Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1883-03-30

Christ nor his apostles enjoined the keep.
ing Of Easter or any other festival, and
the same writer further says that the first
Christians, being derived from or init |
mately connected with the Jewish church,
naturally continued to observe the jew
ish festivals, though in new spirit, as
commemorative OF events of which the
Jewish festivals had been. the shadows.
Fixing the Date.
In the primitive church there was great
confusion as to the time of holding the
festival, but the diversity Of usage was
gradually brought to an end at the great
ecumencal Council of Nice in the year
1915. In 651 Queen Eanheda, the consort
of Oswry, King of Northumbria, was
fasting and keeping Palm Sunday, while
her husband, the king, was celebrating
the Easter festival The reason of this
irregularity was caused by the King adj
herring to ancient usage, while the Queen
adopted the time that had been or
daincd for holding the festival by the
Council of Nice. At that celebrated
Council the Emperor Constantine passed
this canon First-That the Dist day of
March shall be accounted the vernal
equinox. Second-That the full moon
happening upon, or next after, the DIST
day of March, shall be taken for the full
moon Nissan (the Jewish Passover begins
on the 14th of Nisan, month cores
ponding to our March or Aprib. Third
That the Lords Day next following the
full moon be Easter Day. Fourth But
if the full moon happen upon Sunday,
Easter Day shall be the Sunday after.
Easter, therefore, is one of the movable
feasts-moves backwards or forwards, nc
cording as the full moon next after the
vernal equinox falls nearer or farther
from the equinox, or 21st of March. To
further illustrate the astronomical diff
culties that perplexed the early Chuich
and caused heresies. it may be stated,
this Easter Sunday, falling on the 9th Of
April will not occur on that day of the
week and month again until 1914, then in
1850. 2023, 2O3i and 20Ij. In 1886 it
will fall on April %, the latest possible
date, and this will be the first time it has
SO occurred since the introduction of the
new style CGregorinn calendar) in 1852
1t will not occur on April % until after
a lapse of 81 years, or in 1913, and then
not again until the year 210G.
|
| The custom of using eggs, symbolical-
ly and otherwise, at Easter, is traced up
to the theology and philosophy Of the
| Egyptians, Persians, Gauls, Greeks, Ro-
mans, among all of whom an egg was an
emblem of the universe. An old writer
quantity says, "the egg is an emblem of
the rising up out of the grave, i'll the
same manner MS the chick, entombed as it
were in the egg, is in due time brought
to life. The superstitions clustered round
this "queen of festivals" in Europe, and
especially the one about the sun s dancing
on Easter morn, are now generally ex
ploded. There may be yet, however, n
few Jaspers, who persist in their belief
''dat de sun do dance n jig on Easter
Sunday morning. For their benefit it re-
mains to be stated that on looking at the
reflection of the sun in clear spring or
sheet of water, at any time of day, vari-
Gus optical delusions, caused by the re-
fracting beams of light, present them
selves to the spectator. Among some of
the curious practices at Easter in the me-
dieval church was the preaching of risUs
paschalcs, or funny" sermons, in Italy,
France and even III Germany as late as
the 10th century. The preachers intro
duced 'facetious stories, and the license
of language was, i'll many instances, car
| ried to its utmost limit. Longfellow, in
his notes to the Golden Legend" refers
to this peculiar preaching In England
we don't read of any of this popular
preaching" but the Archbishops and the
Bishops amused themselves on Easter
Sunday, after the services, by playing at
handball in the churches with the infer
| ,nr ola tn, l,n ,,f
| England the custom of ''lifting,' or
chewing, is still practiced. On Easter
Monday the men lift the women, take
their revenge in lifting the men. The
| lifting is performed by several stout men
or women, who join hands across each
| others waists, making the person to be
"heaved" sit down on their arms, when
| they lift him up aloft two or three times,
and often carry him several yards along a
| street When the person tossed up on
those brawny arms is a woman, she must,
on being set down, give each of them a
kiss, or else pay a forfeit for each 'un-
kissed kiss" in money. In other parts of
England young men carry about chair,
lined with rich, white silk, from which
| streamers of blue ribbons depend as
they meet each fair damsel she is request
ed to seat. herself i'll the chair and no ex-
cuse to be taken. The chair is then lift
| ed as high as the young men can elevate
| it III the air, and when it comes down each
young mar demands kiss and pecuni-
airy fee into the bargain, rare combina-
ton Of pleasure and mony-making. But
it appears that the ladies got square" on
the following Tues lay, and King Edward
l was once pounced on i'll his bed by
bevy of maids of honor, and he not only
had to give each lady chaste salute, but
also the round sum of fi00, which was
kingly ransom, indeed, in those days.
| Many other cases are recorded where
band of Amazons, on Easter Tuesday,
broke i'll on the solitude of some grave
and high parsonage, and on being asked
their business, was answered with :
"We've come to lift YOU" Clergymen
Were generally let off with being fined
heavily, but others, less fortunate, were
chased in the streets until they were cap
tured and at the mercy of the captors.
Another practice was kind of coasting
for two, i'll which couples of young men
and women rolled down hill entwined,
like wrestlers, collar and elbow. In York
shire on Easter Sunday the Young men
take the privilege of taking off the shoes
of the young women, but ON Monday the
young women take off the shoes Of the
young men, and keep them (the shoes
until they are redeemed by money for
feits. The children come in for their
share Of the fun, MS cakes and bonbons
are scrambled from church steeples and
other places. 1t is said that most of these
curious customs in England once had n
religious meaning, but have degenerated
into these absurd practices, but what can
| be expected when the upper clergy OF