The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1912-04-06
The GREAT FEAST
Easter, It's Ceremonies and Customs
Described in the Catholic Ency-
clopedia.

| Easter is the principal feast of the
ecclesiastical year. Leo. I. calls it
the greatest feast and says that Christ
mas is celebrated only in preparation
for Easter. 1t is the centre of the
greater part of the ecclesiastical year.
The order of Sundays from Septuage-
sima to the last Sunday after Pente-
cost, the feast of the Ascension, Pente-
cost, Corpus Christi, and all other mov-
able feasts, from that of the Prayer
of Jesus in the garden to the feast of
the Sacred Heart depend upon the
Easter date.
| Concentrating the Staying of the
! true Lamb of God and the Resurrec-
| ton of Christ, the cornerstone upon
which faith is built, it is also the old
est feast of the Christian Church, as
old as Christianity, the connecting link
between the Old and New Testaments.
The connection between the Jewish
Passover and the Christian feast of
Easter is real and ideal. Real, since
Christ died on the first Jewish Easter
Day; ideal, like the relation between
~ pC anu AOQ11Iy, UOOduSO
death and Resurrection had it's figures
and types in the Old Law, particularly
in the paschal lamb, which was eaten
towards evening of the 18th of Nissan
| In fact, the Jewish feast was taken
over into the Christian Easter celebra-
ton; the liturgy sings of the passing
of Israel through the Red Sea, the pas
chal lamb, the column of fire, etc.
Apart, however, from the Jewish
feast, the Christians would have cele-
brated the anniversary of the death
and the Resurrection of Christ But
for such a feast it was necessary to
know the exact calendar date of
Christ's death. To know this day was
very simple for the Jews; it was the
day after the 18th of the first month,
the 18th of Nissan of their calendar
But in other countries of the vast Ro-
man Empire there we're other systems
of chronology. The connection be-
tween the Jewish and the Christian
Pasch explains the movable character
of this feast. Easter has no fixed date,
like Christmas, because the 18th of
Nissan of the Semitic calendar was
shifting from date to date ON the Jul
ian calendar.
The Easter Office and Mass.
The first vespers of Easter are con-
nected now with the Mass of Holy
| Saturday, because that Mass was for
merly celebrated in the evening; they
consist of one psalm and the Magnii-
cat The Mathis have only one Noe
turn; the Office is short, because the
clergy were busy with catechumens,
the reconciliation of sinners, and the
distribution of aims, which were given
plentifully by the rich on Easter Day.
To have a correct idea of the Easter
celebration and it's Masses we must
remember that it was intimately con.
nected with the solemn rite of bap-
tism. The preparatory liturgical acts
tinued during the night. When the
number of persons to be baptized
was great, the sacramental ceremo
MES and the Easter celebration were
united. This connection was severed
at time when, the discipline having
changed, even the recollection of the
old traditions was lost.
The greater part of the ceremonies
was transferred to the morning hours
of Holy Saturday. This change, how
ever, did not produce a new liturgica
creation adapted to the new order Of
things. The old baptismal ceremonies
were left untouched.
Peculiar Customs Of Easter Time.
One is frequently asked the origin
, of the Easter egg. The custom arose
from the fact that the use of eggs was
forbidden during Lent, they were
brought to the table on Easter Day
, colored red to symbolic the Eastel
joy. This custom is found not only il
the Latin but also in the Orienta
Churches.
The symbolic meaning of new crea
, ton of mankind by Jesus risen from
the dead was probably an invention
l of later times. The custom may hav'
it's origin in paganism, for a grea
9 many pagan customs celebrating tn
= return of spring, grayitated to Easter
I The egg is the emblem of the germi
mating life of early spring. Easter eggs
the children are told, come from Rom.
with the bells which on Thursday g
\ to Rome and return Sunday morning
The sponsors in some countries Civ
Easter eggs to their god-children. Col
ored eggs are used by children a
r Easter in a sort of game which cor
sists in testing the strength of tn
shells. Both colored and uncolore'
: eggs are used in some parts of tn
United States for this game, know
as gg-picking." Another practice
the ''egg-rolling' by children on Eas
ter Monday on the lawn of the Whit
e House in Washington.
J. The Easter Rabbit lays the eggs
n for which reason they are hidden i
| q meet nP in a uardoD Tho ro hhif 1