The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-04-02
EASTER N ALL FOOLS'DAY
THEIR ORIGIN HND DEVELOPMENT
TO THEIR PRESENT FORM.

and Honnets Worn for tho First Tim,
Next sunday in This City - The Easter
Egg Too. Affords Wonderful Figures.
Easter Sunday will this year be ushered ia
by All Fools Day. In manner of popular OBJ
servance the two days would seem to he as an
taConistic as any In the calendar. but n glance
at their origin shows It to be peculiarly ap-
propriate that they should fall together. Easter
day being.observed in commemoration OF tho
resurrection OF the Saviour. and All Fools Day
being founded. according to good authorities.
upon the scene in the life OF Christ before his
trial and crucinxion when he was sent from
Plate to Hero1 ard back again from Herod to
PLATE. Tho flight OF time has. however. leit
little in common between the chief annual
festival OF Christendorp and the day popularity
devoted to pranks aa< practical Jokes.
Easter day will be observed this year with all
the usual elaborate religious exercises. The
churches are being beautifully decorated and
choirs are nightly practicing anthems TO bs
sung in honor OF the day. Florists are irlv-
ing a tremendous trade In Easter lilies. and a-
cording TO the millipers and modistes the am
nual parade Of fashion will be moro ~resplen-
dent than ever in pomp of headgear and gown.
New bonnets are all the rage.
Every woman and her sisters and her cous-
ms and her aunts have ordered bonnets for
Easter said n Fifth avenue milliner yester-
dav. Il have never seen anything like it. and I
have catered to New York women for many
long year. / take IL to be a sign Of the general
prosperity. as there seems to be no other exc
PLANTATION OF the big increase In orders. This
year's crop Of ~'onnets. too. will be costly and
elaborate. There is no limit to the styles and
colors to be worn. Flowers will be the most
popular and striking feature OF trim mings. and
n Easter SUNDAY is a fine day Fifth avenue will
look like a garden OF roses and violets along
about church time.
MY rrices range all the way from SO to
$50. but. OF course. there are cheaper stores.
In the whole city ] estimate that 1000. 900 bon-
nets will be purchased. Average their cost at
So each. which is. If anything. too low. and we
get a total Of S.. 0O0.OOO that will be spent to
deck the heads Of New lork's femininity."
Ladies' tailors and dressmakers had similar
stories to tell. Now gowns. they said. had been
ordered by nearly all their customers. Cost
was a secondary consideration. the only stipu-
lation by customers being that their gowns
must be ready to wear on Easter Day. No es-
tablishment was found that wa, not rushed
with work to the limit. aud all were employing
double or treble their usual number Of assist
ants. Using the milliner's figures as a basis.
a member of a big dressmakinz firm stimated
that at least ~S15.OOO.OO0 would walk to and
from church on Easter Day upon the backs OF
the women and girls OF New York.
The use OF eggs for various purposes on
Easter Day is older than Christianity itself.
The custom can be traced back to the theology
and philosophy OF the Egyptians. Persians.
Gauls. Greeks and Romans. BY all these Ia
tons the egg. as containing In itself the germs
OF life. was regarded as q symbol Of the uni
verse. the work Of the Supreme divinity. Quite
naturally. therefore. the egg came to be re-
garded by the Church as symbolical Of the
anI IFa haxAaftar onl ia ~ as
an Easter emblem followed. From time Inn
memorial it has been the custom TO color and
decorate eggs and present them to friends on
Faster SUNDAY. The custom still prevails In
many. the Tyrol. England and the East. So
universal did the symbolic use Of eggs become
ii. issued a special form OF benediction for
them and Henry VIII. once received q gift OF
In f FrSnee It ef IS the ise@ custom sae i to eat T. the s Pssch csss;
on Easter Day before taking other food. -..
I've are euying al the he eggs ~ We tS can gst:s
fs1n in Tie Business. There 10 he Usual
hie demand for them at Easter time. Our or.
that the Development OF the Southern trade
earlier than formerly. when we had to depe.d
upon Pennsylvania for our early supply. Fiji
t to i.5 Sssfbs a aTI Vi The es day Be bef t%,e Eau Hn. te2m w iiHcH
would be equivalent, to five times as many
n now; o. o late s yssEs: hG S,s,s. s the e Hs sr su 5rl,
N'thVo tDeNAiSh bheN - e'.S
additional furry at Easter time. This has
Temporary stores to supply the Easter demand.
and now all the eggs are supplied through the
I'VE can estimate the m her Of eggs used
In this lily on Easter day only approxlmately.
}Hn n Z sas lTom n i is c saiss a al d f iseP pr sfS'h6S .6 TsSe *
business. Is done in the city annually. That
d %ssns or 5pf f.e6 5p .06o' H s e eees IN q ye sHo > Tor
every man. woman and child In the city. 1t
also means 3B.OOo.0OO a week and 5,0OO.OOoa
Tho proportion Of, increase in sales for
Faster week, shows that probably 100000
each inhabitant. Some firms used TO do a regu-
lar Easter business in-coloring eggs. but that 10
no way to estimate The extent Of the practice.
The price OF eggs will not go up on account OF
Easterunle. . T.. should he forced up by q specu-
The superstition has come down through the
ages that one must wear something new. on
lowing year, This is the foundation Tor tho
feminine mania for new hornets and gowns.
tom to throw loaves OF bread from church stee-
pies and in many parishes the vicar Is sure to
toner's. In Wales the young men 81 a parish
try to ss,eh h6 q haS r and 1 Present ,ncd it. to the TIE minis Minis
aud 100 eggs. on which they breakfast. In
Saxony the peasants still Climb the hills to see
Just when and why All Fools Dav lost its
semi religious character and came to .be OH
served az il is Is not known. Bradv's CLAWS
CaItndaria," published In 1872. mentions that
for more than n century. previous TO that the
almanacs designated April.l as All Fools Day.
and it is certain that much earlier eventhan
that Jokes were practiced on the dav in Eng
land and Scotland. The simple person who
was made the butt Of his facettous associates
was known as a 'gowk" and the. practice OF
sending one on ridiculous errands was called
hunting the Gowk" "Gowk" was tho com.
foolish Of birds.
d'Avril'-an April ashland 10y Implication an
AnriI fool. the term A,pri, nsh having refer
ence to the mackerel which Is easily caught by
deeeption at this season OF the year.
Very elaborate deceptions and tricks used 70
be practiced in France and England on All
Fools Day. One Of the. host was the scheme
OF, Rahelals.:who once. when he had no money.
trlcked the uolice into taking him from Mar
seilles to Paris on a charge OF treason, Rabe-
lais made, up some packages OF brickdust and
labelled them poison for the royal family"
The bait took and the otlcers took Rabeials
700 miles at their own expense. only to be told
"a : tho and - fEnfr an - rs Nhak q ..An A-.I 4