Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1914-04-10
CASTERS ORIGIN
and SIGNIFICANCE
Ancient Missionaries Trans
formed Saxon Pagan Feast
Into a New Meaning.
Margaret ;sangster. in the Nnsas CITY
TYpoo0

Margaret sangster. in the Kansas city
Times.
With the return Of spring blossoms
and birds, a general feeling OF glad
ness prevails the world over. However
we may ave enjoyed winter. we bid IL
goodbye without regret. and go merrlly
onward to meet the spring. IN our
thoughts of winter n in the pictures
which the painters make of that sea-
son he figures. as an old man. stern
and severe. with a snowy beard. and
icicles clinging to his robes, while his
pretty successor is always a maiden.
dancing and singing. or scattering
flowers from full baskets.
When h old paganism of the ancient
Saxons was given UP for the worship
of Him whom the people of Britain in
those days called the White Christ. the
missionaries found established a festi-
val to the goddess Of spring. whose
name was Ostera, a word slgnifylng
Ito arise and symbolizing the
ing of nature after her wintry sleep.
This. in turn. pointed to the old Greek
myth of Persephone, called Proserpine
by the Romans. The story, familiar to
youthful students as one Of the dain-
test and most poetical OF n in the
Persephone was gathering narcissus in
a field near Aetna, in Sicily, the god
of the underworld suddenly emerged
from a ark hole in the ground, with a
chariot and four coal black horses. and
swooping down upon the hapless vtr-
gin carried her Oft to be queen OF MIS-
gloomy domain.
Demeter, the mother OF Persephone.
wild with grief. ran up and down i'm
ploring everybody h met to tell her
what a become of her daughter.
Finally the all-seeing and a~ll-hearing
49, 90 AL~ e,,n %-D~. rry11~, n0thSnO
that happened could ever be kept
secret, took pity on the distressed god
dess and told her of the fate that had
befallen her child. She, Of course. felt
more distressed than before. and
begged Zeus n the other deities TO
they declared themselves unable to DO
this unless Persephone had eaten MOTH
ing in her new abode. The discovery
that h had tasted a pomegranate
made her return to earth for a whole
year impossible. but h was allowed
or Ceres, to the fields and the light,
for half of each twelvemonth. during
which the flowers bloomed n the
fruits grew ripe. the corn and the
wheat flourished, m the land was
glad with harvest JOY. A legend similar
to this is found in nearly all the
m~ythologies of the world.
I have dwelt on this story and re-
ferred to the Saxon goddess Ostera-
who was Persephone's mythical rela-
tive, in order to show that in the old
pagan religions there was a hint OF
is N Of the grandest articles of the
Christian creed. Persephone's six
months in the regions of darkness were
emblematic Of death: winter. with it's
silence and chill and cessation of ac-
tivity, being a sign Of that dreaded
0tofn IY0r v0fVVNN IN 90 nth UQR a
poetical way Of saying that the torpor
OF death had been broken. n that
spring had given life n bloom to the
world once more.
I am coming step by step to the
higher meaning which our Easter has
for all who believe in h Lords resur-
rection. In winter. you know, there Is
nc real death; it is only apparent; for
even when at rest, nature is busy. and
under the SHOWS the wheat keeps on
growing to make the next years bread,
while the sap is stirring in the heart Of
the trees, although they are bare and
leafless. The early missionaries. wish
ing great happiness to the people whom
they taught to love n serve the White
Christ. In contrast with the dark and
CRUEL gods. to whom they had hitherto
given reverence. desired them to OBJ
serve the feast of the resurrection. 1t
always came round in the spring, and
Its name. Easter. was like that Of the
old goddess. rechristened and made
beautiful and fragrant. In keeping the
Easter festival. again. the Christians
simply with a new and more
Passover, which the Jews had observed
from h date of the Exodus.
Easter is full of brightness and joy.
not only because of the lower meaning
given 1T by nature. the vanishing of the
winter death and the kindling OF the
L Rnf1n Crime vNHA hNNA >- ~>>,.-A ~ A.
event. far greater and most mysterious
n sacred. the rising Of our Lord from
the three days bondage in the tomb.
why does Easter not always occur
on the same date. al Christmas does? is
q question asked by some little people
ing that there will be plenty Of flowers
to dress h churches this year. Easter
coming SO late. There was originally
q good deal Of trouble in deciding on
what day to observe the Easter festi-
val. som pleading in favor Of one. and
1ecided. by q great church council at
Nice. A. D., 1926, that Easter should al
ways be the first Sunday after the full
moon. which happens upon or next aft
er March Fl. and IL this full moon hap
pens to be q Sunday. then Easter is the
what We call a movable feast.
N reality every Lords day. which
was the name given by early Chris
ians to Sunday. Is a feast Of the resur-
rection. an anniversary on which we
MAJ devoutly say II believe in the
life everlasting"
The most beautiful Easter way
mat l know about Is that which sends
i!owers to the sick and sorrowful on
the morning Of Easter Sunday.
A~pprsciatina Our Flag.
From the Troy Record.
Baitimore 70 holding q preliminary cele.