The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1908-04-16
CUSTOMS OF EASTERTIDE.

Our Easter corresponds with the
Jewish Passover, so that its history
properly goes back of the origin of |
Christianity. You will remember
that the Hebrew feast was institu-
ted on the dreadful night of the
Exodus, when the destroying angel
smote with death the first-born in
all the houses of the Egyptians. but
passed over the houses of the
children of Israel" Their little
ones were saved because on the
doorposts Of their houses was
sprinkled the blood of lamb. In
commeinoration of that event the
Jews keep the Passover. 1t was at
the time of this feast that Christ,
'the lamb of Cod" was crucifed.
His disciples therefore changed the
Jewish feast into a Christian festi-
val. The old Hebrew feast was
celebrated on the I4th day of their
month Nisan--the first month of
the Jewish year, corresponding to
the last of Our March and the Ist
of April.
The early Christians could not
agree as to whether they should
follow the ancient custom, or wheth-
er to observe the first day of the
week which they called "the Lord
Day" because on that day Christ
arose.
The dispute was settled in the
year gas of our era, when the great
Council met at Nicaea, in Asia
Minor, and after a warm and pro-
tracted discussion, finally decided
that the festival should be celebra-
ted thereafter OH the Sunday after
the first full moon following March
2Ist, the day "the sun cross
es the line" By this arrangement
Easter may come as early as March
~, or as late as April IS, as it al
ways follows the moon.
Easter to the French is known as
Paques; to the Scotch, Pasch; the
Danes, Paaske, and the Dutch,
Paschen. St. Paul calls Christ 'our
Pasch." The English name is de-
rived from that of the old German
or Saxon goddess of spring. Os-
terra or Eastre, whose festival oc-
CURED about the same time of the
year as the celebration of Easter.
When the early missionaries went
to Britain they found the people
worsl1iping this goddess, to whom
the month of April, which they
called Easturmonath, was dedicated.
The missionaries substituted the
Christian feast for the old heather
one, but they allowed the people to
give it the name of their goddess,
and so the word Easter came to be
used.
In nearly all Christian countries
the recurrence of Easter has been
celebrated with various ceremonies
and popular sports and observances.
Some of these customs are curious,
indeed. In the north of England
you may still hear the old rhyme:
It'd, mid and misera,
Carling, palm and Pasch-egg day.
The first line refers to Christmas,
the Epiphany and Lent. Carvings
are stepped peas fried in butter,
with pepper and salt, and eaten on
mid Lent or mothering Sunday, as
the fourth Sunday in Lent is some.
times called. Palm Sunday imme-
diately precedes Passion week, and
is so called from the branches of
palm trees strown in our Saviour's
path at the time of His triumphal
entry into Jerusalem.
Pasch-eggs are Easter eggs boil
ed so hard that you can play at ball
with them, dyed with various COL
ors. and often having inscriptions
or landscapes traced upon them.
Easter eggs symbolic the Resur-
rection. AS one old writer says,
"As the bird imprisoned within
the shell comes to life and liberty
at the appointed time, so did our
Saviour, on Easter morning, burst
the gates of the grave" The eggs
were at first dyed scarlet, in men,
ory of the blood of Christ shed up
on the Cross.
A tansy pudding. symbolical of
the bitter herbs commanded at the
Paschal feast, was formerly usual
Easter Monday dish. The English
people formerly had two very large
cakes divided among the congrega-
ton at the church on Easter. In
I645 Parliament forbade this by
law, providing that the money spent
for cakes should in future be used
to buy bread for the poor.
At Easter let YOUR clothes be new.