National Republican., 1884-04-11
rnE FAsTER FESTIVAL.
Quaint and Curious Customs and Their
OrIgin-Artistic Easter Cards.


Quaint and Curious Customs and Their
OrIgin-Artistic Easter Cards.
The celebration of Easter day is supposed
to have commenced about the year SO. There
is trace of the observance of it as Christian
festival in tho New Testament or in the
writings Of the apostolic fathers. The &c.
| clesastcal historian, Socrates, states that
neither Christ nor his apostles onjoined the
keeping of this or any other festival. "The
apostles" he writes, had no thought of ap.
| pointing festival days, but Of promoting o
life Of blamelessness and piety.'
! The early Christians being derived from,
| OF intimately connected with the jewish
! chHrch, naturally continued to observe many
| of the Jewish festivals, though in new
spirit The passover, ennobled by the
| thought of Christ, the true Paschal Lamb,
! therefore continued TO be celebrated as of old,
and the festival in course of time became the
| Christian Easter, or anniversary Of our Lords
resurrection from tho dead. BY some au-
! thoritics it Is claimed to have derived its
name from Oster, which signifies rising, by
others from Eostre, the name Of u Saxon
goddess, whose festival was celebrated in the
month of April
Easter however, is movable feast, and
does not always occur upon the same day Of
| the month in each successive year as does
Christmas day and our secular holidays.
Tho rule given at the beginning of the
| prayer book to find Easter Is: Easter day Is
always the first Sunday after the full moon,
which happens upon or next after the
twenty first day Of March, and IL the full
moon happens upon Sunday Easter day Is
| the Sunday after"
In Rome in early times Joyous crowds on
that day assembled in the churches in holiday
attire. The poor man dressed like the rich
and the rich wore their gayest attire; those
who had none Of their own borrowed of their
neighbors, and even tho very children were
made to share the joy of the feast by putting
on new clothes. After the lapse of years
many curious customs came into existence as
countries increased in population, and the
family Of Christians separated into the
various sects aud crceds.
In some ploces it was usual for Christians
to salute each other on the morning of this
day by exclaiming: Christ is risen indeed !"
The custom of singing Easter carols is prob
ably derived from the Tyrolese, who were in
the habit OF traversing the valleys upon
Easter morning with bands of music and
singing beautiful hymns, calling upon the
people within doors to come out and join
Them that together they might rejoice in this
glad anniversary.
The custom of distributing the "pace" or
"pasche ege" seems to have been universal,
and even in Scotland, where for centuries
the great festivals of the church have boon
their Easter eggs dyed and hard boiled, just
as the little ones are similarly favored to-day
In England it was customary in some parishes
for the clerk to carry white cakes to every
house as an Easter Offering,
At Chester on Easter Monday 10 was usual
for crowd Of young aud gay gallants to carry
about the streets q chair lined with rich
white silk, and from which garlands of
flowers and atreamers of ribbons depended.
AZ they met each fair damsel she was re-
quested to seat herself in the chair no
opposition being allowed in those times of
free and easy manners. The chair was then
lifted as high as IL could be raised, and on
descending each young man demanded kiss
and sometimes fee. This custom was called
lifting" and probably still exists in certain
localities among the lower classes 1t was
not, however, confined to tho humble and
ignorant in early times. An extract from one
of the rolls among the records in the Tower
of London makes mention of payment to
certain ladies and maids of honor for taking
, King Edward in his bed and "lifting" him.
: The sum paid by the king was f400.
In this country there has not been SO much
Importance attached to the celebration OF the
taaRt 6F FNfsafe Nfsafe esaayYifcS afSIH iH
, becoming new bonnet-the observance OF
} Easter is confined to floral decorations and
, the distributions of cards and favors
wide range for thought has been opened
In TINS direction, and an opportunity offered
to those who delight to 60 back and trace the
origin of customs and symbols, and the con
nection between ideas and the visible sign of
such ideas, to exercise their peculiar talent.
An investigation of single shop window
filled with these devices would probably give
one all he cared to do for some time to come,
Without inclining Mt all to irreverence one ia
tempted to ask, what possible connection can
there be between the resurrection of Christ
and an owl or crow clad in clerical attire.
with book in hand, solemnly administerinr
the sacred rite of baptism to a tiny chick, or
standing prepared to deliver a sermon Co an
awaiting congregation of ducks and goslings ?
Or in what way does a dead pigeon glued
fast to PLAGUE Of plush typify resurrection ?
Or what sort of accompaniment would be n
banjo of silk, entwined with ribbons and
artificial flowers, to the grand chorus of ioy-
full voices arising from every part of Christen.
dom?
Many Of these devices are artistic and
beautiful, and form appropriate gifts for one
friend to present to another, but not at ali
In keeping with tho sacred significance of tho
day. Egg-shaped bonbonniers nests of moss
with speckled treasures, satin cushions with
roses and lilies, make very pretty favors for a
social feast but are hardly suitable for this
| great feast Of the church.
q