The age-herald., 1901-04-07
KING EDWARD VII 2 WILL OFFICIATE  For the First Time He is Called Upon to Conduct Easter
 Ceremony

an Easter ceremony which is as curious as 1t Is interesting historically. Next Thursday, being the Thursday before Eas- ter Sunday, will be "Maundy Thursday, and on that day his Majesty will distrib- ute aims to a certain number of poor persons at Whitehall. In early times these gifts were placed in baskets called '.maunds"-whenc the name given to the anniversary-but nowadays small silver coins of a particular pattern are special ly struck at the royal mint, to be be- slowed upon the recipients of charity Queen Victoria was obliged to go through this performance regularly once year throughout her reign. The pieces of mon ey are of four denominations, and those used next Thursday will be the first to bear the head of King Edward
 All peoples appear to. celebrate Easter in one shape or another, the festival sig nifying a rejoicing at the awakening or nature in spring. Though associated In this manner with the yernal equinox, It is nevertheless particularly a moon festi- val and most of its folklore has to do with the lunar orb in one way or another, The Council of Nice, in the year 35l A. D., decided that Easter day should be the first Sunday after the first full moon fol- lowing the vernal equinox; and if the full
 
 day wdas to be the Sunday after The mmoon suggests a likeness to an egg. which is the symbol of resurrection and the rebirth of things.
 Now, the Chinese celebrate Easter by making so-called ''moon-cakes," and in-' duiging In various amusements that are supposed to have to do with congratulat- Ing or rewarding the moon. In their ce- lestial cosmogony the orb of night repre- sents the female principle in nature, and they believe that beautiful woman lives there-the goddess of the palace of the moon
 On gold throne whose radiatng bright
 ness
 Dazzles the eyes, enhaloing the scene, Sits a fair form, arrayed in snowy white,
 ness.
 She is Chang-o, the beautiful Fairy
 Queen.
 Rainbow winged angels softly hover o'er
 Forming canopy above the throne: A host of fairy beings stand before her.
 Each robbed in light and girt with meteor
 zone.
 The above is a translation from Chi nese poem, describing the Woman in the Moon.
 The Chinese believe that a man. a frog and hare also dwell in the moon. and the last-named animal constantly appears in their art and in that of Japan. painted upon the disk of the lunar orb. Nearly all over the world the hare Is associated with the moon my ythologically, and it is on this account that the rabbit has so much to do with Easter. Tn Germany the children are taught to believe that rabbits lay eggs at Easter time, and the children on the morning of Easter Sunday go hunting for hares' nests. in which they find dyed eggs or eggs of sugar. Parents prepare Far ha who are greatly delighted by the harm less deception.
 There has been much dispute as to why the hare should have anything to do with the moon. but nobody has arrived at any satisfactory conclusion on the subject. It is evidently folklore notion of extreme antiquity which partly accounts for it's wide. distribution. The rabbit Is nocturnal in habit, coming out at night to feed. and that may have started the idea. It is as- serted by students of sNeh matters that the. left hind. foot of a graveyard rabbit killed in the dark of the moon represents the last quarter of the moon, and on that account is lucky pR E
 A legend accounting for the rabbit in the moon is of Hindu origin, and was in- troduced into China with Buddhism. Buddha. according to this narrative, was n largey hare at one stage of his existence, and lived in friendship with fox and an ape. Indra came to them disguised as a hungry pilgrim. and the fox and ape pro-. cured food for the god But the hare was not able to capture anything suitable for the table. and. sooner than be inhospita- ble. he threw himself into the fire in or der to become food for the guest As a reward for his self-sacrifice Indra trans lated him to the moon, where he sits at the foot of a cassia tree. pounding drugs for the geni In a mortar
 The frog in the moon, the Chinese say, was lady who stole the drug of immor- taiity and fled to the satellite, where she will dwell forever. being unable to die. As for the Old Man in the Moon. who Is the fourth parsonage inhabiting that orb, his name Is Yue-lao. and he holds in his hands the power of predestining the mar ridges of mortals. Hence he is particular ly interesting to young women. He ties together each. future husband and wife with an invisible silk cord. which never parts so long as life lasts. The Japanese say that there are three rabbits in the moon. though why Is not explained. In their country the Man in the Moon is always represented as carry Ing a faggot of wood on his back. In China, as well as elsewhere. necromancy Is mcfe or less associated with the lunar orb. owing to its mysteriousness; but that Is branch of knowledge to be best &C., uuired by consulting a professional magi- clan. In remote part of the empire UNVEILS u WnOle trlDe or maglclanS, ana anybody desirous of learning such art may go thither and place himself under the in- struction of the diabolical inhabitants.
 The early Christian church forbade the eating of eggs in Lent. Consequently, in- asmuch as the hens went on laying during that season of fast. the eggs were dyed for the children. It had been customary previously to that time. however, to color eggs as mode of celebrating the pagan spring festival in Rome. To the old-time Hebrews the egg was a symbol of the es- cape of their people from out of the land of Pharaoh. while to the ancient Egyp- tians 1t was an emblem of the renovation of mankind after the deluge It is strange to find how widespread over the earth is this notion of regarding an egg as em- blematitc of creation or regeneration. In the mythology of the Films the story is told of a mystic bird which laid an egg in the lap of the creation goddess. She started to hatch 1t in her bosom but let 1t fall int0 the water, where 1t broke. the lower part of the shell becoming the earth, the upper part the sky, the liquid white the moon. the yolk the sun. and fragments of the broken shell the stars in the heavens
 The moost costly Easter eggs are made
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