Evening star., 1914-04-07
Frances Easter Flower.

In France the special Easter flower was
the strange little blue anemone called the
pasque flower This name of basque Is
from the pasche or feast of passove" Of
the Jews. which is identical with tn
Easter feast Of the Christian i'll point ot
time and symbolic significance 2 &
pasuue flower is now a faEorlte STl4tts
bloomer of our gardens. with its char.
ing chalice of blue and its sivery doN
blanket. which seems 10 protect il 3gaias
the Indictment weather which II braves ~
be i'll time for the holiday
One more old DevonShre custom be
fore We come to the presentday flowers
was connected with the little tufted Eng
Iish weed known as chickweed or stitch
wort Long ago this was given the
name of White Sunday because it bioon-
ed on that day. and its delicate white
blossoms with golden-du Stamens
seemed an appropriate emblem for the
festival they commemorated. White sun
DAY or Low Sunday is the first sunday
after Easter. and there is curious eN-
PLANTATION for its name in a book Of ser
mons printed in 1f-i2 which says: This
day is called White or Low Sunday, be
cause in the primitive church those neo-
phytes 'or new converts that on Easter
Eve were haptized and clad in white gar
ments did today put them off, with TINS
admontion. that they were to keep with
in them a perpetual candour of spirit.
Rose of Jericho.
A plant curious and weird grows out
on the borders of the Dead sea, in the
deserts of that region 1t is called the
rose of Jericho, and for its marvellous
properties the resurrection plant. Though
not especially connected with the Easter
ceremonies, yet it is symbolic of the
holiday more than any other plant For
this plant after it is withered and ap-
parently dead. may be cut off and placed
in some water and will Immediately re-
vive and look as fresh as before. That
and the fact that it blooms from Christ
mas until Easter are enough to warrant
it the name of resurrection plant. Thou
sands are gathered and sent each year
to Jerusalem, where they are sold to the
pilgrims.
And now to the lily. the true Easter
flower Lilies have always been associ-
ated with the Virgin Mary and with the
resurrection of Christ. Slmbols as they
are of innocence and purity. they have
adorned the church affairs at EaStertide
for many century. To insure and en-
hance that quality of purity which they
betokened the old priests were wont to
remove the golden stamens before placing
them on the altar, thus making them tru-
" virgin flowers. Up until quite recently
the madonna or annunciation lily was the
one most commonly used, but. thanks TO
the ingenuity of a Philadelphia woman,
we are now enabled to have the wonder
The Bermuda Lily.
About 1873 Philadelphia woman re-
turned from a trip to Bermuda and
brought back with her two lily bulbs
which she had carefully carried all that
distance They were in bloom at the
time, and so gorgeous were they that she
took them to her local florist and showed
them to him. He quickly saw their value
and began to increase them, and In the
next four years he had raised the num-
Der to 100.
More and more the cry has been raised
for diversity in Easter plants. Today
the florist who is up to date must have
potted and full blooming azaleas, in every
shade of white, pink and blushing GRIM
son; sweet-scented freesias, with the pale
yellow blossoms that soon fill the room
with their delicate aroma: slender-stem-
med and brilliantly golden daffodils and
jonquils that bring an added ray Of sun
light into the house. and the poetical hy-
acinth in it's varied-colored dropping lit
tie bells. All these and more has the
florist been tending for many weeks in
order that we may send them in all their
glory to our friends Easter day, with
the message of renewed life for which
they are the living symbols.