The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1886-04-27
EASTER SUNDAY.

~ called, tue ouuoay -Oi Joy, Ike
many ceremonies which have come
down to us from earlier times, has
been changed from its original, and to
some extent pagan, character to re-
igious observance, until now, more
especially limited to the Romish and
Episcopal churches, is is the festival
of the resurrection of Christ.
In olden times there was feast of
the Teutonic goddess Ostera Gin the
Anglo-Saxon Easter, whence natur-
ally comes our EASTER. the goddess
of spring, and the Anglo-Saxon name
for April was Easter month. The
pagan worship of Ostera was strongly
rooted in Northern Germany, and was
brought into England by the Saxons /;
and the early missionaries, finding it
impossible to abolish it, endeavored, as
with some other ceremonies, so far as
was possible, to change it to a Chris
tan festival, and to give to the rites a
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
resurrection of the natural world,
could quite easily be changed to joy at
the rising of the sun of righteousness
at the resurrection OF Christ, bis tri.
umph over death and grave. Easter
has often been called the Christian
Passover, because the Jewish Passover
was celebrated, according to the Mo-
sale law, on the 18th day of the
month of Abb, that is, within a day
Or two before or after the vernal equi-
aox.
Although the church has always
been united as to why Easter should
be celebrated, there has been a wide
difference of opinion as to when it
should be observed. This contro-
versey grew out of a diversity of
custom, the Judaizing Christians
keeping their paschal feast on the same
day the Jews keep their Passover
the 14th of Nisan-the Hebrew month
corresponding to our March or April
while the churches of the west, in
remembrance 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 Con-
stantine, who "a. D. $3.50 brought
the subject before the Ecumenical
council of Nice, from which time to
this Easter Sunday has been every
where on the same day-the first Sum-
day after the full moon which hap
pens on or next after the 21st of
March; and if the full moon comes
upon a Sunday, Easter day is the
Sunday after.
The 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 calen-
dar made some changes necessary,
and the ecclesiastical authorities at
last decided to regulate the time of
Easter by the moon-not, however,
the actual moon, nor what is called
by astronomers the 'smean moon,"
but an imaginary moon, whose move
ments are so arranged that it follows
the real moon by some two or three
days.
Various ceremonies. spir its and
super stitions have in time past
char acterized the day, and still are
many of the old Easter customs prac-
ticed in different parts of the world. |
That of making presents of eolored
eggs was at one time almost univer-
ssl, eg Is being considered symbolical
of the revival of nature, the spring
ing forth of life.