The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1880-03-28
EASTER.


day is bright and CHEEKY, as the mem
bers Of the two churches whose rules
demand a specially sacred or re-
Iigioas observance of the occasion
best like to see it. And they are not
alone in this, for all protestanss, all
dissenters, and even those who regard
not religious forms or customs, and
acknowledge no God, have a prefer
ence for a bright and balmy and
cheerful Easter. To the Roman
Catholics and Episcopalians, the
day has deep significance. With
them it is the festival of the resuI-
rection OF our Lord. It is the
end OF that period of prayer, and the
modification of the flesh, when the
strict disciplinants bury themselves to
the follies and pleasures of the world,
and in symbolic sackcloth and ashes
cummune with their inner selves and
God, with the intent of purifying soul
and flesh. The season Of Lent going
out with the coming of Easter, on
this morning the Catholic is resur-
rected to the world, and comes forth
to live again amid the pleasures and
pains, tho joys and troubles Of life.
Easter has changed much from its
original character. Very few Of Us
know the exact origin of the day. or
understand its significance; and not
a few associate it with an abund-
ance of eggs, without! under
standing why they DO so. We be-
lieve it is now accepted as q fact that
Easter wss somewhat pagan in its
origin, az many other of the re-
igious ceremonies of to-day we're.
Ostera (Anglo Saxon, Eastre) was
the Teutonic goddess of spring, and
to her !here was given a feast in
April. The worship of the goddess
wac strongly rooted in Northern Ger
many, and was carried into Eug.
lsni By the Saxoas. Finding it i'm
possible TO abolish it, the early mis-
sionaries endea7ored to change it to a
Christian festival, and to give 20 tbs
rites g religious significance. It was
not difficult to change Joy at the rising
of the sun, at the bursting OF spting
from the bonds of winter, the resurrec-
ton of the natural world, iato Joy
st the rising of the Sun OF Righteous
ness, at the resurrection Of Christ,
his triumph ever death and the grave.
The occasion has often been called
the Christian passover because the
Jewish passover was celebrated On the
14th day OF the month abb, or
Nisan, answering to the later Fart of
our Msrch, and beginning of April.
For long time there was bitter
controversy as to when Eas er should
be celebrated. The Judaizing Chris
tisns kept their pascal feast o. the
same day the Jews kept their IasE-
oyer-the 14th of Nisan-and the
churches OF the west, in remem-l
berance that Christ arose en-
Sunday, had their festival on |
the Sunday following the day
observed by the eastern church. |
Constantine "a. D. S24 brought
the subject before the Ecumeuical
Council of Nice, from which time to
this Easter has everywhere been on
the same day-tle first Sunday after
the full moon which happens upoh
or next after the 21st of March, and !
If the full noon comes upon Sun
day, Easter is the Sunday attsr.
In early days Easter was intro
duced By fasting on one day only
the Friday of Passion Week, or Coed
Friday. Afterwards the fast was ex.
tended 70 forty hours, in token that
Christ bad lain that long in the
tomb; and from tnis it was finally
prolonged to forty days-the season
OF the trials and temptations il the
wilderness. On the morning of this
day the primitive Christians saluted
each other with these words:
"Christ is arisen," to which the
person addressed would reply: Christ ,,
is arisen, indeed, and hath appeared ,
to Simon," and this custom is still
observed in the Greek church. An !,
eminent foreign writer on this sub
iect says:
Indeed, all The ceremonies attending the
observance of Easter were at ir.t exceed
lngiy slmplei but in the early part of The [
fourth century decided change was
Drought about, Constantine, naturally {
valE and fond of parade, signaIiz a NJ n
love OF display by cele brating thu. festival -.
with extraordinary pomp. Vigils. Or
night watches, were instituted for Esste- o
eve, at which the people remained in tbel ,
churches until midnight The taDersl
WAlch Il had been before customary to d
burn at this time, did not satisfy ~ =.
majesty, but huge pillars of way were
used instead; not only in the churches c
but all over the city were they plsced lu
that the brilliancy of the night should far =
exceed the light of day. Easter sunday U
was noticed with most elaborate cere- z
monisls, the Pope officiating at mass. a
with every imposing accessory that could
be devised a
During the interval between Easter 81
and Penteoost, period of fifty days. n
Christians were not expected to kneel b
when praying, for this attitude was 81
considered token of humility. They il
we're to pray with outstretched arms b
and faces looking to heaven. At this Fl
season songs ofioy and gratitude were Oh
and even now the Easter II
music is merry and cheering. Il
Easter and Penteoost Sunday have O.
been and are still accounted fortunate a
days on which to baptizs children, il
and the interval lying between the It
lays as favorable for marriages, les