Middletown transcript., 1911-04-15
EASTER lin HISTORY
Has Always Been Celebrated
With Joy

Easter is one of the oldest Christian
festivals and commemorating the centra
fact of the Christian faith, has always beer
celebrated with Joy. Itwas originally {
festival to the Teutonic goddess offspring
Ostera or Eastra. The saxons kept the
festival, a;.d when later as Christians they
kept the "Pasch" in memory Of the great
Paschal Lamb they called it by the same
name, Easter, as it came in the same sea.
son Of the year as their former Eeathen
festival.
In Ireland they have legend that the
sun dances on Easter morning. The pea.
SAINTS set a tub of water out Of doors the
night before the break of day to see the
sun dance in the v ater. In olden times
eggs were distributed from the churches;
they we're regarded as symbol Of the
resurrection. In Europe, in ancient days,
in connection with religious ceremonies it
was customary to celebrate the day by
deeds of incorporating liberty to the
captive, freedom to the slave, pardon to
the criminal.
The Puritans, because of the riotous
excesses which in their day characterized
the observance of Easter, put their ban
upon the festival, and as q heritage OF this,
until comparatively recent years it was
not commonly observed by the Protestant
churches of America. But happily it has
emerged, and now Catholic and Protest.
ant join in keeping the great feast of our
Lords Resurrection with a seemly, holy,
reverent joy. It is one of the invisible
bands which are drawing Christians to.
gether again. Appropriately it comes
when all nature is rejoicing in its own re-
surrecti0n. Il is the "time of the singing
of birds" Let it also be forever the time
of the singing of men and angels.
The Stone Relied Away.
That is beautiful story of the women
who FASTENED to the sepulchre early in
the morning. They we're in deep sorrow,
hope had fed, and they never expected to
see their Master alive again. But the
love they bore him impelled them to go
on their last sad mission.
AS they went they were troubled by the
thought of the great stone that blocked
the entrance to the tomb, and they asked
themselves the question, "Who will roll
US away the stoneP That thought of the
stone weighed on their mind all the way
to the sepulchre. But when they reached
the place they found the stone rolled
away, and then they realized how need
less had been their fears.
So oftentimes today people foolishly
worry themselves in anticipating real or
imaginary difficulties. But when at last
they reach the place of the stone of diff
Guilty, they frequently find that some good
angel has rolled it away.
Easter A Movable Feast.
Unlike most general anniversaries the
date on which Easter falls varies by sew.
eral weeks, and for that reason Easter is
called a movable feast. During the first
three centuries there was much uncer-
tainty and confusion among Christian
churches as to the precise time it should
be observed. This was because the Pass.
over, Immediately following which Christ
arose from the tomb, was movable feast
among the Jews, Consequently some
churches kept Easter as early as March 81
while others kept it as late as April 25.
The Council of Nice in 325 ordained that
Easter should always be held On the Sun.
day Immediately following the full moon
that happened upon or next after March !
81, the day of the vernal equinox.