St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1886-06-05
EASTER IN HISTORY.
It's Jewish Origin-Why 1t Has Become a
Christian Observance-Some Curious Gus

| Its Jewish OrtGtu-Why 1t Has Become
Christian Observance-Some Curious Gus
| toms.
To trace the Easter festival to ito or,
igin We shall have to 90 back in Jewish
history to that night when the chosen
race, to save their little ones from the
destroying angel who smote with death
all of the oldest sons in the houses of
the Egyptians. sprinkled the door posts
Of their houses with the blood of lamb
and sat down to a supper of flesh, un-
| leavened bread and bitter herbs, pre-
| paratory to leaving the land of their
bondage forever. Such was the incep-
tion of the Passover, which was always
eaten on the fourteenth day of the first
Jewish month-the month called Mis-
nan. corresponding with our March and
April. 1t was ut the time of this feast
that Jesus Christ, ''the Lamb of God, y
was crucificd. and hence by his follow
ers the Jewish feast was changed to a
Christian festival.
For no little time there was diff
Guilty in the early church i'm regard to
the day of the week and the day of the
month on which Easter should be cele-
brated. As the Christians held that
Christ, the true paschal lamb. had been
slain on the very day when the Jews in
celebration of their passover inundated
the iigurative lamb. so, both in the
West and the East, those who believed
the Christian passover to be COM
memoration of Christ's death adhered
to the custom of holding the Easter
festivity on the day prescribed for the
Jewish pasch. The great majority of
Christian churches, however. attached
more Importance to the day of Christ's
resurrection. which was the first day of
the week (hence called the Lords Day,
our Sunday and therefore held to
Easter being celebrated on that day
and on the Sunday which followed the
fourteenth day of the moon of March,
the day on which Christ suffered.
The discussion was settled by the
council of Nicene. in 325. 1t was
agreed that the festival should always
be kept on the Sunday after the first
full moon following the twenty-iirst of
March-the day when, as we say. 1.-THE
sun crosses the line" This rule made
by the Nicene council is the one which
we still observe. So now You know
how it is that Easter comes sometimes
earlier, sometimes later in the spring.
1t is because it always follows the moon.
1t can not come earlier than March
twentv-sccond. nor later than April
twenty-fifth.
The origin of the English name
Easter is traced to the old Teutonic or
rr,Jlap- ~
Eostre. whose festival occurred about
the same time as our celebration of
Easter. The general name in use
among Christian nations is derived
from the Hebrew Greek word which
meant .he passed over" Those of you
who are studying French will remcm-
Der that i'm France it is called Paques.
In Scotland they call it Pasch and in
Holland Paschcn. When England was
first Christianized the missionaries
found the people worshiping the
goddess of spring. to whom the month
of April, which they called Eostere-
monath was sacred. As conversion
took place the Christian festival was
substituted for the heather one. but the
old national name was retained. hence
our word Easter.
A good many curious customs have
been observed in different parts of the
world i'm connection with Easter.
There is the one of boiling pasch eggs
and coloring them with bright-hued
dveS. which is still celebrated in most
countries.
AT Easter let your clothes he new,
Or else be sure you will il rue
is an old rhyme sung in England, re-
ferring to the superstition that one
must put on something new on Easter
Law or the birds will spoil your clothes.
The game of ball was favorite
Easter sport. in which municipal cor
porations formerly engaged with due
parade and dignity; and at Bury st.
Edmund's within few years the game
was kept up with great spirit by twelve
old women. In the northern counties
of England the men parade the streets
on Easter Sunday, and claim the privi-
lege of lifting every woman three times
from the ground. receiving in payment
a kiss or 4 silver siN-pence. The same
is done bv the women to the men on
the next day.
There was another custom of divid-
ing two very large cakes among the
at the church on Easter.
In l645 Parliament passed Il law for
bidding this and providing that the
money which had formerly been spent
for the cakes should in future be used
to buy bread for the poor.-Ciinton
Montague, in Household.