The Calhoun chronicle. [volume] (Grantsville, W. Va.) 1883-1984, 1896-05-19
ORIGIN OF EASTER.
SOME OF THE QUAINT AND CURL
Gus CUSTOMS OF THE DAY.
Elaborate Celebration in Russia
How the Date is Determined and
the Ancient Obscrvances-
Use of the Egg.
II VERY country has its own ne


| elaborate. Every city and village de-
votes itself to the occasion. AS the
! hours OF 10 or l. O'Clock on the Satur-
day evening preceding Easter Sunday
| approach the streets and thoruugh-
fares are crowded. The sidewalks are
SO throuGed that multitudes are forced
to walk In the streets. The churches
are crowded TO sul'ocalion, from the
| smallest chapels to the largest cathe.
drals. Most of the people are stand.
| ing, there being no accommodations in
the body OF the church edifce. Some
will be there early and will stand for
hours on the cold stone floor waiting
for the hour of II to arrive, at which
time the celebration OF Easter is 10 be.
! gin. At the stroke of II the choir
begins to chant and the priest solemn
| ly announces that Christ is risen. The
| congregation replies: "Ho IS risen, in
! deed Then begins the crowding to-
ward the affairs, for in the larger
churches dozen priests or more of.
hclate at as many affairs. The crowd
| Is hungry and are anxious to approach
the priest, that the food which they
brought may be blessed. The priest
| NNNN' lpAtAp - llpIl tutll person 5
stock OF ediblcs. The church services
are then conducted, at the conclusion
! OF which the crowd goes home.
The celebration OF Easter docs not
| end with the Easter festival, however,
| but often continues for a week. As a
general thing the more prominent
! places OF business are closed for three
days, and all Government employees
have holiday. Many OF the people
require n week TO recover from tho
leasting of the first three days, an I, in
| consequence of the inordinate eating
and drinking, there is great Increase
| IN sickness and in drunkenness. A
great many sudden deaths occur,
caused principally by the change in
/ diet
For seven weeks prior TO Easter the
| people have denied themselves nutri-
tious food, and have confined them
selves to fish, vegetables aud oil.
When free rein is given to their appe-
| tIte Mt the end OF their fast it often
proves too much for them and they die
In the midst of their festivities
Calling is extensively practiced ut
| Easter time, and the callers usually
drink ut every place. When the caller
! enters the parlor he greets the hostess
| with the customary "Christ is risen, {"
! and receives in turn, "Christ is risen,
! indeed" Then the visitor and the
hostess exchange eggs, after which
sandwiches and drinks IRE brought in.
| If the caller does not want to eat, he
ut least will not be rude enough to re-
fuse to drink. Then he departs and
goes through the same form Mt the
next house.
Acquaintance meet in the street,
and after snlutng each other they en-
brace and kiss three times, denotiny n
greeting in the name OF the Holy
Trinity. In spite of the religious
character of the people, extending
/ through all classes, the strict obsery-
nnco OF Easter does not prevent thieves
from making that day an occasion for
prosecuting their calling. While the
! family and servants are at church the
/ enterprising burglar makes his rounds
and plies his business.
OF the 9G,000, 600 of subjects in the
! Russian Empire 10000, 900 profess the
/ faith of the Greek Church. In 1SG2
! people celebrated the 10OOth annivers-
airy of Russia's conversion to Chris
tinnity, the Greek faith having been
/ formally adopted rs the National re.
! lIgion in the year $50.
The appropriate time for the cele.
bration OF Easter has long been a sub
/ ject Of controversy As early as the
| second century the Eastern and West
/ ern churches disputed this poiut.
| Many OF the Eastern Christians advo-
! Gated celebrating Easter on the 1Ith
/ day OF the first Jewish month, for
/ they considered it about equivalent to
| the Jewish passover. On tue other
| hand tho Western churches celebrated
] Easter on the Sunday after the lth
/ day, contendIng that it was in com.
| memoratiou OF the resurrection OF
! Christ.
Finally in the year 32J tho Council
of Nice decided tho matter, upholding
the day celebrated by tho Western
/ church. The other custom they
branded rs % heresy. Having decided
that Easter should bo celebrated on %
/ Sunday, the question was still open as
60 what Sunday i'm tho month. It
| transpired that I'm the Western church
d custom was already i'm vogue OF de-
terminiug the day by the Metonic
Cycle For q few hundred years There
was a further dispute about the selcc.
iion Of the day OF the month until in
GjI, ut the Council of Whjtbv. the con
troversy was settled by the adoption
OF the Roman usage The Gregoriau
calendar was adopted i'm 1852, and it
was decided to continue TO determine
Easter 10y the moon.
1t is not the actual moon i'm the
heavens nor the moan moon OF as
rOnomv that determines Easter, but
"a imaginary moon, and, according to
ITS movements, it always follows the
real moon, sometimes by several days.
Thus it happens that the fourteenth of
Inc calendar moon generally falls on
he fifteenth or sixteenth of tho real
noon, and Easter day is always the first
sunday after the paschnl full moon /;
that il, the full moon which happens
upon or next after the 2lst OF March.
| III the full moon should fall on n Sun.
day Easter would be the Sunday there.
after Easter can never happen be-
fore tho 22d OF March, or after the
18th Of April