Show FASTER EASTER SUNDAY SU n INE NEW W Y E A RS T RAY 1 i i i originally marked the beginning of the twelve months spring festivals in vogue long before the tinie t of I 1 christianity I 1 by REV ARTHUR HOLT ASTER sunday was formerly E equivalent to New Tears day thouis not the first day of the year it was the day on which the opening of the year was celebrated historically the christian easter la is filmily a continuation of the jewish passover Pasa over which was celebrated on the fifth day of the first month of the jew ish year that la Is on the day of bf the first full moon next following the dey apy of the equinox it has been questioned whether any special observance observance of this day was practiced or enjo enjoined LAed by the apostles and the early church fathers yet the words of st paul 1 I cor 57 8 seem to sanction if they do not recommend on an observance of some sort and foreshadow the thought which came finally to underlie it for even christ our passover la Is sacrificed for us ua There therefore let us keep keel the feast not with old leaven neither with the leaven of malice and ando wickedness but with the unleavened tread of sincer I 1 and truth according to the jew ish tradition the passover commemorated the passing of the angel of death over the houses of the israelites in egypt the doore doorposts door posts ts and linkels lintels of which had bad been sprinkled with the blood of the paschal the christians in adopting the festival gave it a new sIgn fr for them the savior became the true paschal lamb and the new festival commemorated ills his resurrection on the third day following the the proper propel danfor celebrating easter WELS was one of the questions which the council of nice A D was called upon to decide by the eastern chris I 1 liana it was at that time celebrated on oll 1 the same day as the je jewish lh passover without regard to the day of the week on which it might fall among the western christians who eld that andl the crucifixion and the resurrection on a sunday there hid had arisen a custom of celebrating laster Yas terron on the first bandar following ron the of df the first brat month cad to this custom was as given the official sanction of the council the rule role hert established fora fixing open the prope prep f sunday was designed partly to prevent the possibility of easter ever falling on the same day as bathe the pass pasa oner oer but the rule has failed ora on several occa slona to prevent tola tais coincidence coined I 1 and at tare rare trite AIN tle the two festivals came ame together changes change in Ca calender lendir toe the old koman itoman year like the jewish year bo bogan began gan in march when the nun bun entered the aries when tbt tb calendar was ai reformed under julius caesar the year was mas made to begin on the first day of january after the adoption of christianity in europe the date d a te of the beginning of the year was changed to march in most countries go 60 that easter became recognized as a new years day the reform of the calendar by pope gregory in 1582 again changed the day on which the year began although in england it continued to begin on the of march until the adopt adoption lon of the new style there in 1752 christianity found spring festivals already in vogue in heathen europe and to these festivals many of the customs and superstitious rites still connected with easter are clearly traceable the name easter given to the day by the teutonic nations the roman nations have retained the old hebrew name pascha under modified forms forma as the jour de paques of the french is derived by dede bede from eos ter or ostara the name of an old anglo saxon goddess in whose h honor 0 r a spring festival was celebrated grimm w was as unable to find any mention of a deity of this name among the ancient germans but from the fact that the mouth month of april still bears the name oster oater in old high german os he did not doubt that such each a goddess probably the divinity of the radiant dawn had bad been known among them the old oster festival was clearly of a molar character a celebration eb in honor of the birth or the rejuvenation of the sun eun of the new i y year ear this is made evident aside from the known character of similar festi nals als in other parts of the world by many of the observances it b bequeathed thed to easter thus thua it was formerly a custom all through the north of Oer germany many on the night eight of easter sunday or the third night following to kindle bonfires on all the heights affording a magnificent spectacle when these fires were to be seen here and there over miles of country this custom had become simply a mode of merrymaking but it la Is held with plausibility that originally the bonfire was symbolical of the new fire that was to warm the earth and quicken it into re dewed life after the cold embrace of winter ancient popular bellef another Ind indication leatIon of tie ble ancient solar character of this festival to Is an old popular belief said to survive still la in brandenburg and saxony that the sun at the moment of rising on the morning of easter gives three joyous leaps that he dances with youthful joy this curious belief was not confined to germany in the middle districts of ireland according to brand it was customary after spending easter eve in merrymaking and carousing watching the pot boll the contents of which were to break the long ions lenten fast yet must not be touched before the crowing of the cock tor for the whole company of revelers to go out just at daybreak to see eee the rising sun sua take fake his enree easter leaps sir thomas browne writing of popular errors mentions thus quaintly the existence of this belief la in england we shall nit I 1 hope disparage the of our redeemer it if we say bay that the sun eun doth not dance on easter day and though I 1 would willingly assent unto any sympathetic exultation yet w we cannot conceive thereto therein more than a tropical figurative expression perhaps there Is 1 no more striking illustration than this of the power of an inherited belief to live on in spite of the testimony of all experience against it in some places apparently as an alternative for giving up the belief wholly it was held that in order to witness these three leaps ceapa one must look not at the he sun itself but at the reflection of it in a pool of clear water As AB a last resort to save the belief the sun eun might be made to dance brand could recall that when he be was a boy he had seen a vessel full of water set in the open air in which the reft eted sun seemed to danee dane from the trenia tremulous motion of the water it if the mountain will not come to mahomet then mahomet must go to the mountain among the customs handed banded dov down through long ages and ac accepted by the church were those of easter eggs and the easter tale which the preacher told from the pulpit in lieu of a sermon connecting it with christian remines bences later sull still there were in ger ciany dramatic shows named oster shirle executed by twelve performers one of whom vil loin apparently was the lead leader r sad and represented summer beating ir g winter 0 out ut of the land the dances and sports deports prevalent fit at this thin net boa in germs germany ny among the youths and maidens appear sometimes to have been w irked with som ethlar of the loose nem of th fiord la lal talf |