Show claw etc dam ji 4 F ap X T K V by ELMO SCOTT WATSON A ASTER ST E R means many things to many people to T 9 some lt means new frocks add a ln V mila finery ll nery to some it means the end of lent a period of iel self imposed abstinence sti nence from worldly i pleasures to no others it ne it the beauty of the white whit my illy and iii to still others at it means mean s rabbits 1 easter aste i t eg eggs 9 s and jo joys ys of childhood but back of all these superficial symbols Is 9 the one essential fact toward which till all of tit them ela point easter day Is the anniversary of the resurrection of jesus christ and the spirit of easter Is the reas reab urance ig i vitt there Is life after death ten L the soul of man la Is immortal easter customs like ilke the customs which have come coine to he be associated with i christmas S st t valentines day and other holidays ano an special dates for observance are a mixture of the christian and the pagan to the christian conscious of the true meaning and religious significance of easter caster it Is a matter for argret that amny persons are seemingly more familiar with the pagan symbols which have i become associated with easter caster in incidentally c than they are aTe atevich the rue sy symbols of that day they regard th the e emphasis sl stipon upon thes these e symbols as responsible bl for the statement often made that 11 faster ster christmas und other chris tian holidays ere are merely adopted flagan festivals and point out that this I 1 Is a fallacy similar to tin an assertion that the american fourth of july Is a festival in ili honorof Clif chinese nese dra gon gods adopted by the yankees and associated in ili their superstition with aided idea of it their law independence af 4 jourse course every one knows that lint the als use ok of which were indented by the th chinese as an offering to dragon gods faid and the punk with which the firc firecrackers bachers are lighted which are burned as incense la in Aron mongolian gollan temples came to be associated only by chance with fourth of july celebrations and have nothing to do with the essential spirit of independence day similarly the symbol of the ate white rabbit which lays easter egis egas cano came to bel be associate asso clatO with easter day by chance and hus has nothing todo to do dw litif spir spirit k he regardless gardle ss however ot of the hie philosophical lo and theological aspects of tills question 1 1 stian ib abe 4 association of some of ane these 7 1 e 1 easters Easter 1 s symbols i amb pagan though have bave been in origin with a christla festival haw have a certain inherent interest the fie association so clation of thle the rabbit e with vaster easter tins hag is ifs foundations arthe hn dent clent belief belle fIg in european turpa find and asiatic countries th a the hare is is the sy symbol orthe or the moon the moon is the open eyed watcher of the night and the hare Is a nocturnal animal the young of the hare are born with their eyes open and are sold said never to close them thein since the date of caster Is governed goer ned by the moon it Is ii easily wen pen how the which Is the for tile tho moon cam escame e to he b an easter easte symbol also alo the assoil association altion ol of ili atre egg with easter easte goes ebes back to certain beliefs of the ancients also alpo eggs agg had been associated socia ted alth the worship of asti asli boreth of the of tile phoe ril ciani asli of the egyptians diana of the greeks and romana and whom the teutonia worshiped in the spring incidentally the name easter Is said by some to be derived from the name of this ilits teutonic goddess dd ess although pi oth lieis ars assert that it wai was name for foe an old pagan spring festival li in n lionor of the suns pew peny birth in the east ali alie e egypt egyptians fians regarded the egg as an emblem of the recreation of till things ri gs and of mans regent era ration tion then too the egg with its life germ destined to produce a living crea creature thre when waft ft armed ned by the mother hen bein I 1 easily associated alth lipics 1116 iba bf the earth carth blosso tinder gilel tu I 1 warm warin rays of the sun in the spring both closely akin to the general idea of resurrection since the resurrection au of christ occurred in the spring it Is easy to see how tile symbols of the egg and all revived life in the springtime carne came to be associated with tills this event in the history of christianity tile the egg as a symbol was wa ti aken en baer over by the hebrews as on an emblin emblem of thear delivery from bondage and next nest the early Christ christiana lans took it over as their symbol of the file resurrection the mo association of the rabbit and the egg Is probably due to a pretty little legend which comes from germany it ls Is as follows it was a lovely day in early springtime and mrs rabbit was hurrying along t the he woodland path taking some wild flowers to a sick woodchuck