The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1892-04-16

Ab VIC nIb dDOub tuo Suu OI bll5 EaB-
ter season, 1t may not be out Of place
to look at the reason why we eat eggs
on Easter above all other days.
Easter 10 an Anglo Saxon word. It
occurs but once in the New Testament
(Acts 1874. and 1t should not have been
translated Easter even In this passage,
but Passover. Easter is not Chris
tan word, and 1t was not used by the
early Christian Church
Does 1t not seem strange that the
two principal days kept by Christians,
namely, Christmas and Easter, as fes,
tive days, should prove to lie the days
that were kept by the .heathen, ages
before Christ was born
Hislap declares that Easter Is nothing
m ore OF less than Astarte, one OF the
titles OF Beltire, the Queen OF heaven.
Layard found IL on the Assyrian monu-
ments by the name OF lshtar.
The historical probabilities are that
the ancient system OF this worship
wac introduced into Great Britain by
the Druids. II is said even now in
Scotland at Baltane Con the first OF
May) number of women and men
still hold to the ancient Druidical
worship. They light fire in the cen
tire of an ancient circle of stones; each
person puts bit of oat cake in shep-
herds bonnet; thoy all sit down, and
draw blindfoided piece from the hon
net, one piece is always blackened.
and whoever gets that piece has TO
jump through the fire In the centre of
the circle. and pay forfeit.
Now, If the worship Of Baal or Mo-
loch is still kept up In Britain it can
easily be seen how 1t came to be In
corporated into our religious obssr.
vances. April was called by our Pagan
ancestors Easter month.
The first Christians called their fes-
tival Pascha or the Passover, and even
this the Apostles did not enioin, as
may be seen by the New Testament.
The Christian Pascha OF Passover
ought to agree with the JeN ish rite as
1t was born out OF that observance.
Preceding the Christian Pascha there
was no Lent.
The forty days abstinence that we
hear so much about, was wholly
brought into the Christian Church by
the heathens in about the sixth CEN
fury.
Inc Babylonians had their Lent of
forty days, and DR. Geesler, the his
torian. says such Lent of forty DAYS
is now kept by tho Pagan devil wor-
shippers of Koordistan, and they, in
all probability, got it from the Baby
lonians. Humboldt tells US that the
Pagan worshippers Of Mexico had a
Lent of forty days.
Wilkinson says the Egyptians kept q
Lent of forty days, and Landseer says
this forty days Of Lent was kept In
commemerationsof hdonis OF OSIRIS
the great meQiatorial god. Now in
the end, this Lent OF forty days was
made TO preceda the annual festival in
commemoratiun OF the death and res,
direction OF Ihannue, the great
heather god, SO We see that these
churches which lay SO much stress on
Lent, making proclamation about
what we should eat and ab6taining
from certain foods do nothing more
or less than that which was practiced
by the Pagans long before Christ was
born.
But it may be asked, when did
this come about2 We answer, shortly
after ConstaDtIne'S time the church he
gan to he strong, and even in his day
christianity was proclaimed to be the
religion of all the Roman Empire.
There was Il great deal of conflict be-
tween the two Qdolatry and Christi
anity) for all that Constantine had
done. Sc the more wise of tho heath
ems wanted to hold as much of their
L uliH1 NohHlr lilI1
saw the strong arm OF the State was
against them, and their system as n
religion of the State, and world was
waning. This very same policy the
Jews pursued in regard TO their re.
! liRiou. When the temple was destroyed,
altar OF sacrifice was gone, and they
| as people without a horne or coun.
tr., or any altar on which TO offer q
: a ritice, they hitched on to christian.
ity their notions about the advent oil
the Messiah, and the keeping of the
seventh as well the first day of the
week us sabbath.
To eonciliate these 1t is said the
Christian era wits turned about foul
yeais back by Dionysius tho little.
Alter this the lhgaH Lent OF forty
da,s made rapid strides in the Chris
tiau church.
II took some time, of course, to ae
complish ali this, us all countries die
not celebrate the same month, hut VIC
Iehpe and bloodshed in the end die
their work,
All who read the daily papers saw
have no doubt, that in Washington
the pmties, balls dances and enter
tuinments must he buried through
with before Lent began, SO that So sa
cred season might not lie DISTURBED
by these things, and during Which Pa
gan season they MAY eat cheese, eggs
and drink milk.
/ What shall We say of such We can
cali Them christians, because this is I
Pagan Lent.
The early Church of Christ had II
such Lett, nor do we want any suct
to IAg in the Christian Church.
/ As Lcnt came from the heathens, 81
also eamet the Faster eggs. Dyed eggs
figured in the Chaldean rites as the,
| do HOW. DOVES says The ancient
| f,ruiis hore ah egg us the sacred en-
| blem OF their order" The Same attthul
| tells us that IN tho mysteries al Fac
chus one part of their ceremony con
| sisted in the conservation of an egg
The Hindoos have their sacred eggs oil
a golden color. In Japan and in China
at this time they have their sacred
eggs.
nyginus. the Egyptian. the learned
| keeper OF tile lalatlHn library at hemt
| saN@: An egg of WoHdefous size is
| said to have fallen from heaven into
tile river Euphrates. The fishes rolled
/ Ill to he bank where the doYes settled
upon 1t, and Matched it; out came
! Vents, who afterwards MAS called the
1 "Syrlan goddess or Astarte, and In
this May the egg became one of the
sytubois OF .Nstarte OF Easter. Nova
the season OF Lent came into the
church WHEN She was departing frotn
tae true faith SO came also the use OF
the egg in Easter saason.
/ liz church took this mystic egg Of
| the ileHbifens and coIsnctH ed Ii MS n
symbol OF hrists resurrection. A his
/ torlan ltlla that a fora 0i prayer WAS
| appointed by Pope l7aul A,fur Easter