The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-03-31
STORY OF THE EARLY EASTER Festival Not Always
 Observed. LONG CONFUSION IN DATE Controversy Between Jewish and
 Gentle Christians. Hebrew neiever. wanted To Observe Day Of Month, And others
 Sought To Commemorate
 First Dsy Of week.

This Is Easter day, the day on which the minds and hearts of all Christians turn to thoughts of love. the greatest of all love. the love of God for the world. as typified In the Crucifixion and Resurrection of the Saviour When the earth Is glad with the strength of new life. hope and happiness glad den the heart and attune it to the har- mony of spring
 Easter, though an ancient festival of the church, WIS not always celebrated by the Christians as a holy day. The early Christians had no fixed dates on which to commemorate tho impor- tant facts of the life of the Saviour. One historian of the times writes that neither Christ nor any of His Apostles enjoined the keeping of this or any other festival.
 'tThe Apostles, he writes. had no thought of appointing festival days. but of prompting life of blameiess- ness and piety."
 Chrysotom says that with the early Christians the whole of time is a fes- tival to the Christians because of the exceiiency of the good things that have been given"
 It seems to be conceded by these and other authorities that the commemor- ation of Easter began from the crav- | lAk tIdE ENSI9WhtLG QTGF4lib HI AIN human mind to mark the epochs in the personal, national, ecclesiastical or so- cial life, and thus they began to com n1emorate the events which were the foundation of the Christian religion. It was simply a continuation of the Jewish custom of celebrating the Pas chaI Feast, enobIed by the thought of Christ, the true Paschal Lamb.
 Owing to the fact that there were two distinct branches of the early Christians, the ones of Jewish descent there arose much controversy as to the correct date of the festival. As no rule as to correct date of the fes- ical had been laid down by author lty. the Christians we're allowed to follow their own instincts.
 With the Jewish Christians the lead Ing thought was the death of Christ as the true Pasehal Lamb, so that the fast with them would end on the same date as that of the Jews, on the 14th day of the moon, and the Easter fes- tival immediately followed, entirely ir- respective of the day of the week
 With the Gentle Christians, on the other hand. unfettered by Jewish tra- ditions, the first day of the week was identiied with tho Resurrection festi- val, and the preceding Friday was kept m Comuemoratlon or the CfuclnXion, Irrespective of the day of the month. The fast continued with Increasing strictness until midnight Saturday night
 With the one the observance of the day of the week was the ruling prin- ciple, with the other the observance of the day of the month was the controlling idea. So one can easily see how confusion arose with regard to the correct date of the fes- tivaL A great deal of sarcasm and mockery was shown by the early un- believers on account of this confusion.
 Some of the Christians began the festival before the week, some after the week, some at the beginning of the week, and some In the middle of