I Miss Women Wearing Hats and Veils in Church. A brief reminiscence of days gone by

Archdiocese of Washington ^ | april 10th, 2012 | Msgr. Charles Pope

[Salvation]

I Miss Women Wearing Hats and Veils in Church. A brief reminiscence of days gone by.

By: Msgr. Charles Pope

I know, I know, I am so hopelessly old fashioned. But I want to say, I miss women wearing hats. I have written before (HERE) of how I miss them wearing the veil in Church. But even before the veil, the hat was more commonly worn by women in 1940s and before (See photo  below left, of my parish taken in the early 1950s, click photo for a larger view). Veils became popular in the later 1950s and 1960s before head coverings for women (and men) all but disappeared in the late 1960s (along with just about everything elegant).

The Easter Bonnet, once a main tradition at Easter, now provokes stares of confusion when mentioned to younger people today. “Easter Bonnet?…What’s that?!” Too bad, gone with the (cultural) wind.

Frankly we have become a very informal culture and we almost never dress up any more. Jeans and a T-Shirt, even for Mass. When I was a kid in the early 1960s I would not set foot in the Church without trousers, a button down shirt, a necktie and (in the cooler months) a dress jacket). Women and girls always wore a dress and a veil or hat. Frankly too, we would not think of going to a restaurant in those years either, without dressing up a good bit.

Yeah, I know, I am hopelessly out of date and some of you feel judged. But I’m just going to say it again, I miss the fact that we almost never dress up any more, and that things like hats, jackets and ties for men, formal and pretty dresses for women, veils (or hats) in Church are gone.

In the African American Community where I have served for most of my priesthood, dressing up for Church and women wearing hats and veils, hung on a lot longer, but it too has largely subsided. I read an article in the Washington Post yesterday that largely read the funeral rites over hat wearing in the Black congregations. There’s still a few with the “ole time religion” but they are far fewer. Here are a some excerpts from the article:

For generations, church sanctuaries across the nation on Sunday mornings, especially in black churches and especially on Easter, transformed into a collage of hats: straw ones, felt ones, velvet ones, every shape, size and color, with bows, jewels and feathers, reaching for the heavens.

But anyone walking into today’s services expecting to see a nonstop parade of women making fashion statements on their heads will be sorely disappointed. Many daughters and granddaughters of the women who made bold and flashy hats synonymous with the black church have not carried on the tradition.

Anita Saunders, 42… grew up watching her mother’s generation flaunt their hats in church. “And I always loved it,” says the Indianapolis resident. “It was part of Sunday, the experience of the hats. We looked forward to seeing what hat Sister So-and-So was going to wear. My friends, we all grew up in the same church with mothers who wore hats, but we don’t. And so, yes, it seems it’s fading out.”

Elaine Saunders…is part of that generation of black women who launched hat-wearing into the stratosphere…..Their style was dignified, elegant, sometimes irreverent and even humorous, but it was always eye-catching. “You have a certain air when you put on a hat. If you put on the whole shebang and you’re satisfied, you walk different. You act different. And people treat you different,” says Saunders….

The whole shebang would be a hat that matches the suit that matches the shoes that match the bag….

Mother and daughter not only wore hats and gloves to church but also donned them for shopping trips downtown. “If you were dressed up, they thought you were somebody important, so you’d get waited on,” Saunders said.

“I guess as I got older, around my teens, I started flirting around with different hairstyles,” said Sylvia Magby, 58, “I started cutting my hair, and I just never found a hat that fit my head.” Her youngest sister, Anita…won’t go near a hat (except the emergency baseball cap for bad hair days). She was much younger when she first rebelled against them. “I was maybe 6, and I was very concerned that the hat would disturb my bangs, and I wanted nothing to do with it,” she recalls.

Many women say, “I have hats from my mother and other relatives, but I don’t wear them,” or “Hats don’t look good on me,” [But] as Saunders sees it, “there will be a set of women who will wear hats forever.”…there, in all its splendor,  that poof of fuchsia and iridescent feathers, … for all the world to see.

