Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1902-03-27
EASTER J0ILILI7T TIES.
BY FRANK TOWNLEY

To make Easter merely Sunday
of joy would be to rob the holy Sab
bath of that reverence always dae to
the first day of the week. But reli-
gious observances, while always ear
nest, are various, and different people
have applied their own peculiar hu-
NOR and customs to the celebration Of
Eastertide. Now 1t is typical Of the
resurrection Of our Lord, again Of the
bursting forth Of spring and to some
folks OF lively yet conventional views
the close of a long season of fasting
and denial Among the pioneers Of the
American border there was little unity
of religious raith and often not enough
OF one kind 10 set the fashion for stat
ed observances. But Easter had its
traditions. and there was so little to
make the burden OF border life agree
able that every event was seized upon
By the young rs an excuse for frollck-
ing
The Easter egg somehow appealed
to all peop.e-of whatever lineage. An
article OF food and commerce. treas
ured like geld at ordinary times, the
egg was excused from fyed duty on
Easter and given over to the carnival
mc5 for all kinds OF sport. If nothing
more delirious was thought of. there
was an egg feast all day. with Il menu
OF fried. boiled. scrambled or poached
eggs at every meal. Small boys look
ed forward to Easter. or ''paas." much
the same as to Fourth OF July They
wanted eggs by the hatful, the bas-
ketful or the barrelful, and they stole
them rs shalnelessly as city urchins
do the fuel for boniires.
Dyed in various colors, the Easter
eggs came from hidden stores for the
family feast. and when the amusement
Of stealing and dyeing for general use
became too tame the boys also laid by
stores for Il yagabond feast In the
woods. Eggs We're roasted In ashes
and Geyourcd with the relish that goes
with an o1- OF doors appetite. To lend
further Zest to the feast the boys Of
-one neighborhood would raid the hid
den stores of another. If the party
raided was a.ert, there would happen
q scramble aJ fierce and bloody as q
football rush. If the contest was close,
then eggs raw or eggs burning hot
were fired into the faces Of the com
batants. Perhaps there was economy
in the long run in this recklessness, for
the boys who reveled in an Easter
feast didn't have any appetite for eggs
the remainder OF the year.
In oldcn times the church gave to
Easter festal coloring by letting the
people down to their common tastes at
the close Of LcIn. Witty stories and
anecdotes were told to arouse the
"paschal laugh" With all nature
smiling in spring it was natural that
the human heart should open itself to
joyous thoughts.
New clothes on Easter Sunday is an
old custom. An ancient verse runs in
this strain:
At Easter let your clothes be new
Or else be sure you will 1t rue.
There were many superstitlons about
new clothes for Easter, and Shake.
speare records the custom. Vanity and
the dictates Of fashion due to the
change of the seasons may be Mt the
bottom Of the modern notion of don
f., ming new gowns and bonnets at Eas-
terrible, but it Is also happy and limo.
cent way Of expressing joyousness
Lent is over, pleasure may resume its
sway. and woman should initiate the
trees and the plants by putting on
| fresh adornments.
The maids and swains of Ireland in
the good old days INDUCED In what
| they called the dance of joy" ut the
! dawn of Easter. Happiness Is cure
for evil, and perhaps in the evolution
of crecds and customs the great spring
| tide festival may become again car