and JoAnn Economos with 6-month-old Carly.

Christine Taylor, 5, of Rehoboth Beach, waits to collect her trophy for the Easter Parade in Rehoboth Beach in 1987.

Michael Flamer, 8 of Felton, watches as six-year-old brother Anthony Flamer pulls on the Easter Bunny's ear after the Dover Parks and Recreation Annual Egg Hunt in 2005.

A Celtic Easter sunrise service was held at the Holy Hill Cemetery in Smyrna Easter Sunday March 27, 2005.

Kids at Sunset Stables head for the egg-laden pasture during egg hunt festivities on the farm at Lums Pond In 2006.

Ameera Rife 2, searches for eggs during Easter egg hunt at Sunset Stables in 2006.

Victoria Lebron of New Castle shows off her winning hat in the Best Hat category at the Annual Easter Parade in old New Castle in 2006.

Brian Hui, of Hockessin, (left) joins other 3- and 4-year-olds in the Easter egg hunt at Auburn Heights Preserve in 2018.

Kids scramble to collect eggs during an Easter egg hunt put on by City Church at Tilton Park in Wilmington in 2023.

Pat Bravata, left, of Woodside, Diane Leech, of Millersburg, Pa. and Audrey Auras, of Woodside, shape Easter eggs at Woodside United Methodist Church in 2016, where they have been making quarter-pound easter eggs for decades.

Icing is added to Easter eggs at Woodside United Methodist Church in 2016.

Charlie Brubaker, of Petersburg, coats Easter eggs in chocolate at Woodside United Methodist Church in 2016.

Conrad Gopie, 1, finds a pile of eggs at the Easter egg hunt at Limestone Presbyterian Church on Saturday in 2013.

Kids search for Easter eggs Saturday on the grounds of Auburn Heights Preserve. About 200 kids and 550 people attended the event in 2015.

In Rehoboth Beach, attendees bundled up during chilly weather for the Easter Sunrise Service at the Bandstand in 2015.

In Rehoboth Beach, attendees bundled up during chilly weather for the Easter Sunrise Service at the Bandstand in 2015.

Deacon Bob Levesque carries the Bible to the altar ahead of Bishop Francis Malooly during Easter Mass at the Cathedral of St. Peter on Sunday morning in Wilmington in 2015.

Chila Ortiz of New Castle puts the finishing touches on a palm cross as a group of volunteers works to produce 250 of the Easter crosses at St. Paul's Catholic Church in Wilmington, Saturday, April 12, 2014.

Logan Rose Sepp (center), visiting family in Hockessin from Jersey City, NJ, grabs a couple of eggs in the 2-and-under age group Easter egg hunt at Auburn Heights Preserve in 2017.

The youngest egg-seekers take to the field during the Easter egg hunt at Auburn Heights Preserve in 2017.

Nellie Stokes Elementary School and the Camden/Wyoming Fire Department made their annual Spring Book Drop in 2014. A fire truck goes through neighborhoods to pass out books and learning materials. JASON MINTO/SPECIAL TO THE NEWS JOURNAL

Lina Savage gathers eggs in an Easter egg hunt at the Marvel Carriage Museum in Georgetown in 2013.

Deanna Pedicone, her daughter, Zoe, and their dog, Annabelle, with the Easter Bunny at Easter Bone Hunt in 2014.

Children search for buried treasure in the form of Easter eggs on Dewey Beach during the annual Easter Egg Scoop in 2016.

The Easter Bunny is ready for the fun to begin at the Easter Egg Scoop in Dewey Beach in 2016.

Kirby Tokarczyk, 4, of Wilmington, snags an egg from the sand at Dewey Beach's annual Easter Egg Scoop in 2016.