Read the Full Article Here: Church Ladies and their Hats, A Fading Tradition

Some will doubtless say, “Well look, it sounds like it was more about pride and getting seen, than worshiping God.” Others will doubtless remark that the Scriptures envision a woman covering her head before God as a way of covering her glory (i.e. her hair) and thus being humble before God. OK fine, but I’d just like to add that there is also something wonderful about the dignity of dressing really well to go to God’s house, something classy, something fitting. And again I’ll just say, I miss it, and always appreciate when I see it.

We men too have let things drop often marching into Church with sandals, jeans and a t-shirt. I regret too that we so seldom wear suits or hats anymore. Priests still wear the suit, but a fine cassock is hard to find and there is a lot of sloppy and poorly set forth liturgical vestments and altar cloths. Finer things are few and far between.

A small boast form your host, I have worn a fedora in the cooler months since my 20s. Not only do I think it looks good, but it is also does a great job keeping the cold away. I am amazed at what a difference a simple hat can make. Think about it men, a good hat can be classy and warm.

And ladies, I don’t DARE tell you what to do, but let me just say it again, I MISS the veils and hats. Yes, a real touch of class. Uh oh, now the comments are open.

[stpio]

It shows respect for Our Lord in the Eucharist. I don’t
think He has changed on women covering their heads. It’s
a falling away, MO.

And one thing, less vanity, you don’t have to worry about
hair spray and a “do”, whether your hair looks nice.

It’s kinda tough to wear a mantilla to a Novus Ordo Mass
but you can wear a pretty scarf or one of those little
French hats, I forget their name.

[stpio]

“It’s kinda tough to wear a mantilla to a Novus Ordo Mass
but you can wear a pretty scarf or one of those little
French hats, I forget their name.”

~ ~ ~

I am thinking of a beanie. I have a mantilla and one
straw hat and some scarves. Our dog chewed on my black beanie.

There is a messenger from Australia. Have you heard of
her? Her name is Valentina. She has received some brief
messages or maybe it is one, on how to act at Holy Mass and about ladies covering their heads.

I’ll look for the message to share....

[jesus4life]

Salvation and ALL,

AMEN! We should do nothing to disturb someone’s worship.
In the Bible there are many practices OT and NT of prayer and worship that people can follow. This is their choice, as long as they are not physically harming anyone.
If this woman is just praying??

Well then, pray and PRAISE THE LORD!! AMEN!!

Just giving my “ thought” ( always GOD inspired) as asked.
But, hey, let’s see what the WORD says on these occassions:

ROMANS 14:1-22

1 Give a welcome to anyone whose faith is not strong, but do not get into arguments about doubtful points.

2 One person may have faith enough to eat any kind of food; another, less strong, will eat only vegetables.

3 Those who feel free to eat freely are not to condemn those who are unwilling to eat freely; nor must the person who does not eat freely pass judgement on the one who does — because God has welcomed him.

4 And who are you, to sit in judgement over somebody else’s servant? Whether he deserves to be upheld or to fall is for his own master to decide; and he shall be upheld, for the Lord has power to uphold him.

5 One person thinks that some days are holier than others, and another thinks them all equal. Let each of them be fully convinced in his own mind.

6 The one who makes special observance of a particular day observes it in honour of the Lord. So the one who eats freely, eats in honour of the Lord, making his thanksgiving to God; and the one who does not, abstains from eating in honour of the Lord and makes his thanksgiving to God.

7 For none of us lives for himself and none of us dies for himself;

8 while we are alive, we are living for the Lord, and when we die, we die for the Lord: and so, alive or dead, we belong to the Lord.

9 It was for this purpose that Christ both died and came to life again: so that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living.

10 Why, then, does one of you make himself judge over his brother, and why does another among you despise his brother? All of us will have to stand in front of the judgement-seat of God:

11 as scripture says: By my own life says the Lord, every knee shall bow before me, every tongue shall give glory to God.

