Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1884-04-03

Church. During these fast days the
whole city Ii ed on plain food, SO that
it was said ";here was no difference be-
tween the table of the Emperor and the
table of a poor man." On Sunday be-
| TO Easter the ''great week." as it W as
| called, began. This was Palm Sunday,
and was observed in memory of Christ 8
entry into Jerusalem. when the people
gathered about Him, and marched with
H m down the slope of Mount Clivet,
carrying green branches in their hands.
The Emperor made this special da J,
for pardoning criminals, so that many
prisoners were glad to see Palm-Sundav
come. Every day of the ''great week.
was kept with solemn service. In
this city it was the custom on Good
Friday to worship in the graveyard
beyond the walls, because, they sa; d,
Christ was cruciiied outside the gates
of Jerusalem. The next day, satur-
day, was the great Sabbath" so called
because on that Sabbath, according to
Jewish reckoning, Christ lay in the
grave. Thousands were now baptiz ed.
and put on white robes as a On of
purity.
When the evening came, Constan-
tnople and all the chief cities of the
empire were illuminated. They ap-
peared t. BE- masses of fire; the people
went through the streets to their
churches carrying lighted torches. and
there they watched all night for the
dawning of the Resurrection day.
When the light of Easter appeared
there was universal shout OF Joy.
Besides expressing Joy by song and
worship in the church, it was customary
to seek out and relieve on Easter-d
the poor and the needy, as we do now
at Christmas. But the week af er
Easter was holy week. too, and at the
end of it, on the Sunday, all who had
put on the white robes of baptism laid
t Iem OFT; as this was the last day of
their appearance in white, it was called
the ''White Sunday" All thro 'gh the
fourteen days beginning with Palm
Sunday the courts were closed, no law
suits were tried, and the people tried to
live n peace with each other.
Such were the means used by the
Church in those far-off times to express
its thanks for what Christ has done for
the world by His death and resurrec-
ton. But old customs pass away and
new customs come in; still the world
does not forget Easter. In Russia the
people greet each other on Faster
morning. saying: 'The Lord isrisen,"
and answering: "The Lord is risen,
indeed" In Jerusalem a church has
been built over the place where it is
supposed Christ was buried. Here the
hatf-barbarous Greeks wait on Easter
eve for the bursting of the fire from the
followed rock. Thou sands gather about
the spot, and. as soon as the fire APP
-
red to the churches and their homes.
In the rushing from the sepulcher after
the flame is kindled many are trampled
down and some at times have been
killed. Different fro IL these scenes is
the quiet remembrance of Easter in
Protestant Europe and America. In
day for receiving new members, es-
pecially the young.
Many beautiful hyns which celebrate
the glor es of Eas er have co re down to
us from the far-off mes. And in all
languages VIII CHI Christians speik Eas- /
ter hymns have been written. Old
mo ks, whose livs were hid away in
cells, and who talked 20 each her in
crA BIB ID Latin, made thu La in musical
when they wove its words toge her into
+ aSter song. And men who, like
Luthec. came out OF the cells W.T. tie and
sang, to-, Of the Easter day. One of
Luthe,'s hymns Las this verse:
That was wondrous war. trOw.
When life an death tog ether fought:
But lite has trIumphed DER his foe;
-, Death is Knocked and set at naught;
It's cen as Scripture saith,
Christ through death has conquered death.
This is the meaning of the Easter
festival. 1t is the festival of he East,
that is. OF t r sing Sun. which drives
the darkness # night axay. Men are
only to- glad "a Christ has conquered
death. an their joy keeps alive the re-
O Easier from age to age.
.Hprbers Young People.