The Ladysmith news. [volume] (Ladysmith, Wis.) 1905-1905, 1905-04-22

When mankind began to emerge
from the brute condition, and to be
dimly conscious Of himself as related
to others, and to what went on in ma
ture all about him, one of the first
things to impress him strongly must
have been the changes from season
to season, and especially the marvel
GUS transition from the bleak frigidty
and seeming death Of winter to the
opening life and Astounding joyous
ness of spring.
Driven for shelter during the Ions
prevalence of cold to the dark cav
erus. where his remains are found
with those of many extinct species
of animals, it must have been Ike
the dawning of a new existence when
he was able to come out into the
genial sunshine and feel the fresh life
reclothing the trees and fields and re-
neWing for his use the deniZenS OF
stream and forest. Everything that
he could not explain was to him a
miracle, and every separate manifeS-
tatiOn of power, whether beneticenC
or hostile, he attributed to different
deities 1t was doubtless in the early
stages of civilization, perhaps even
antedating it, that the propensity CT
human nature to signalize marked
periods and great events in individual
life or tribal and national existence
by some observance first manifested
ITSELF and among the earliest fest:-
walls established was the one "hich
celebrated the Goddess of Spring, ard
which is perpetuated in our Easter
Her AngloSaXOn name was EOstre.
from which our name Easter comes
There was no such observance il
the early church, as testified to by
historians, but it soon grew up, and
was at first preceded by only a sim
gle fast day. Gradually, based on a
BabylOnian fast of forty days, on le
gends of Buddha and Zoroaster hav~
ing been tempted and having tasted
forty days in the wilderness, and on
the story of Jesus fasting and temp
tation by the Devil, the period was
prolonged to forty days and after
long disputes growing out Of differ
ences in the Gentle and Jewish
churches the time for the celebration
of Easter was fixed, supposedly by
Pope Plus l.. but it was not till the
Council of Nice that the controversy
was finally settled and the rule estab-
lished that Easter must be celebrated
on the first Sunday after the 14th of
the calendar moon which happens on
or next after March 81. 1t COM
memOrates, of course, as now in use
the story of the resurrection of Jesus,
and at the same time bears evidence
to the persistence with which old le
gends and customs survive.
The ecclesiastical historian Socra-
tes says that neither Christ nor his
Apostles enjoined the keeping of this
or any other festival. "The Apos-
Ties" he says, chad no thought of ar-
pointing festival days, but of promct-
ing a life of blamelessness and
piety," and he says Easter was intro
duced as the perpetuation of an old
usage, 'just as many other customs
have been established"
We have seen that the ancient An
glo-Saxons had spring festival, ans
we find that the Egyptians celebrated
the death of Osiris with sad rites and
his resurrection with joyful feasts and
ceremonies for untold generations,
with all the confidence and satisfac-
ton that believers now experience.
The great central fact was, and re-
mains, the renewal of life. To us, as
to all who have gone before us, life is
TIL.
omers and microscopists sweep the
skies and peer into the minutest or
ganized forms, asking what it is, and
whence, but no answer comes back.
The chemist pursues its manifesto
tions through all his manifold proc