12 It is to God, then, that each of us will have to give an account of himself.

13 Let us each stop passing judgement, therefore, on one another and decide instead that none of us will place obstacles in any brother’s way, or anything that can bring him down.

14 I am sure, and quite convinced in the Lord Jesus, that no food is unclean in itself; it is only if someone classifies any kind of food as unclean, then for him it is unclean.

15 And indeed, if through any kind of food you are causing offence to a brother, then you are no longer being guided by love. You are not to let the food that you eat cause the ruin of anyone for whom Christ died.

16 A privilege of yours must not be allowed to give rise to harmful talk;

17 for it is not eating and drinking that make the kingdom of God, but the saving justice, the peace and the joy brought by the Holy Spirit.

18 It is the person who serves Christ in these things that will be approved by God and respected by everyone.

19 So then, let us be always seeking the ways which lead to peace and the ways in which we can support one another.

20 Do not wreck God’s work for the sake of food. Certainly all foods are clean; but all the same, any kind can be evil for someone to whom it is an offence to eat it.

21 It is best to abstain from eating any meat, or drinking any wine, or from any other activity which might cause a brother to fall away, or to be scandalised, or to weaken.

22 Within yourself, before God, hold on to what you already believe. Blessed is the person whose principles do not condemn his practice.

DEUTERONOMY 22:12
12 ‘You must make tassels for the four corners of the cloak in which you wrap yourself.

1 CORINTHIANS 11:1-13

1 Take me as your pattern, just as I take Christ for mine.

2 I congratulate you for remembering me so consistently and for maintaining the traditions exactly as I passed them on to you.

3 But I should like you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.

4 For any man to pray or to prophesy with his head covered shows disrespect for his head.

5 And for a woman to pray or prophesy with her head uncovered shows disrespect for her head; it is exactly the same as if she had her hair shaved off.

6 Indeed, if a woman does go without a veil, she should have her hair cut off too; but if it is a shameful thing for a woman to have her hair cut off or shaved off, then she should wear a veil.

7 But for a man it is not right to have his head covered, since he is the image of God and reflects God’s glory; but woman is the reflection of man’s glory.

8 For man did not come from woman; no, woman came from man;

9 nor was man created for the sake of woman, but woman for the sake of man:

10 and this is why it is right for a woman to wear on her head a sign of the authority over her, because of the angels.

11 However, in the Lord, though woman is nothing without man, man is nothing without woman;

12 and though woman came from man, so does every man come from a woman, and everything comes from God.

13 Decide for yourselves: does it seem fitting that a woman should pray to God without a veil?

PRAISE JESUS,

Jesus4life

[Cronos]

‘I don’t attend an Orthodox synagogue so the men aren’t required to.” —> ok, I did not know that. I learn something new each day :)

[Cronos]

yup, it is difficult! I've lived here nearly 2 years now and have been going for classes for 1.5 years and I'm about able to carry out a moderate difficult conversation.

if you only know English, Polish is insanely difficult (I had the advantage of having learnt a few other languages before) as there are numerous things different in the language: cases, genders, declinations etc.

However, in pronunciation, once you learn how to pronounce, it is simpler than English as the letter or combination of letters is always pronounced the same

C is always pronounced as "ts"
rz is always pronounced as "sh" as in pleasure
ż is always pronounced as "sh" -- kind of similar to the "rz"
y is always pronounced as "ih"
w is always prounced as "v" in English
i is always pronounced as "ee"

So transliterating it is TsementAsh ShedoVskee

The emphasis is always on the penultimate syllable.

It's quite worth learning Polish, even as at a basic level from www.supermemo.pl etc. as I think it's good to know something of a few languages...

[POWERSBOOTHEFAN]

I’ve heard it said that English is one of the hardest languages to learn,if not THE hardest.

No wonder! You hear people say “Don’t got no”,”Ain’t got no”, “Where is it at?”,etc.

People trying to learn our language are going to be confused!

