New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1905-05-24

AS many times as the origin of Easter
has been told, said professor Of church
history in Western University, II have
never seen it correctly told in news
paper. Those who write on this subject
usually get together a few facts out Of
an encyclopedia, draw slightly upon their
Easter is pagan festival AS mat
ter of fact our Easter has nothing in
common with paganism except a certain
similarity between Easter and Foster, the
goddess Of spring, whose feast occurred
at the beginning of the solar year. The
Jewish passover, held at about the same
time, gradually became confused in name
with the ancient feast.
THE Jewish Passover is itself of very
respectable age. It dates. you remember,
from the time of Moses. and the feast
was instituted at his command Those
who were converted from Judaism to
Christianity continued to celebrate the
remembered that the Passover was orig
inally a form of petition that the youth
of Egypt should be spared the wrath that
fell upon the youth of Israel. but first in
their hearts was obedience to the Biblical
Injunction: Christ our Passover is sac
rificed for US, therefore, let us keep the
feast.
A Question of Propriery
zone of the very oldest of church con-
troversies concerns the exact time at
controversy dates way back to the time
when Jews and Christians were hardly
distinguishable. - AS nearly as we can
arose over a mere question Of propriety.
Was it right and proper that Christians
should commemorate the resurrection of
Christ at the same time the people who
had crucified him were holding one of the
most important Of their church festivals
the Passover?
Eastern Christians wanted to celebrate
the new Easter festival on the same day
the Passover was observed, for in the
East the bonds of tradition and family
We're much stronger than they were in the
no oct
of Christianity in the early days Of our
era radicalism prevailed, and anything
that gave an opportunity to break with
far apart were the two ends Of the church
that at one time Eastern Christians feast
ed and tasted on one date. and their
did not fall in with any Jewish festival,
In course of time the older element Of
Christianity-that which held to the old
GRAFTON came into absolute control of the
church and its calendar.
How the First z Easter Days Were
The next question was as to the meth
Cd Of determining the date Of the Easter
festival; The lunar calendar had to be
cient fame of the astronomers Of Egypt
was maintained by the manner in which
fhey settled this prolep Ct Christian
direct succession had inherited the Wis
dom of which the earliest expression is
IOund IN the astronomical designs on the
walls and ceilings Of the temple at
Thebes; On these bishops, therefore, fell
the duty of calculating the date for the
celebration of Easter and of announcing
it far enough in advance for the informa-
ton to reach every member of the Chris
tian world. Special messengers were
sent out Immediately after the feast of
Epiphany to all the towns and monas-
teries Of the Western church and to tbs
Roman and Syrian bishops announcing
the Easter day that the Alexandrian bish-
ops had designated. Did you know that
in this custom was the origin Of the Fes-
tai Or Paschal Letters OF Athanasius?-
documents which have been preserved
down to the present time by a series of
incidents which would make a romance
in themselves.
1.-THE present method Of fixing Easter
day was adopted nearly 800 years later
I need not tell you what the method is
for every prayer book is very explicit on
this point.
you may be able to see something
pagan in the origin Of Easter. I cannot.
Probably all of our religious festivals
match with those of antiquity, but that
hardly justifes us in calling them pagan,
according to my way of looking at it,
cIr .oi5 yUi1Iio,o f,+bor