The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1899-03-31
EASTER DAY.

"Queen of Festivals,' il annually
served, wherever the light of Christi
anity shines, in commeInoration of the
resurrection of our LORD JESUS Christ.
The word Easter is derived from an
Anglo-Saxon word applied to the
goddess of spring, to whom the month
of April was dedicated. Its origin
dates back to the early days OF
Christianity, and while for many
years there was some diversity as to
the time of its celebration, the various
branches of the church finally united
in fixing Easter day as the first Sun
day after the full moon, which hap
pens upon or next after the 21st of
March, and if the full moon happens
upon Sunday, Easter Sunday is the
Sunday next after the 21st of March.
This year the full moon is on the 21th
of March. Consequently, Easter is
the Sunday following, April I'd.
Many of the curious Easter customs
of modern times seem to connect the
festival with heather mythology and
with the Jewish religion. For in
stance, the egg naturally became a SIM
boil of the resurrection, and as, among
several heather nations, the hare or
rabbit was the representative of the
moon, whose phases fix the time of
Easter, an association of ideas took
place between the hare and the Eas
ter eggs given to children. Thus it
became the custom in Europe to send
out the children on Easter morning,
to look for rabbits eggs"
Likewise the first Christians, being
Jews or connected with the Jewish
church, continued to observe the
Passover, which typifled the great
events that on Good Friday and Eas-
ter Day were events that
had been accomplished. Gradually
the type or shadow was lost and the
sublime relatives themselves were and
have since been celebrated by Christ
ians.
An erudite writer in the PhllGdel-
phiG Times has found and published
the following beautiful story which
explains the reason why Easter eggs
are colored:
During the Crusades a lady living
in a castle along the line of march re-
ceived some chickens from man re-
turning from the East. They were a
great curiosity and highly priced by
their gentle owner. The men of her
family were Crusaders, and their alb
sence was taken advantage of by some
lawless neighbors who commanded
her to abandon her home and seek
refuge in the Black Forest. There
she received protection and kind
treatment, and lived several years
Among very poor peasants. She had
taken her chickens with her, and took
great pleasure in giving their eggs
to her poor neighbors. She was par
tlcularly interested in the children,
and devoted considerable time to their
instruction. She made rule to give
present to each child at Easter, but
each year she had fewer possessions,
and at last found herself entirely with
out material for her usual gifts. This
necessity suggested to her the novel
bright colors, and to make them
still more interesting, she concealed
them among the dry leaves in the for
est. The children were sent to hunt
them and were greatly astonished and
delighted to find colored eggs. After
much wonder as to how these singu-
larly beautiful eggs happened to be
in the forest far away from the chicken
yard, they finally concluded that they
were hares' eggs-ard, so they have
ever since been considered by the
children of the neighborhood.
The week preceding Easter is Gale d
Holy Week and every day is set apart
by the Christian Church to commem-
crate some event in the last week of
the life of our Saviour. Thus, on
Palm Sunday is commemorated His
triumphant entry into Jerusalem,
when the multitude spread their gar
ments and branches of trees in the
road over which He travelled and
with waving PAINS proclaimed Him
King. Thursday of Holy Week is
celebrated as the day when He insti-
tuted the Lords Supper. Friday of
the same week, the most solemn day
of the Christian calendar, commemo-
rates His crucifixion, and Saturday
when He was taken down from the
cross and laid by the good Joseph of
Arimathea, in wlymadesepulchre,
from whence His glorified body,super-
ior to the grasp of death, arose and
in full life and yigor appeared to His
disciples and instructed them as to
their mission, to preach the gospel
to every creature"