The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1895-04-13
CR.G.M CE LIST -.
Queer Customs and superstitions In All
Countries.


The Egyptian Osiris was probably the
prototype Of the Latin goddess Aurora
the dawn-who was known to the Ger
mans and Saxons as Ostara, or Eastre
Tho latter goddess was often worshiped
with fire, probably as an emblem of the
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. When Germany bc7
came Christianized, the new church fli3
its best to tranple out all the old pagai.
customs. But they could not do it. Th5
Eastre festivals in particular had take
q deep hold on the hearts of the people,
and the heads Of the new church wisesY
decided to make the best of them. So thcy
turned them into Christian obseryances in
stead of heather rites Tho people held
fast to their eggs Let them so they would
not. They kept on coloriug sd giving
them as presents quite as much as though
they still worshiped the goddess Eastre
One must go back to the Persians for
their first observance Of the egg day. Be-
fore their conversion to Mohammedanism
the Persians reckon6d the beginning of
their new year from the day in which the
sun enters Aries, which is in March. Ac-
cording to one of the ancient cosmoganies,
all things were produced from an egg,
hence called the mundane egg. This cos
mogany was received in Persia, and on this
account there obtained among the people
OF that country a custom of presenting
each other with an egg, the symbol of a
new beginning of time ON every New
Years day-that is, on the day when the
sun enters Aries.
Among the Jews the season of the an
Gent New Year became that Of the pass
over, and among the Christians the season
Of the passover has become that Of Easter
In olden times the fires were always
quenched in all the churches on Easter eve
and kindled anew from the flint, and the
new fire being -hallowed by the priest ev-l
cry one could take home brand, to be
lighted, when needed, as preservative
against tempests. Less well observed is
an old custom of putting the house in Or
der on Easter day, particularly the kitch-
en-.
In many parts of Ireland and England
in olden days the belief obtained that on
Easter morning the sun danced in honor
of the resurrection. On the evening of
Holy Saturday great preparations were
made for the finishing of Lent. Many a
fat hen and dainty piece of bacon were
put in the pot by the ootter's wife, and
WOO TO the person who should taste it be-
fore the stroke of 10, but at that hour
would be heard the clapping of hands and
cries of "Out with the Lent'' All would
be feastng and merriment for few hours,
when the good people would retire, to rise
about 4 O'Clock in order to see the sun
dance.
oil -, ~,
break the Lenten fast by eating a gam
mon of bacon on Easter Sunday, and thus
show the adherence in which the Jews
were held Oh that festival day
A custom obtained in many parts of
England in which, as soon as the service
of the church was over, the boys ran about
and laid hold Of every woman or girl they
could meet on the street and accosted
them with Pay for your shoes, if you
please" at the same time STOPPING to take
them off, which, if they were not paid,
they would do and would carry the shoes
off, leaving tk hapless female i'll her stock
ing feet.
At Twickenham two great cakes used
to be divided in the church on Easter day
among the young people, while in the
Peak of Derbyshire a custom known as
sugar cupping obtained The children
used to repair on Easter morning to a
spring called the Dropping Tor, - with
cup in one hand, quarter of a pound of
sugar in the other, and having caught in
their cups as much water as was desired
from the dropping of the spring they dis
solved the sugar in it and drank it,
1t is the custom of German families on
Easter eve to place sugar and real eggs,
the former filed with sugar plums, in a
nest, then to conceal it with dried leaves
in the garden, that the joyous children
may hunt for them on Easter morning.
1t is q superstition all over the world
that one should wear new clothes on Eas-
ter day. Bad luck will follow if there is
not at least one article which is new.
1t was an article of faith with the de-
vout Of Normandy that with the earliest
chimes of the church bells of Easter morn
celestial visitants descended and at every
house where there were little children left
eggs for them as tokens of their visits.
But satan, ever on the alert, sometimes
adroitly slipped in an egg of i'll omen.
Many of the old Easter customs have
gone like the wassail bowl and yule log of
Christmas, but colored eggs, like Santa
Claus, have firm hold on the childish heart.
There is pretty legend to account for
their origin-that bird sung sorrowful
lay over Christ's tomb, and as a reward for
its devotion its eggs were ever after deco
rated.
Another story is that of an exiled lady
who amused herself and children by dec
Grating eggs with Easter notices. One
bearing tho words, Hope In God" fell
into the hands of a soldier, who, by chance,
gave it to the captive husband and father
He recognized the handwriting, and at
last the fragile train brought about the re-
union of the family
Symbolism OF the Lily.
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