[Cronos]

well, I attended a crash Polish language course with Erasmus students two years ago and these were folks from ll over Europe and also from Korea, Japan, China, india, bolivia, ethiopia etc. etc.

to them, english is the easiest to pick up as the basic rules are simple. however, to master English (to converse at a P.G. Wodehouse level) takes a lot of effort -- and most people who speak English as a native tongue never reach that level either!

[Tax-chick]

Some people are just more competent parents than I am ... I admit it.

[VermiciousKnid]

Indeed, most (not all) of the ladies at my parish’s TLM are covered. Most choose veils, and from what I understand, the online chapel veil business is booming. Even a short perusal through eBay will offer a bumper crop of new and vintage veils, from the doilies right on through giant Spanish mantillas.

This doesn’t even count the direct online businesses that sell veils. In addition to eBay and a Catholic goods store, I’ve purchased mine from both an importer of flamenco dance supplies AND an Orthodox Jewish headcovering business.

Regards,

[CT Hillbilly]

I visit family every Easter in Raleigh and stayed all summer last year. Their Catholic church is so packed, that in the summer it is SRO and during Easter etc. they have to have Mass in the Chapel, the gym, an auditorium AND outside-all at the SAME time. Last Easter Sunday, we sat in the entryway of the Church with about 40 or so others and received Communion out there as well.

All of the women and girls were dressed to the nines, most of the men were too-there were a few with shorts and jeans, but that is rare....it is so amazing to me the size of this parish campus! And they are expanding because they have to-obviously.

While I only saw a few adult women with Easter bonnets, just about every little girl was wearing one. It was so nice to see; it was how I remember Church to be years ago....I really do miss it!

[CT Hillbilly]

I visit family every Easter in Raleigh and stayed all summer last year. Their Catholic church is so packed, that in the summer it is SRO and during Easter etc. they have to have Mass in the Chapel, the gym, an auditorium AND outside-all at the SAME time. Last Easter Sunday, we sat in the entryway of the Church with about 40 or so others and received Communion out there as well.

All of the women and girls were dressed to the nines, most of the men were too-there were a few with shorts and jeans, but that is rare....it is so amazing to me the size of this parish campus! And they are expanding because they have to-obviously.

While I only saw a few adult women with Easter bonnets, just about every little girl was wearing one. It was so nice to see; it was how I remember Church to be years ago....I really do miss it!

[A.A. Cunningham]

[A.A. Cunningham]

Custody of the eyes

[Jack Hydrazine]

No copy. Say again.

[CodeToad]

Jesus wanted people to attend, rich and poor alike.

[A.A. Cunningham]

Snopes apparently won't allow hot linking.

See:

http://www.snopes.com/history/graphics/jfk2.jpg

http://www.snopes.com/history/graphics/jfk7.jpg

JFK hat inauguration

[A.A. Cunningham]

Any mention of slobs?

[CodeToad]

“Slob” is the slippery slope to snobbery. Faith is all that matters; not riches, hats, ties, or any other worldly item, not even a bath.

[trailhkr1]

A woman in her early to mid 20's wore a light yellow dress to last weekends Easter mass. It was made out of blouse material-very lightweight. The kicker was she was wearing a white thong underneath and the dress was so see through you could see the lace on the edges of the thong. Yes, no slip or any underclothes other than the thong. You should have seen people looking. The Eucharist minister after he gave her communion did a double take when she was walking away. I don;t know if she knew how see through it was but I expect she did as her BF was with her.

People dress like slobs in my church-shorts, jeans, sweat pants and most of the younger girls wear tight hip hugger jeans or those tight and short body hugging dresses.

I wear a suit and tie 5 days per week on my job and refuse to wear one at church. It's crammed down our necks at work-clothes have to be a certain color, style, ties have to be a certain pattern etc. I dress in Dockers/golf shirt or a button down when going to church. I did wear a tie on Sunday.

I have told people if I kick the bucket I want to be in the clothes I wear at the gym-one of my favorites places to be in life. T-shirt, gym pants and tennis shoes.

[A.A. Cunningham]

Faith is all that matters

Incorrect as Scripture repeatedly teaches.