The herald., 1897-04-18

despite the fact that wars and rumors of
wars are heard on every hand.
While the churches in appearance viii
charm the eye, this years musical pro-
grams are calculated to please the
ear in equal degree. Time was when
the singing of anything but the most
prosaic of hymns in the most matter-of-
fact manner, was considered unChris
tian. The love of the beautiful has
grown with the years, until now the
sweetness of the human voice is render
ed more effective by the charms of the
musical instruments, and the Almighty
is praised in perfect tune and with rare
sweetness. More elaborate than ever
is the music that is to be sung today.
The voices that will render it are rarely
beautiful. In fact, the songs of praise
that will be heard in the churches of the
United States during the day will be the
most sacred of concerts and worth hear
ing more than all others of the year.
Listening to the story of the day with
interpretations of song, the minds of
those familiar with the religious history
of the United States will, almost of ne
cessity, bark back to the days when
Easter was clothed in the somberness of
Lent instead of the beauties of spring.
The woman of long ago, and the woman
of today in the churches, would form as
great a contrast as it is possible for the
human mind to grasp. There was no
fashion parade long ago. The anthems
sung carried with their sounds none Of
the joy that rings out today. The wo-
man who went to church was thankful ii
was Easter, that she was alive, and
could go to the meeting house" she
was, in a measure, figuratively speak
ing, the woman in black; literally, the
woman in homespun.
The church goer of Easter, 1897, will
see a woman in all the glory of spring at
tire, and glorious attire it is this year
The talent of modiste and milliner has
been exercised TO the full. Even Dame
Fashion, with all her experience and
knowledge, has never seen the like. II
centuries ago it was beauty unadorned,
this year it is beauty adorned ad libitum.
In the great cities the street parades as
they are called, promise to be we'll
worthy of notice. If the weather is
fine-it is a mean-spirited person, in
deed who hopes otherwise-there will be
such a turnout in the parks and upon
the fashionable streets as only Easter
can bring out.
The modern custom of observing the
day differs in many respects from the
old idea. For instance, it was the Gus
tom of the early Christians TO salute
each other with kiss on Easter morn
ing, an action that has largely become
obsolete. With the kiss went the greet
ing, Christ is risen" The saluted one
then responded, He is risen, indeed"
Many curious customs and beliefs grew
out of the celebration of the day. In.
Ireland there is a legend that the sun
dances in the sky on Easter morning.
The game of ball used to be the favorile
sport in which the town corporations
joined, through their representatives.,
and in one English town. until a few
years ago, a game of ball was played
annually by twelve old women.
In the north of England today it is the
custom for the men to parade the streets
on Easter Sunday and claim the privi-
lege of lifting every lady they meet three
times from the ground, exacting the for
felt of kiss or a sixpence each time.
The ladies have the privilege of doing
the same thing by the men on the fol-
lowing day. In various countries games
are played with baskets of eggs. in
which the players whose eggs are the
, hardest win the game.
Few persons know the real reason why
eggs are one of the symbols of Easter.
Among the Romans the year commenced
at Easter as it did among the Franks