The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1874-04-16
Easter Day.


Easter Sunday is the festival of the
resurrection of our Lord, or the Chris
tian passover. The English name Eas-
ter and the German name OSteTn, have
been supposed by some writer's to be
derived from the name of the feast Of
the Teutonic goddess Ostera (the god
dess of spring., which was celebrated
by the ancient SaXOns in the spring.
and for which the early missionaries
substituted the Christian festival. Ac-
cording to Adelung, both the English
and German words are derived from the
old Saxon word oster, ostsn, which sig
nifies rising, because nature arises anew
in the spring. According to the Mosaic
law, the passover among the Jews was
celebrated on the 14th day of the month
Of abb, afterward called Nissan, that is
within a day or two after the vernal
equinox. The early Christians differed
in regard to the time of celebrating Eas-
ter. The churches in the west, taught,
as they declared, by st. Philip and ST.
Paul, observed the nearest Sunday to
the full moon of Nissan, without taking
account of the day on which the pass
over was celebrated. The Asiatic church
es, on the other hand, in accordance, as
they said, with the tradition derived
from st. John, followed the Jewish cal
endar, and adopting the 18th of Nisan
as the day of the crucihxion, celebrated
the festival of Easter on the third day
following, whatever. day of the week
that might be. From this circumstance
they were called Quartodecimans. The
dispute on this point in process Of time
became serious, and neither side was
able to convince or convert the other.
Matters continued in this state until
the time of Constantine, who had the
subject brought before the Council of
Nice CA. D. $3.50. The question was then
fully discussed, and finally settled for
the whole church, by adopting the rule
which makes Easter day to be always
the first Sunday after the full moon,
which happens upon or next after March
2lst, and If the full moon happen on a
Sunday, Easter day is the Sunday af-
ter. By this arrangement Easter may
come as early as March 22nd, or as late
as April 25th. This sacred festival has
been termed the queen of festivals it
has been observed from the very begin
ming, and it is celebrated in every part
of the Christian world with great sol
emnity and devotion. The primitive
Christians very early on the morning of
Easter saIuted each other with the
words, Christ is risen." to which the
response was made, "Christ is risen in
deed, and hath appeared to Simon"
The Greek church still retains this GUS
tom. In nearly all Christian coun-
tries the recurrence of Easter has been
celebrated with various ceremonies,
popular sports and superstitions,
Among the best known is the English
custom of making presents of colored
eggs, which were often elaborately or
namented. Colored eggs were used by
children at Easter in a sort of game
which consists IN testing the strength
of the egg shell, and this practice is re-
tained in many places in England, the
United States and Canada. In some
parts of Ireland the legend is current
that the sun dances in the sky on Eas-
ter Sunday morning, This was once a
prevailing superstition also in England.
The game of ball was favOrite Easter
sport, in which municipal corporations
formerly engaged with due parade and
dignity; and at Bury, st. Edmund's,
within few years, the game was kept
up with great spirit by twelve old wo-
men. In the northern counties of Eng
land on Easter Sunday the men parade
the streets, and claim the privilege of
lifting every woman three times from
the ground, receiving in payment kiss
or a silver sixpencce. The same was
done by the women on the next day.
In England it was common for the boys
to run about the streets on Easter morn
ing, crying:
Christ is risen. Christ is risen;
All the Jews must go to prison"
To mark their adherence of Jews
the English used also to make point
of eating bacon on this festival, bat
with it they had tansy pudding, relic
of the bitter herbs of the passover. In
other parts of England, and also in
France, different customs formerly pre-
vailed at this season.