The Irish standard., 1905-05-06


the Irish peasants make great prepara-
tions for the finishing of Lent. Many
a fat hen and dainty piece of bacon
is put in the pot by the cotters wife
about or o'clock, and woe be to the
person who should taste it before the
cock crows. At IL is heard the clap
ping of hands and the joyous laugh,
mixed with "Shidth or mogh or cor
ries," that is, 'out with the Lent"
All is merriment for a few hours,
when they retire and rise about four
o'clock "to see the sun dance" in
honor of the resurrection. This time
honored custom is not confined to the
humble laborer and his family, but is
scrupulously observed by all, says the
Monitor of San Francisco.
In olden times there was a curious
Easter custom in vogue at Portaferry,
in the county of Down. On Easter
Monday several hundred young per-
sons of the town and neighborhood
pleasant walk near that town, called
1.-THE Walter" The avowed object of
each person was to see the fun which
consisted in the men kissing the wom-
en-, without reserve, whether married
or single. This mode of salutation
was quite matter of course; it was
was never taken amiss, nor with too
much show of coyness. The girl was
very ordinary indeed who returned
home without having received at least
a dozen hearty busses. Tradition is
silent as to the origin of the custom.
Easter is the most important festival
in the Greek church and is observed
with particular rejoicings and respect.
On this day the cities of Greece pre-
sent a novel spectacle, viz, clean
one. The ovens are crowded with the
preparations for banqueting. Yester-
day every street was reeking with
blood of lambs and goats; today every
house is fragrant with odors of pies
and baked meats. All the inhabitants
in festive array are hurrying
along to pay their visits and
receive their congratulations. Ev-
cry one, as he meets his friend,
salutes him with kiss on each side
of the face, repeating the words:
"Christos aneste"-"Christ is risen;"
to which the person saluted replies,
Christ is risen indeed" or else, "And
hath appeared unto Simon" The day
is spent in rejoicings in every quar-
ter; the guns are fired from the bat
teries and every moment their echoes
reply to the incessant reports of the
pistols of the soldiery. In the evening
a grand ceremony takes place in the
square. All the members of the gov
ernment, after attending divine serv-
ice, meet opposite the residence of the
executive body The legislative, being
the most numerous, take their places
in line and the executive passes
along them from right to left, en-
bracing them with the kiss of peace.
The old Easter customs which still
niger in England vary considerably in
form in different parts of the king
dom. The custom Of distributing the
pace" or "pasche" egg, which was
once almost universal among Chris
tians, is still observed by Children and
by the peasantry in Lancashire. Even
in Scotland, where the great fes-
tivals were for centuries suppressed,
the young people still get their hard
boiled dyed eggs, which they roll about
or throw, and finally eat. In Lanca-
shire, and perhaps in other counties,
the ridiculous custom of lifting" or
"heaving" is practiced On Easter Mon
day the men lift the women, and on
Easter Tuesday the women lift or
heaye the men. The process is per-
formed by two lusty men or women
Joining their hands across each others
wrists; then, making the persons to be
heaved sit down on their arms, they
lift them up aloft two or three times.
and often carry them several yards
along the street. A grave clergyman