Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1882-04-07

Easter Sunday.
As with the other prominent days, feasts,
fasts, and festivals of the Christian church,
Easter Sunday is day arbitrarily assumed,
or it may be the result of a calculation which
is assumed; and, as a movable feast, it may
occur on any day between the 2lst of March
and the 25th of April, depending upon the
full of the moon after the 2lst of March
and on Easter day depend all the movable
feasts of the year.
The day is observed as the anniversary Of
the resurrection of Christ, and the only con-
troversy or difference of opinion that has
ever occurred in relation to its observance
has been as to the proper day and this was
determined and fixed by the zeal and efforts
OF the Emperor Constantine and the Council
| OF Nice A. d. 325. The controversy between
the churches of Asia Minor and those Of the
West was of long continuance, as it seems
that Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna, made an
effort on his visit to Rome, with Anicetas, in
the year 15S, to adjust the matter between
the Jewish and Roman churches One par
ty referred to the custom of st. Philip, and
St john and the other to the practice of St.
Peter and ST. Paul. Toward the end of the
second century, Victor, the bishop of Rome
tried to compel the concession of the eastern
church, but without success, and the ques-
tion was finally settled 1875 years later, as we
have already stated The Sunday following
the full moon next after the 2lst Of March is
now observed by all Christian churches east
ern or western, Catholic and Protestant, as
are the other feasts and festivals.
The HolydAy of Easter is preceded by sew
eral other days, the last days OF Lent in some
respects predatory to the great day namely,
| Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy
Saturday. The first of these, il inferior as a
church day to Good Friday, is more noticea-
BILE in some other respects 1t is supposed to
| be specially devoted, as in fact all the days
of Lent are, to humility and charity. In the
| exercise OF humility, it was customary for
sovereign princes even kings and others, to
wash the feet of the poor, and then bestow
presents upon them. The Catholics observed
the day and called it Holy Thursday, but
still it was specially regarded as day of hu-
mility.
"And here the monks their maundles make with sun
| dry solemn rites
And signs or great humility and wondrous pleasant
| sights
Each one the others feet doth wash, and wipe them
| clean aud dry,
| With hateful mind and secret fraud that In their
| hearts doth lie'
The kings OF England observed the day and
washed the feet OF as many paupers as the
| years OF their ages, and then made them
| presents. Queen Elizabeth, when thirty nine
| years of age, performed the ceremonies upon
thirty nine persons, and was herself attended
by thirty nine ladies and gentlemen. She
took the precaution to have her yeomen of
the laundry do the washing first with sweet
herbs, afterward by the sub. .slmoner, and fin
| Ill. 10, I,aI
| was marked with the sign of cross and
| kissed. Then followed the distribution of
clothes and money. King William left the
| foot washing altogether to his almoner; and
in George the ii. IS time, his grace the lord
archbishop of York, lord high almoner, per
formed the washing service at the Banquet
| ing House, White Chapel, on Thursday, the
| 10Th of April 1884, only less than hundred
and fifty years ago. In his care, being of the
| age OF forty y-eight, there were forty-eight
| poor men and forty eight poor women and
each person had platter of food, including
beef, mutton, fish, bread, ETC., and a bowl Of
| ale. After this, small sums of money were
| given, consisting of silver pieces of the val
| ne of one penny, two pennies, three and four
| pennies and shillings, and since the reign of
| Victoria an additional sum of money has
been given instead of provisions, and it is
called maundy money, and some of it is
| known DedfluB luo uhlG OF OI 1910 III tue
| middle of the date was a large figure denoting
the value of the coin, and bearing a crown.
At st. Peters, in Rome, this feet-washing
was done by the Pope, upon thirteen bish-
| ops, dressed in white garments, twelve repre-
senting the apostles and one an angel After
the religious ceremonies, the Pope wears an
embroidered apron, with towel attached to
his waist and then he washes and wipes the
right foot of each of the thirteen priests the
washing, of the slightest possible kind, occu-
| pying but little time in its performance, and,
probably by this time, omitted altogether.
There have been various and almost numer-
GUS other ceremonies attached to the day and
season, most of which are probably now dis
| pensed with, though some of them are still
continued. The well-known custom of "hot-
cross buns, one Of the features and land
marks of Good Friday, was originally derived
from the Saxons, as were numerous other
customs and festivities of the church. They
were made and eaten in honor of their god
dess Eastre, or possibly from Eostre, Saxon
deity, whose feast was celebrated in the
spring. so near the time of Easter that it be-
came, in fact the Christian festival, as OBJ
served at the present time and the whole
feast, as we'll as name, seems TO have under
gone but slight change. The Saxon bun,
when made by the Christians, was stamped
or marked with a cross, for the reason that
the priests could not prevent the people from
eating them, SO they sought TO expel the pag-
anism by the use of the cross. Everybody,
it is said, who has been in England during
the Easter days has heard the cry
One penny, buns,
Two penny, buns,
One penny, two a penny,
Hot cross buns.n
In Rome, no doubt, as in all English and
Catholic churches, the day is more or less inn
pOsingly celebrated at the present time. The
ceremonies in Rome are represented TO have
been very elaborate and impressive in 1862.
| II would be difficult, if not impossible, to
say which or what of the Easter customs are
still continued in England. In Scotland,
where the great festivals are said to have been
suppressed for centuries, the young people
have the hard-boiled eggs as usual which
| ihav roll nhnnL ihrnW 10 annh olhar and fin.