Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1901-03-30

HINTS

While to Protestants and Catholics alike
the week ushered in by Palm Sunday has a
| religious significance greater than any other
on the calendar, the housewife Is apt to
find herself unusually busy preparing for
the jollity which the Easter holidays de-
mand for the young people returning from
school, and the plans for genuine rejoicing
which come with the joyful announcement
THE Lord is risen!" Not alone is the house
to be put in spick and span order but the
Easter bonnet" the pretty spring gowns
and all the multiform toilet accessories that
custom and usage have deemed meet for
the celebration of the rising Of our Lord.
must be made ready
Yet while the feet Of these "freside
saints" are hasting to and fro, swift in the
service of those they love- their hands, busy
fishes" the linen coats" the "alabaster
boxes of precious ointment" are they not
as truly doing His service as Mary Magda-
len and that other Mary who watched be-
side the sepulcher?
Nor Is this most practical celebration OF
Holy Week peculiar to the American
housewife alone. In Russia the Muscovite
"a custom more honored in the breach than
in the observance throughout the rest of
the year. The house Is scrubbed from top
to bottom, the men aiding in the good work
by skating over the polished floors with
brushes fastened to their feet. For once in
a year the public baths are crowded. and
the family linen receives Its annual cleans
ing. In Greece the house and every corner
of the premises must be swept with scrupu-
lous care on the great Friday" any
neglected spot will become infested by
worms and malodorous insects. On Holy
Thursday every housewife boils a number
of eggs. colored with cochineal. for the ap-
preaching Easter festival and bakes guam
titles of sweet biscuits and cakes. At the
hour when the gospels are ready she takes
as many eggs as there are members In her
household, including the servants. and one
over. wraps them in a napkin and carries
them to church, to be left until Sunday.
stacion, or place of the holy pictures. and
Is afterward kept as a remedy against all
ills that flesh is heir to. During this week
the hens play an important part A day is
apportioned to each member of the family,
and according to the number Of eggs laid
on that day will depend the individuals
prosperity for the coming year.
In nearly all the Catholic countries the
old-tlme Easter custom Of wearing some
thing new still prevails, custom so uni
versal that it has been crystallized into
proverb:
"At Easter let your clothes be new,
Or else, be sure, you will 1t rue"
The origin Of the hot cross bun," which
Is closely associated with the secular OBJ
servance Of Good Friday, is supposed to
date back thousands Of years. In 1.-Two
Babylons" Hislopl ventures the assertion
that "bouns, buns or bread offered to the
gods from the most ancient times were
similar to our Good Friday hot cross buns,
and that buns known by that self-same
name were used in the worship Of the
Queen Of Heaven" Astarte, as early as
the days Of Cecrops, founder Of Athens.
1900 B. C. -.
Many are the virtues that have been from
time immemorfal attributed to these sacred
cakes One authority says that in several
counties in England, even TO this day,
small loaf Of bread Is baked on Good Fri
day and put by until the same anniversary
comes again. This Is not meant to be eaten,
but to be used as medicine-a potent cure
for many disorders Some authorities
date the origin Of our hot cress bun-as we
know 1t today-to the plague-stricken Pc
Rod Of the middle ages. when the church, at
the instance Of many physicians, agreed to
relax the rigid diet prescribed for Good
Friday. allowing the faithful to eat bread
or buns. but with the stipulation that they
should all be marked with the sign Of the
cross. SIS is
Here Is an old English recipe for hot
cross buns-to be eaten for breakfast on
Good Friday morning. Set a sponge over
night, allowing three cupfuls OF sweet
milk one compressed yeast cake dissolved
In one cupful Of lukewarm water and flour
to make thick batter. Beat vigorously
In the early morning add one cupful Of
sugar half g. cupful of butter heated until