Vermont farmer. [volume] (Newport, Orleans County, Vt.) 1870-1877, 1877-04-06
Easter Eggs.

lho origin OF the CUSTOM Ol uslUb eggs Ut
Easter is ancient and obvious. Hutchinson,
in his History of Northumberland" iu
speaking Of the paste or pashe eggs, says
Eggs were held by the Egyptians as a sa.
cred emblem of the renovation OF mankind
after the deuge. The Jews adopted an
egg To suit the circumstances Of their history,
as type OF their departure from the land
Of Egypt and it was used 10 the feast oil the
passover as part of the furniture Of the
table, with the paschal lamb. the Chris.
tans have certainly used it GU Easter day,
as containing the elements OF future life, for
the emblem Of the resurrection Noting
that the egg was in somcwise dyed or orna-
mented, he goes gu to say: at seems as if
the egg was thus decorated for a religious
trophy, after the days of modification aud
abstinence were over, and festivity had taken
their place and as an emblem of the resur.
rcction of life, as certified to US by the re.
surrection from the regions Of death and the
grave Not only do we find this record Of
the use Of eggs among the practices Of the
| Egyptians, the ancient Israeites, aud the
early Christians, but De Gebein, in his Re-
| ligious History of the Calendar inform US
that the custom Of using eggs at Easter may
be traced up, not only to the theology Of the
people of Egypt, but to the theology and
philosophy OF the Persians, the Gaus, the
| Greeks, aud the Romans, all OF whom re.
gardcd the egg as au emblem of the universe,
and the work OF the supreme Divinity"
Easter" says Gebelin, "aud the new-year,
have been marked by similar distinctions
Among the Persians the uew.year is looked
upon as the renewal of all things, and is
noted for the triumph of the Sun of Nature,
as Easter is with the Christians for the Sou
of ustice, the Savior Of the world, over death,
by his resurrection" Continuing the sub.
ject, he adds. "the feast of the new-year was
celebrated at the vernal equinox, that is, at
time when the Christians, removing their
ne w-yoar to the winter solstice, kept only
the festival Of Faster Hence, with the lat.
ter, the feast OF eggs has beeu attached to
Easter, so that eggs are no longer made pres
ent4 at the new-year."
The Jews, in former times, in celebrating
their passover, placed on the table two un.
leavened cakes aud two pieces Of lamb to
which they added few small fishes "bccause
of the levisthan;" hard egg, "because of
entertained many fabulous ideas, and some
meal. "bfoause Of the behemoth," these being.
according to the rabbinicpl doctors, appointed
for the feast Of the elect in the other life
From what we learn of the Oriental
Sports of the early Christians Of Mesopota.
mia and other eastern countries, We fnd not
only warrent for tho custom Of dyeing and
decorating eggs at Easter, but for the spe-
ces Of gambling that somehow came down
to the younger members of some Of our
churches. On Easter day, aud 40 days af.
terward, the children buy as many eggs as
they can get and stain them red color in
memory oil the blood Of Christ shed at the
time of his cruciixion. One of the sports
of the season consists in the pitting of one
egg against another-the egg broken in tho
collision being surrendered to the owner of
the egg which made the fracture.
Father CARMEL, pous monk of the Ro.
man church, in an interesting work entitled
The History Of Customs" has left many
valuable hints in reference to what obtained
among different nations in the early days oil
Christianity, He tells US that, during
Easter aud the following days, eggs boiled
hard and painted different colors, but prin,
clpaly red, were the ordinary food of the
season. lie says also that in Italy, Spain
aud Provence, where almost every ancient
superstition is religiously retained, there
were in public places sports with eggs-a
custom which he thinks was derived from
the Jews or the pagans, as it was common
at certain seasons to both. That the church
, of komo has. for many centuries, regarded
; the egg as an emblem ,oi the resurrection
/ may be gathered from celebrated benodo
ton, found, with various others, in the ritua
, Of Pope Paul V, who re:gned from the year
1905 to 1921. 1t reads thus "Bless, q
Lord We beseech the, this thy creature o.
: eggs, that 1t may become a wholesome sus
tenance to thy faithful servants, eating it il
. thankfulness to thee, GU account of the re
: surrection Of the Lord"
! In Italy. even up to the present time, OF
Easter eve and Easter day, it is the custom
for all the heads Of the families to send graa
charges full of hard boiled eggs to the churcl
y to have them blessed This blessing tn,
priests perform by set prayers, signs Of tn,
cross aud sprinklng the eggs with holy waite
: the ceremony finished, demanding how
i. many dozen eggs there are 10 the charger
= These blessed eggs they believe have th
S virtue Of sanctiiyiug the entrais of the body
J. aud, therefore, arc the first fat or flesh,
c nourishment prescribed to be taken after tn
s abstinence OF Lent. AS soon as the egg
}. are blessed, every one carries his portion
; home, aud, setting large table, spread will
J, the finest linen belonged to the family, il
i the bost room in the house, this table, be
d strewn with flowers, has placed on it abou
= dozen savory dishes OF meat, aud tn
d great basin Of eggs iu the centor-Sulda!
Magazine.