The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1915-05-19
Pentecost, Decalogue Festival, To Be Observed
 By the Jews Today

This is shvuoth or Pentecost, the Decalogue festival of the Jews, and it will be observed by Hebrews throughout the world today and to- morrow Pentecost marks the fftieth day after the first day of Passover, and is sometimes called the 6'tFeast of Weeks. as we'll as Feast of the First Fruits"
 In its original significance the Palestinean festival of Pentecost was a harvest celebration. When the Jews were an agricultural people they started the harvest by carrying into the house of God votive offer ing of new bread made of fresh cut wheat, thus rendering to Jehovah their acknowledgment of his bounty before they went forth into the fields to reap their grain.
 Pentecost also possessed great his l toric significance as commemorating g the anniversary of the promulgation Eof the Ten Commandments. Thus it was and is observed as Decalogue Day, which is now it's principal sig nificance, since the Jews have long since been banished from the land of their fathers and are now princi- paI1y engaged in trade. The few Jewish farmers who still till the soil l in Mos1em-rddden Palestine still keep alive the traditions significance of I Pentecost as a harvest feast, but to l the Hebrews at large this phase of the observance is well nigh forgot I ten.
 l The festival of Pentecost was adopted by the early Christians, be- this Jewish festival that the Holy l Ghost descended upon the apostles and inparted to them the gift of tongues. Tn medieval Europe Pente- cost was a period of great festivity, l and was considered 9. day of, vastly l orr faTs FN pIained by any Christian incidents connected with it. The kings and Ichieftains of medieval romance were pictured as making Pentecosr thefx great feast day As an example, ii l is said that t'King Arthur removed into Wales, and let erie a great feast
 that it should be holden at Pente- i cost And again: ''So King Arthur had ever a custom, that at the high l feast of Pentecost especially, afore all other high feasts in the year, he kwou1d not go that day to meat un- It'll he had heard or seen some great
 adventure or InervaiIe. And for that l custom, all manner of strange ad- l ventures came before King Arthur al that feast afore all other feasts''
 Better authenticated instances are given of English monarchs who ce1e-
 brated Pentecost as great feast, ane it was long looked upon as the spe- cial season of cIivaIrous adventure l of. tilt and tournament. The Chris. tian Pentecost, in it's English obser. Ivance, was afterward known as Whit
 suntide, and was celebrated ,witt dancing and reve1s.
 | The Orthodox Jews will observe >t Pentecost for two days ending wttt
 sunset tomorrow, but in the reform
 synagogues the observance is confin-
 ed to one day. Like nearly all otE1el Jewish feasts, Pentecost has it's sspe cial food Pentecost is associated
 with .sblinzes, 2, a sort of griddle cake
 with mixture of spices, raisins anc
 cheese in the center. The Pentecos
 tial rites in the synagogues ar, tsolemn and interesting. commemorat
 ing as they do the giving of thos,
 laws which have been so widely ac
 cepted by humanity, regardless O l oroad