The Idaho Springs siftings-news. (Idaho Springs, Colo.) 1905-19??, 1917-04-06

Nv tween the devotional rigors of the
u former part of Lent and the last
SIX days, In which all religious exercises and per-
sonal sacrifices redoubled until the coming in
OF the great feast of Easter
Palm Sunday also to foreshadow the com
ing of the spring, at least from merely mundane
point of view because of the great throngs OF
Worsbipers who pour into the streets from no
man Catholic and Protestant Episcopal churches,
wearing carrying the bits of palm, green
branches willow slips which have been dis
tribued by the priests
In this country palm is almost always used
for this purpose. but In some countries, where
this leaf is available its place is taken by bits
Of native green Box and yew also have been
used from time to time symbol Of Palm Sun
day. Generally the greater part of the palm is
distributed In the form of little crosses, this be
Ing especially in the of the men worship
The women. receive crosses or large or
small branches, according TO the fashion of differ
ent parishes,
Rome In Holy Week.
In the years before the the Holy week
services Rome drew thousands of persons from
all parts of the world TO that city. These
monies begin with the beautiful Palm Sunday
procession at st. Peters. In all Roman Catholic
churches everywhere the Palm Sunday procession,
In which palms carried In imitation of the
first Palm Sunday procession, is stately and pic
turesque spectacle. In the churches under the
of the religious orders, such as the Society Of
Jesus, the services of Holy week, including those
of Palm Sunday. are usually very beautiful and
elaborate. "Maundy Thursday the good old Eng
fish name FOR Holy Thursday, was so called from
the French 'mande," from the Latin 'mandatum"
in allusion to Chrst's words spoken at the Last
Supper, "A commandment l give unto you,
that ye love another" In commemoration Of
Chrst's act of humanity in washing The feet of
his disciples on the occasion of the Last Supper
of The most important ceremonies of the day,
since the early middle ages, has been the washing
of the feet of IL or more poor persons by some
of higher worldly standing than themselves.
In the very early church this ceremony is not
known to have existed. but from the fourth CEN
fury It became yearly more popular. Finally the
rite came to be performed by the pope, all Catholic
soveroigns, prelates, priests and mobiles. AT Dur
ham cathedral until the sixteenth century every
charity boy had a monk to wash his feet When
Queen Elizabeth thirty-nne years old she per-
formed this ceremony for 80 poor and
her palace of Greenwich, 1t being then the
tom for the sovereign wash the feet of as many
persons as she years old.
Emperor and eesear.
On this occasion, history recites, the feet of the
honored beggars first washed by the yeoman
of the laundry. Afterward the subalmoner washed
them and then the queen herself kneeling after
washing each foot, made the sign of the
upon 1t and kissed IT,
In Continental countries this practice is still
kept up. The late emperor of Austria never failed
to carry out the rite.
The devotees of the Greek church also this
ceremony Moscow. Petrograd and CONSTANT
nople
The day of the Passion, Good Friday in Eng
fish, supposedly from Gods Friday" is the most
solemn day of the year in the church. From the
beginning to the end of the three hours service
which commentaries Christ's agony upon the
there is no lifting Of the deep gloom char
acteristic of the occasion. Affairs and celebrnnts
are draped in black in the Roman Catholic
churches In the Lutheran churches also the altar
and pulpit draped in black. The three hours
service is used in the Episcopal church, and in
this church. in the Roman Catholic the history
of the Passion according to St John is part OF the
Good Friday ritual
This Is followed in the Roman Catholic church
by the alteration of the cross ancient cere-
mony and the mass of the presanctfed, so called
because the elements have been consecrated the
day before. In the Greek church also the Good
Friday fast IL extremely strict and the mass very
long.
Churches Filled to Limit
More persons flock to the churches Good FRI
day than any other day of the year except
Easter In of the churches in New York 1t
is necessary to issue cards for the services ON
both these days, there Is no other way OF
controlling the great number of worshipers who
seek admission. Despite the length and solemnity
of the Good Friday service the desire to attend
is great that it is uncommon thing to see
devout men and women standing In long lines IN
front of the offices where the cards are distributed
fearful that they may then be too late to gain
admission
The most popular of the secular customs con-
nected with this day is the serving of hot cross
buns. The genuine hot cross bun is rather small
one spicer than ordinary buns. and has brown
sugary surface marked with a cross. 1t Is said
that the hot cross bun is Of pagan origin and can
be traced back to an ancient custom OF worship
Ing the Queen Of Heaven by the eating OF sacred
CAKES But the buns that existed previous to the
Christian era were not in reality those Of today,
Yr H. ttvvIaa