Mineral Point weekly tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1859-1868, 1859-05-03
LENT AND EASTER.

| Easter Sunday is observed by many especially
by the Catholics. Episcopalians and Lutheranc
rs the anniversary of the RESURRECTION of on
Saviour. 1t occurs very late this year the 2Itl
of April The time Is fixed in this way; Th
crucihxion took place AT the Jewish feast Of til,
Passover. That feast was observed by the jew
on the l4th of the month Abb. The Jcwsl
/ months commenced with the new moon. 4 bil
was the hrst month of the year, occurring ut th,
Spring Equinox. Easter Ia therefore the frs
| Sunday after the full moon after the 2ist %
| March
| bout the time of Easter or Pas eggs are
generally plentiful. and this associat eC
In The minds of the boys aud girls with culoreo
eggs and butting eggs"
With these pre.sctory words. we will add ar
extract from an exchange paper this and the
kindred subject of Lent.
" LENT. - All of the Episcopal churches
throughout the world, we believe, observe Lent
1t receives its name from the time of the year
IN which 1t occurs-Lent in the old Saxon Ian
guage, signifying Spring. 1t occurs. III the
Spring "t the year just before Easter, which Is
the Sunday next after tho full moon. which
happens upon. or next after, the 2lst of March.
II the full moon happens upon SUNDAY, Eas-
ter-day Is the Sunday after. Lent always be
gins SO that it may end at Easter. to remind Us
of our Saviour 5 suffering, which euded at his
resurrection.
Ash Wednesday, or the first day Of Lent, is
common among the primitive Christians of
sprinkling themselves with ashes, to remind
them that their bodies were 10 die. and he com
ntted to the ground, earth to earth, ashes IL
ashes, dust TO dust.
Lent begins Wednesday, in order that the
four days preceding the first Sunday in Lent.
may count in with the thirty-six days of the
following weeks proceeding Easter, To make up
the number of forty, rs Sunday is never observed
as fast day. but As joyous Christian festival
commepmoratory of Christ's resurrection.
Lent doubtless took its rise from the practice
of the Jews, to prepare themselves during a pc
riod of forty days for their yearly expiation.-
The early Christians instituted the fast of Lent
suitable preparative for the CONNIE mo rat ion
of the great expiaton of the sins of tie whole
world. upon- Calvary by the crucihxion OF
Christ The number cf forty days IL SAID Ia
have been fixed upon for this reason. and IN i'm
itation of our Saviours fast. mentioned in the
New Testament Forty also the number
of days God covered the earth with delugc:
the number of years which the children of Israel
passen in the wilderness. and the Niunevitcs
had This number of days allowed for them to
repent
The week Immediately before Easter Sunday
is observed as a time of more extraordinary
fasting and humiliation, for it was the week of
the passion, final and great suffering of our
blessed Lord, when ne prepared himself to die
upon the cross for our salvation and did actually Y
give up his life to redeem lost world.
Good Friday bears that name because of the
blessed effects of Christ's suffcrngs, which are the
ground of all our Joy Christians; and because
of these unspeakable good things which were
purchased for by the death of the Son OF
God.
This year. 1859. Ash Wednesday was the 9th
of March; Good Friday was the 22nd of April
and Easter-day was the 2Ith of April.
1t viii be Interesting to learn that Easter las.
fell on that day in 1871. and will not fall on
the same date again till 20lI. Since the intro
duction of the Gregorian Almanac this has been
the case in the years 1899, l 1O1, and 1871. The
period within which Easter fall, reaches
from the 22nd of March earliest datc) until the
25ih of April, (late-t date) leaving thiri v five
different days tor the celebration Of this stval
In this century. Easter Will fall only once
(lSe5) on the latest date, the 25th of April.