The true northerner., 1900-04-11

EASTER SUNDAY THE DAY FOR GEN.
ERAL REJOICING.

Customs Ot teIeDruttOn.
Easter Is unique among the worlds
festival periods In having its origin
The English name OF the day Is de-
rived from that Of the Teutonic God
dess Of Spring-Ostera, whose name
signified 1.-The Arisen" a mythical be-
ing who was worshiped before Chris
tianity was thought of.
The Druids, who seem to have been
the only religious sect in Britain be-
fore the Roman conquest. held yearly
a spring celebration In honor Of the
vernal resurrection OF the vegetable
world, and religious rites were part OF
the ceremony.
Similar observances were general
among the older Asiatic races, and the
Egyptians, Greeks and Romans, as
well as the Teutonlc tribes Of Europe
in pre-Christian times.
The Jewish Feast Of the Passover
had for about a thousand years been
celebrated in the early spring, and the
early Christians, most Of whom were
of the Hebrew race, continued 10 cele-
brate il I'm token Of the saving Of their
race from the tenth great plague which
Immediately preceded the exodus.
1t was easy, therefore, for the early
Christians when they became organ
ized and began 10 celebrate certain an
niversaries of special meaning to them
TO have Easter and its symbolism
adopted by all converts.
The first name by which the church
designated the day was Paska. or Pas
cha, a word the root of which is found
in both Hebrew and Greek and signify
ing n sacrifice, and some derivative OF
this word is still used in all European
countries. The word Easter" is pc
culiar to English speaking nations only
and shows that the Christian festival
was combined in early days with the
earlier ceremonies Of the heather God
dess of Spring.
For some time those believers in Je-
sus who were also Hebrews and loyal
to their race celebrated the anniver-
sary of the resurrection and the Feast
of the Passover on the same day. find
which seemed related to one another,
but the more precise of Christian faith
and the stricter adherents of the older
religion disagreed as TO dates when
these chanced TO be different. as often
they are, as both are determined by
phases of the moon after the vernal
equinox. The differences became so
great and earnest that not until the
fourth century of the Christian era did
the church. which by that time had be-
come n compact organization. settle
upon the present method of determin-
ing the date.
Like all other holy days. Easter soon
became a holiday. According TO the
dictionary. the words have the same
meaning; yet. according TO the people,
their meaning is very different. In
some countries the people dance about
q heap Of flowers at Easter: i'm others
they distribute colored eggs and have
great egg fights" in which the owner
Of the hardest egg wins. and the other
egg is eaten by the victor SO man or
boy with a very hard egg is able to ac-
cumulate the basis of an Easter Mon
day headache.
In some parts of England il is the
proper and necessary thing for women
to play ball on Easter Sunday. In other
parts OF the same island man has
the right To lift three times from the
ground any woman whom he may
meet, and the woman must pay six.
pence or kiss for the attention, so
the local Sandows find themselves IN
great luck, but on Easter Monday the
women have the right to retalate in
like manner
In ireland and elsewhere some good
people believe that the sun dances on
Easter morn. and those who stare long
enough at the glowing ball find their
eyes nervous enough TO see anything
of which they may be thinking
In Russia many men and women
greet whoever they may meet on Eas-
ter morning with kiss and the an
nouncement The Lord is risen."
distinguished American civil engineer
was thus greeted a few years ago by
an innocent and sweet faced chamber
maid at hotel at st. Petersburg, and
no explanations would pacify the gen.
tleman's wife
One of the most significant and pic
turesque celebrations of the day is that
of the Moravian Christians. of whom
there are many congregations in the
United States. At Bethlehem, Pa, and
other towns where Moravians abound
some musicians with brass instru
ments go at earliest dawn TO the roof
of the church and play music. signify
ing the calling forth of the dead. The
people Immediately flock TO the church
and begin the service of the day, most
of 1t being musical. At a given signal
the entire congregation rise and, pre-
ceded by the ministers and trumpeters.
leave the church and march TO the
cemetery. In Moravian cemeteries all
the gravestones are allke-small. fiat
slabs laid upon the graves, 'for." say
the simple, literal people, ''in the grave
all men are equal" The procedure Of
the service is so timed that the musico-
prayerful rejoicing reaches its highest
expression just as the sun rises.-New