The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1896-04-02
EASTER.

There are many living under the
benign influences of Christianity, who
have grown SO accustomed to its
cheering teachings that they almost
take them for granted as if they were
not revelations to man, but truths in.
stinctive to human nature. The doc
trine Of the Resurrection is one OF
these. Always has there been a crav-
ing in man to be satisfied as to the
-reasonableness Of his hope for immor
tallty. But that the certainty of this
doctrine is not instructive to man is
readily ascertained by reference to the
state of people without Christianity.
Who can picture the degree of disap-
pointment of hopeless despair in the
hearts of heather relatives when death
has snatched his victim from their
hearts. "What profit is there in my
blood when l go down to the pit p
is the thought put into words, of every
despairing heart, when face to face
with death.
Many a conjecture, many longing,
many tentative expression of a theo-
ry in regard to future life, but moth
ing satisfactory or definite was ever
put forward into the world till immor-
tality was revealed in Christ. And
indeed, as if to affirm the reasonable
ness Of the complaint, the words of the
Psalmist just quoted were spoken not
of himself but prophetically of Christ.
'"Of what avail my agony and suffer.
ing or what profit in my death unless
rise again from the dead?n Christ
established the doctrine of the resur-
rection Of the dead.
And so, careful examination will
show that the Apostles made this
their cardinal doctrine. Because
Christ is risen from the dead and be-
come the first fruits ofthose who sleep
IN death, man has now ample ground
for cherishing his hope of Immortality.
This anniversary festival of the
Resurrection Of Jesus Christ in the
Christian church owed its place in the
calender to the time of the Jewish
Feast of the Passover, when Christ
was crucified, was buried and rose
again. Hence its first name was the
PdSeha, Hebrew word which signi-
fies passage. And as the festival
always occurs in Spring, it was not
long before the early British Christians
transferred the name of the goddess
of the first season of the year, in the
heather religion in which they had
been nurtured, to this Christian feast.
Accordingly from EOShe, goddess of
Spring, is derived Easter, the name
by which the Festival of the Resur
rection is now SO Familiarity recognized.
Though all Christians at first were
agreed in the observation of Easter,
yet they differed as to the particular
time of its celebration. Some pre-
ferred to have 1t a fixed date. Others
that its connection with the Jewish
Passover should be maintained by
following the date set for that feast.
And in this manner it was finally ar
ranged by the Council of the Church,
which met at Nicea in the year s24,
that Easter Day should be the Sunday
following the full moon, which falls on
or next after March 2Ist.
The early practice Of freeing slaves
and ransoming captives, marking the
day as especially appropriate for Bap-
tism, and the wellnigh universal Gus
tom of Christians greeting one another
with the words "The Lord is Risen,"
all point to the high esteem in which
the festival was held, as day of exulta-
ton and rejoicing. And the Easter
egg, SO familiar to children, is Gus
tom significant of the acceptance of
the teaching of the Resurrection, as
its only meaning lies in its being a
symbol of life out of what seemed
dead.
More and more is a general regard
for Easter returning to Christendom.
The effect of this regard is noticed in
the elaborate pains given to the proper
rendering of the praises of the day,
the beauty and lavishness of the dec
orations of the churches, and the
numbers which flock to join in the
services of the day.