friend Stio denly she came upon a lot jot of loose feit leathers liers in the path she loock looked ed about tier her and then discovered A POO nest full of eggs oh teleai nie me exclaimed exclaim ed mrs bunny oe a fox must have stolen the mother chick chicken and there are her emka setting getting lied HI 01 just sit on them to tn keep thern them warm so sl e put down her baskets and sat upon the I 1 nest ii mrs airs rabbits surprise when she got up from the nest the next i ext morning and found that a family or of chicks had hatched from the egge since their mother Is gone I 1 presume I 1 shall have to take caro care of the poor little things said the tenderhearted tender hearted mrs rabbit this she did ever since then the rabbit has been associated th caster and baiter ofes in 10 some parts of if northern nor thein germany tile the till children larli hang eggs on trees suu fin ller r to christinas trees and candy fa vois gi gifts ats bind and all sorts of easter novelties ore are placed on the tree around which tile the children gather and sing songs on easter morning pea peasants in ili other european countries were 1 accustomed to hang festoons fes of eggs over the clift chimney nuey piece and io 0 o hand them down as heirlooms heir looms to tot they were vere regarded as treasures to be kept and not ns as baubles to bo be destroyed or thrown away in england under the old ecclesiastical laws rent was in n enster easter eggs games were played with them a fact which was pio probably bably tile the forerunners forerunner ii of easter egg gg rollings such euch its as that observed each year tear on the white house lawn in washington especially by the children in north england still another assouf association a ito n of the egg with easter lay in the alie fa fact ct that it was contrary to religious tenets to eat eal eggs during lent but when eastel marked k d the ahe end of that period they wore were the first fleshly nourishment after the tha fast to sanctity sanctify the body the custom of dyeing easter egg goes back for many centuries ent urles peasants in the european Kur countries dyed them thein red as a symbol of christa Chrls ta b lood but the lords and ladles cov ered theirs with gold leat leaf latet laa r more On elaborate borate decorations were used soviet lines mes they were marbled in a variety of colors sometimes they bore cupida cupids and love knots flaming hearts and the sl signs agns gns of tha zodiac sometimes they were halved and the shells hinged w fifth ribbon ri broll and lined avith with galt g allt P V ad religious pictures among amon the venetians it was the custom to give alfriend a friend a gift egg bearing the giver givers Is portrait and many other variations variation on egg decor decoration atlon were common in prance spain and belgium half a century igo ago easter e eggs gg s were made of porcelain ivory moth er of peart pearl bronze silver or gold in the form of little cases to hold various trinkets but the modern I 1 child favoring i something useful as well as ii arn D ii fiftal prefers prefer 9 jn in easter egg eg which he can first admire aud and tuen e eat at so we have the elaborate cou con fictions in trie de form of chocolate chocola te rab tati Ws dittin sitting g on a nest of spun in which are a plentiful supply of candy eggs i even the garter barter fashion parade when milady appears at church on tills this sunday morning in a news new frock and new millinery Is a symbol of resurrected life in the ahe springtime lalion when all nature la putt putting ingon on new raiment it Is also carrying out the old british r ibish tradition that it Is gaj oll luck t to wear something now neve on ri easter day the easter lily illy as a symbol of easter 14 a combination of 0 the f significance ce and tile the manifestations of nature in its snowwhite snow white purity it Is emblematic of the flawless life of the christ and when the lily illy bud opens in the springtime and the white blossom comes forth to in all aft its glory it is the one perfect symbol of resurrected life so these are the symbols of faster each representing a dlf different ferent tradition perhaps but bat all emblematic of bf essentially the same thing an awakening after a sleep life fire after death resurrection I 1 there la Is no death beath who says baya there Is mistakes mistaken transition for decay internal life alte springs everywhere the th same deaths death s story to di dismay promise of everlasting life la is writ vainly plainly natured Na Ka turea scholl oll As aa with trees th tha a flowering fib shrubs shrub am a M bulbs I 1 so to la it with the eifle soul i A period of 0 sleep of darkness black As Cal blackest night and then the resurrections sun sud shines forth with gods perpetual light ah you blind follow follower ers or of faith or fate nead head for yourselves the roll how snarled gnarled brown root ali apparent parent dead revives I 1 apus thus la Is it with the soul i matilda ann allen alien |