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Show ;ts -Origin, siRuUication and ARi Rites. , Frencc To-day is Ecatcr Day, one of t '8 vt of the movable festivals of iu" "es of. England and, of 'J be comrw. Miratcd 11S tbc it falls m Sp7f,ct.on of .,csu3 Mr ure is preparing to u- a festival Alta, the beautiful apparel OI V onllbia liters, period, a Celcbration.,U-"ren levcre tj10 summer golaticc, has been tnown to nil nations in all past time. L ong before tho Christain era the pagans worshiped the Goddess God-dess Ostara or Eastre, a mythical personage who was looked upon 03 the personification of the morning 0 r the east, as well as of the dawning of Spring. The rites practised by tho pagans have been, in many respects adhered to by tho churches, but the latter have transformed them from a merely temporal season of joy to a system of purely religious festivals. With the pagans the occasioiof tho festival of "Eastre," was the awaking awak-ing of nature from the death of Winter; the church, being powerless to overthrow a long-established holi day period gradually succeeded in giving to it a Christain significance. Joy at the coming of the vernal period became joy at the rising of the Sun of Kighteousucss, the resurrec-rection resurrec-rection of Christ from the grave. For the out-door bonfires of the pagans the chinch substituted the "paschal tapers" of immense size sometimes weighing 300 pounds with which the churches were lighted on Easter eve. In modern times, Easter, following asit does the prolonged Lenten period-of period-of fasting and prayer, is an eventful event-ful occasion, new and attractive apparel ap-parel is to be seen on all sides. Tho dun colors of grief are superceded by the gaudy hues of joy. A stranger attending a fashionable church on Palm Sunday and again on Easter Day, need not be told that happiness and gayety bad supplanted sorrow and mourning. In all the large cities the "Spring opening" among dry goods dealers, dress-makers and milliners mill-iners invariably occur in anticipation of Easter Sunday. The good churchman would feel that ho had fallen far short of his duty if he did not don some new article of dress or adornment on this fetal day. One custom prevails among the Episcopal churches in England, En-gland, which has not yet been adopted by the Episcopalians in the United States. We allude to the "Enster offerings'' to the clergy. This custom baa prevailed for so long a period that these contributions arc now expected as a matter of right, and are called "Easter Dues." It is a sysLom of voluntary tithing which gladdens the hearts of the faithful clergy; and Easter has been chosen as the most appropriate time fur such remembrance. A characteristic Easter rite, and one which has become very generally observed, is the use of Easter eggs. They arc usually stained of various colors, with dye-woods or herbs. The use of eggs at this season was doubtless doubt-less originally symbolical of tho revivification re-vivification of Nature the springing forth of lifi in Spring. The custom is not confined to Christians, but prevailed pre-vailed among the Jews, and it is said the Persians, at the new year festival in March, make presents to each other of colored eggs. |