Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1912-04-07
HEATHEN FRILLS OF EASTER
Popular Church Festival Traced
Back to Pagan Custom.
INVESTED WITH CHRISTIAN IDEA
Date of Celebration a Source of
Much Dtsesrd In Early Times
Why IL Became n Nov
able Feast.


To the student of the worlds history
there is great Interest and food for re-
Election in the facts concerning the or
igin Of the religious observance Of Easter.
Strange though II may seem. this popular
church festival dates hack to a heather
custom Our twentieth century celebra-
ton is the modern evolution OF heathen
ideals and the transformation By Chris
tlsn usage and environment Of a great
popular pagan festival OF olden time
that Of the goddess ossara In the Anglo
Saxon language this festival was termed
"Eastre." and the name vas applied 10
a celebration which the Saxons OF old
were wont TO observe about the same sea
son at which the Christian festival OF
Easter takes place.
The goddess ostara seems to have been
regarded as the disqualification Of the
morning. or Of the east. aud also Of the
opening year. or the beginning Of spring.
Apropos Of this heather representative OF
the east. Il Is 10 be noted that from very
early times the east has been held In
tttN8In OlhhNNt l0H AtVNo AAAt tttANA R~tANN
OF the compass and enveloped with a
sort Of sacred halo. The ancient wor-
slippers OF the sun used TO place their
affairs in the eastern part OF their tenn
pies facing the rising orb OF day. That
the cast had n certain sacred character
IS evidenced in the Scriptures. which con-
tain several noteworthy references: The
glory Of the God of Israel came from the
way OF the east" Ezekiel kill ~;
There came wise men from the east to
Jerusalem" (siatthew II. y; And. To-
the star. which they saw in the east,
went before them" (Matthew II. ~. A
high regard for the east was manifested
by the early Christians. who perpetuated
the idea handed down from their anees-
tors. Looking toward the sun In the east.
In praying or repeating the creed, was
thought TO put worshipers In remem-
brance that Christ is the sun OF righteous
ness. and such was the attitude In olden
times during dcvotIon-a custom now OBJ
solete.
worship of Ostara.
II was from northern Germany In the
very early days that the worship OF os-
tara. the goddess of the east. was brought
20 our ancestors in Great Britain. II
Is well known that the Anglo-saxon
name Of April was Estermonath. and In
Germany this month is still known as
ostermonath. Many of the popular OBJ
servances OF Easter. even TO this day.
clearly indicate its heather origin. The
heather bonfires were perpetuated IN the
paschal tapcrs with which the churches
were once lighted on Easter eve. The
.brilllsn. Nominations OF the churches.
and parts OF some OF the cities In Russia
AZ Easter are also reminders Of the early
heather festival
Easter, n 10 said. Is the modern English
form for the Saxon word. "oster" or
''osten." meaning rising" The German
word Is ''ostern," the Hebrew-0reek form
il spascha." the French ''paques," the
Scotch ''pasch." the Dutch 'paschen."
the Swedish ''pask.'' and the Danish
.paaskc.' The common name In the
east was the 'paschal feast" because
kept at the same time as the paschen. |
or Jewish Passover. and In some measure |
succeeding H. In the sixth Of the An |
cyran canons Il is called The Great
Day"
A source Of Discord.
The proper timo for the celebration
Of Easter was the source OF great dis
cord among the early Christians. II has
aptly been pointed out that though there
has never been any difference OF opinion
in the Christian church as to why Easter
Is kept. there has been a good deal Of
as 10 when II ought to be
kept. The paschal controversy. wnlcn
Tor a tr rr 10 dom. grew
out Of diversity Of custom. the errors
Of an imp. -. ana lie ..socess
Of amalgamatlon OF a new order upon the
old. The great mass OF the eastern
churches In Asia Mirror. among whom I
were many Judaizlng Christians. kept I
Easter on the 18th of Nissan. the Jewish
month corresponding TO our March or
April. considering il to be equivalent TO
the Jewish Passover. But the western
kept the feast on the Sunday
following the fourteenth day. remember
ing that Chrlst's resurrection took place
on the Sunday. and also desiring TO marx
more clearly their disconncction with the
Jews.
The difference, borne al first with mu-
taal forbearance and charity. assumed
regrettable bitterness and rancor during
the third century. The east was UNI
happily severed from the west, and all
who. after the manner Of the Aslaiics,
kept Easter day on the 18th. whether
that day were Sunday or not. were styled
'quartadecimans" by those who adopted /
the Roman practice.
primary source OF the divergence was
the imperfection OF the Jewish calendar. n
This was 50 defective that 1t came about
that the Jewish Christians often cele-
brated Easter before the vernal equinox. I
a circumstance which was strenuously
objected to by the early Christians Of the
west. who regarded the vernal equinox
as the commencement Of the natural year. 1
They were opposed to a mode Of reckon 1
ing which might sometimes cause them to |
hold their pasehal feast twice in one 4
year, and omit II altogether the next. 1
30 strong was this feeling that II culmi- 4
mated In a drastic apostolic decree which
declared that. IF any bishop, priest or
deacon celebrated the holy feast Of Easter
before the vernal equinox. as the Jews
do. let him be deposed."
Fixing the Day.
II was through the happy Initiative Of |
Emperor Constantine. in the early part 1
Of the fourth century. that the uniformity
Of practice was inaugurated which