Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1871-02-21
EASTER.
How Il Is Ushsled % 10 Many COuHiFisJ
ShFBYs Tuesday aHd Ash
Wednesday.

The forty days or 1aSUng Wllcu le-
cede the Jubilee of Easter, the day
celebrated OF Christ's resurrection,
commences on Wednesday rtO-mOr-
row. the 22d instant. The primitive
churches always held a fast before
Easter, but the time and the length Of
the fast varied until the sixth century,
when Gregory the Great occupied the
Papal chair. He then fixed the time
of Lent to begin on Ash Wednesday
and to end at Easter. The true Lent
is thus described by the old English
poet Herrick:
is this Fast, to keep,
The l8rder i68n8
And cle8ne
From fat Of vsalGs and sheep2
Isit 70 quit the dish
Othssh, yet slil
The platter high with fsh2
Isit to taste an houre,
Or rag'd TO 90,
or show
A dOWn-csst look and sOWrs2
No, 'tis q fast to dole
Thy shesf OF wheat,
And NEST,
Unto the hungry sOuls.
1t is to fast from strife.
From old debate,
And hate,
To CirCumciss thy life.
To show a heart grief-rent,
To sJarve thy sin,
Not bin;
And that's 20 keep thy Lent"
In Catholic countries a week of fes-
tivities, ending in a carnival, where
all is wild mirth and abandon, always
ushers in this fast. This week OF
revelry, like everything Of the kind,
is said to have its origin in the feasts
instituted at Rome in honor of BAG
chus, which took place at this time OF
the year.
sHROyE TUESDAY.
Formerly, "a a preparation for the
austerities Of Lent, the people We're re-
quired to appear at the confessional
on the Tuesday previous, to confess
their sins and receive absOlUtlOn.
Therefore this Tuesday grew to be
called ShFOve Tuesday, from the
Anglo Saxon word scriTG19, to confess,
as on that day the masses were shriyen
Of their sins. Through with this
ceremony, they might 60 their way
and indulge in any amusement until
the midnigbt bell warned them that
their gayety must be put aWay-the
penitential season had begun,
CUSTOMS OF sHROyE TUESDAY.
Sbrove Tuesday was characterized
By many singular customs. In France
a fat, fluffy figure, sort Of etigy Of
good living, and so called, was dressed
up and carried about. He was q fine
fellow, but his hours were numbered,
so they begged money to defray the
expenses OF his funeral, and as night
came on buried him with many cere-
monies. They also plucked to pieces
a grOtesQne figure, which they called
interring the carnival.
Playing at ball and throwing at
cocks tied to stakes, were among the
principal amussments Of the people
of England on this day. The origin
of the latter sport is in doubt. One
author thinks 1t grew out OF a legend
that some cocks, by their growing on
the morning Of ShrOve Tuesday, pre-
vented the SaXOns from m8ssacreing
their cOnquerOrs, the Danes, while
asleep in their beds. Another sUg-
gests that the cock is tortured in
memory Of the sin committed by
Peter, in denying his Lord when
questioned by q servant Of the High
Priest. In confirmation Of this he
quotes:
sMayst thou be punished for ST. Peters crime,
And on ShrOFe TUESDAY perish In thy prime"
From s5nle Lines on a COok,
The great diversion between men
and women was the baking and eat
inc Of Daucakes. A bell was rung at
noon. to call the people to confession,
at the sound Of which all housewives
began to cook their pancakes. rms
was known as the pGgacGbe bell. Con-
fessiOn over, the kitchens were nlied
with merry youths and maidens,
trying to turn the cakes by tossing
them in the air. The point wes not
TO have them sccrched, and TO catch
them in the pan.
"And every man and maid doth lake their
And tosse their pancake up for ieare they
And an the kitchen doth With laughter sound
To see the pancakes fall upon The ground"
ASH WEDNESDAY.
And so Ash Wednesday morning
dawned, and the people who had spent
the last week in mad revelTy and sin
met in the churches to begin their
humiliation. The palms which had
been blessed the year previous, and
used to celebrate Christ's entry into
jerusalem were reduced to ashesg and
these ashes, after being blessed and
haloWed with the sign Of the cross,
and sprlnkled with holy water, the
priests distributed on the heads Of the
people OK signed them With them on
the forehead With the sign Of the cross,