Evening star., 1909-04-11
ALEXANDRIA AFFA|RS|OLO EASTER CUSTOMS
Anr Term of Court to Con- Some of Them More Ancient
vene Tomorrow. Than Christianity.
RODERlCK CASE TUESDAY ORIGIN AND MEANINGS
Memorial Tablet Unveilng Many Adapted
P. E. Church Pagan Rites
COMPANY GETS A CHARTER EGGS, BUNS AND NEW CLOTHES
Pastorae the Queer Customs
Call Poll Taxes rom ohserved IN En.erd-ap;.L
;nov of rees
n Many Cases Adapted From
Pagan Rites.
EGGS, BUNS AND NEW CLOTHES
Some of the Queer Customs Once
Observed in England-sPick-
ing" of Eggs.

ing" Of Eggs.
By J. B. Clayton.
Many of our holiday customs. especially
those which have religious meaning
SO far antedate Christianity that then
origin and earliest meanings cannot now
be absolutely determined. The conver.
sion of Constantine in 312 AID, and his
subsequent edicts when he became 1.-THE
first Christian emperor not only gave
Christianity firmer footing in the sol
of the Roman empire. but they furnished
a golden opportunity for an aggressive
movement of the church. which its lead.
ers were not slow to use. While courtiers
saw another means of gaining additional
power over the masses, as well as the
good will Of the emperor. by initiating
his example in adopting the Christian
faith. there were many men of great
ability in the church who combined piety
with worldly wisdom and did not hesi-
tate to employ the advantage almost
thrust upon them of advancing the claims
of the church.
While Christianity was now the state
religion of the empire, Its establishment
as such did not destroy the paganism in
which Christianity till then suffered and
labored, for the hoary religions which
had thrfved for centuries still continued
to enjoy great popularity with the
masses. and the old pagan temples. priest
hoods. rites. observances and customs
continued to exert a powerful influence.
The double object of the church leaders
who were in the ascendant at the time OF
Constantine's conversion and Immediately
afterward was to secure the conversion
of pagans to Christianity and to trans
form pagan observances into Christian
customs.
Old Customs Retained.
reading Christian meanings into pagan
forms has continued in force to the pres
ent time, and this accounts for the fact
that all, or nearly all. Of our present re-
ligious customs either grew out of or
were closely associated with rites. Gus
toms and symbols centuries older than
the Christian faith. Mr.. Thomas Hobbies,
in a quaint book entitled 1.-The Kingdoms
of Darkness" remarks that the church
did not make images. but finding them.
let them remain. This statement is
customs observed today. whose origin
may be easily found in religions that
were ancient when Christianity was be-
ginning it's conQuests.
The cross emblem, for instance, SO far
from being of Christian origin. though
the crucifix Is the unique symbol of the
Christian faith, can be traced back to a
date at least 1000 years prior to the
birth Of Jesus. 1t was In common use
among the Baibylonians. Greeks. Egyp-
tians and other nations, and had become,
in the time of Jesus. the symbol Of dis
grace, dishonor and contempt, so much
SO that, being used for the crucifixion Of
slaves, traitors and other "undesirables, .
crosses (cruces dissimulatae), such as the
swastika, the impaled fish. the anchor and
the monogram as the symbols of their re-
ligion, and added to the other repugnant
features associated with the cross as the
instrument Of crucifixion was the fact
that it had the symbol of rites decidedly
In character. When Con-
stantine, however, publicly ascribed his
conversion to the apparition of the fiery
cross in the heavens, adopted the symbol
for his army standards and issued edicts
against crucifxion the cross began to be
openly displayed and very generally en-
ployed as the Christian symbol. Coinci-
dent with this change of attitude toward
the cross, there was very general
though gradual change in the attitude Of
the church toward paganism and pagan
institutions. Opposition gave place to
antagOnism to compromise,
of the masses which had remained un-
touched by the claims of Christianity.
Not a Christian Innovation.
Few or none of the present customs
which we associate with Good Friday and
Easter are Of distinctly Christian origin;
they became Christian in spirit while re-
naming Jewish or pagan in form. Easter
was not a Christian innovation, since its
Jewish equivalent had been observed for
fourteen centuries prior to the beginning
of the Christian era and the pagan festi-
walls corresponding with 1t. Those cele-
brated at the vernal equinox, or about the
21st Of March. go back at least to the
time Of Abraham. and perhaps many CEN
turies farther.
There does not seem to have been. how
ever, any holiday in pagan countries eX-
actiy similar to Good Friday, which has
long been devoutly kept in remembrance
April 3, 33 A. d. CD The appellation
good" was probably assigned to the day
by the Church Of England. the SaxOns
having called 1t Long Friday because of
the great length of the prescribed fasts
and church devotions incident to its OBJ
servance.
Easter called 1.-The queen of festivals.
because of the great historical associa-
tions and the joyous music and customs
attending it. Is a very old holiday. The
refers to a goddess Estera, to whom sac
rifices were offered at the beginning Of
spring. The German name for Easter,
"Ostern." refers to the same goddess.
Some authorities. however. trace the
name of the festival and goddess back
to- the Babylonian Queen of Heaven"
Ishtar, in whose honor was annually
kept a spring festival. After much de-
bate the council Of Nice in 1926 decided
to secure q general observance of the
same day, which was fixed as the first
Sunday following the full moon that oc-
ours after the 21st OF March: and through
the influence Of st. Austin the Saxons
began in 5S7 to celebrate Easter on the
Christendom.
The only use of the term in King
James version of the Bible occurs in
Acts. xii:4, the term "pascna," which Is
elsewhere translated passover being
there translated ''easter," less correct
but more familiar name.
Easter and the Moon.
All oriental nations, the Jews included,
carefully celebrated certain phases of the
moon, the Jews having feast of the
new moon and observing their passover
at the full moon, Christian Easter having
been the outcome of the Jewish feast.
with added meaning. but with the same
connection with the full moon. The in
fiuence of Egyptian and Babylonian
thought and custom Oh Jewish and Chris
tian holiday habits may be easily traced;
but there Is very simple explanation
for the fact that the phases of the
moon played such a large part In the
oovIx, cvtopo y,rocodfnu Chrf St n pify and