Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1886-04-21
Origin Of Easter.
SOME OF THE CURIOUS CUSTOMS OF
1nf THE DAY. t-'

|
| I'VE = r~ -- l4 ,
HOW THE GODDESS OF SPRING Is WELCOMED
| IN INDIFFERENT CoUNTRIEs-THE IMAGT
NARY MOON THAT REGULATES THE COM
| ING OF EAsTER-THE "FEAST OF EGGS"
Easter Sunday, or as it was formerly
| called, the Sunday of JOY" like many
other ceremonies which have come down to
| us from earlier times, has been changed
! from its original, and to some extent pagan,
character to a religious observance, until
| now, more especially limited to the Romish
and Episcopal churches, it is the festival of
the resurrection of Christ.
| In olden times there was feast of the
| Teutonic goddess Ostera Gin the Anglo Sax
| on Easter, whence naturally comes our
Easter,) the goddess of spring, and the
Anglo-Sax0n name for April was Easter
nentb. . The pagan Worship of Osters MS
strongly rooted IN Northern Germany, and
was brought into England by the Saxons;
and the early missionaries, finding it i'm
possible to abolish it, endeavored, as with
some other ceremonies, so far as was posi-
BILE, to change it to Christian festival, and
to give to the rites religious significance
This was easily done in this instance; for
joy at the rising of the sun, at the bursting
of spring from the bonds of winter, the re-
surrection of the natural world, could quite
easily be changed to joy at the rising of the
sun Of righteousness, at the resurrection of
Christ, his triumph over death aud the
grave. Easter has often been called the
Christian Passover because the Jewish
Passover was celebrated, according to the
Mosaic law, on the Nth day of the month
of Abi, that is, within day or two before
or after the vernal equinox.
Although the church has always been
united as to why Easter should be celebrated,
there has been wide difference of opinion
as to when it should be observed. This
controversy grew out of diversity of GUS
tom, the Judaizing Christians keeping their
paschal feast on the same day the Jews keep
their Passover-the 14th of Nisan-the He
brew month corresponding to our March or
April-while the churches of the west, inEre-
membrance that Christ arose on Sunday,
had their festival on the Sunday following
the day observed by the eastern church,
This discussion was kept up until the time
of Constantine, who "a. D. 325) brought
the subject before the Ecumenical council
of Nice, from which time to this Easter
Sunday has been everywhere on one and the
same day-thc first Sunday after the full
moon which happens on or next after the
upon Sunday, Easter day is the Sunday
after. This decision was in favor of the
western usage, that body holding that the
Sunday after the 18th of April was proper
for the commemoration of the resurrection
of Jesus Christ. The introduction of the
Gregorian calendar made some changes
necessary, and the ecclesiastical authorities
at last decided to regulate the time of
Easter by the moon-nOt, however, the ac-
tual moon, nor what is called by astrono-
mers the ''mean moon," but an imaginary
moon, whose movements are so arranged
that it follows the real moon by some two
Or three days.
Easter, which is now preceded by Lent,
in early days was introduced by fasting on
one day only-the Friday in Passion week,
known as Good Friday; by and by the Tina
was extended to forty hours, in token that
Christ had lain that long in the tomb, and
from this it was at last prolonged to forty
daJ s-tuo soAsUn Vi Tie toMpGaGiou IN the
wilderness. The primitive Christians on
the morning of this day saluted each other
with the words, "Christ is arisen," to which
the person addressed answered, "Christ is
arisen, indeed, and hath appeared to Simon"
a custom which is still retained in the Greek
church. Indeed" says an eminent foreign
observance of Easter were at first exceed
ingly simple, but in the early part of the
Fourth century a decided change was
brought about. Constantine, naturally vain
and fond Of parade, signalized his love of
display by celebrating this festival with ex-
traordinary pomp. Vigils, or night watch
es, were instituted for Easter eve at which
the people remained in the churches until
midnight. The tapers, which it had been
before customary to burn at this time, did
not satisfy his maj but huge pillars of
wax were used instead; not only in the
churches, but all over the city, were they
placed, that the brilliancy of the night
should for exceed the light of day. Easter
Sunday was noticed with most elaborate
ceremonials, the pope officiating at mass,
with every imposing accessory that could
be devised.'
During the interval between Easter and
Pentecost, period of fifty days. the Chris
tians we're not expected to pray kneeling,
for this attitude was considered as token
of humility, but rather with outstretched
arms, and faces looking to heaven, at this
season, when only songs of joy and gratitude
| were expected. Both Easter and Pentecost
Sunday were accounted fortunate days on
which to baptizs children, and the interval
lying between these days as favorable for
marriages.
Various ceremonies, spirits and snpersti-
| tions have in time past characterized the
day, and still are many of the old Easter
customs practiced in different parts of the
world. That of making presents of colored
eggs was at one time almost universal, eggs
being considered eymbolical of the revival
of nature, The springing forth of life.
| Passion week in Paris may be termed the
''feast of eggs" Every good Catholic not
only fasts every Friday throughout the year,
but for a week together at Easter. The
church does not allow any flesh food; but
eggs may be eaten in any quantity. On the
first day of Passion week everybody presents
everyone else with some little gift emblem
atical of an egg in some shape or other,
which is known as Paschal eggs (@Mfs des
| Poque.) Among people SO ingenious in
tri1es as the Parisians the opportunity is
not lost, so that egg shaped articles are to
be had in every conceivable variety of ma
terials. One would think that the once i'm
perial eagle of France had summoned all the
birds of the air to come to Paris, build their
nests in shop windows, and there deposit
their eggs, for go where you will, look into
whatever shop you fancy, there you see eggs
from the size of caraway comfit, such as
is found in the nest of the humming bird,
to one as large as a bowl-the ostrich egg,
for instance. The toy shops are full of egg
shaped boxes; within them are dolls and
playthings. Here you have chocolate eggs,
full of cream where the yolk should be;
there you have sugar eggs filed with liquor,
and again, ivory eggs within which is a
scent bottle. Passing along the streets are
women with barrows crying aloud, "Des
ce1s! des eufs % Eggs! eggsp' On
their perambulating boards are piled two
lots of eggs, one white, natural; the other
red, cooked in logwood water. Thus rec
eggs ready boiled, are sold in every street
in Paris.
Some of the nests are beautiful works Of
art. Here is a sloat or weasel stealthily
climbing up a tree to suck the eggs, with
the parent bird in battle array, ready to
drive the intruder away. Altogether in
Paris, Easter eggs are one of it's sights, an(
well worth seeing.
The rank of a princess does not shield he
from salute on the cheek by the loves
boor who presents her an egg at Easter. il
Russia; and the custom of distributing pace
or pache .ege-the Passion or Easter egg-i