New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1918-03-27
Faster SUNDAY
new YEARS DAY
Originally Marked the Beginning
Of the Twelve Months Spring
Festivals in Vogue Long
Before the Time Of
Christianity.
By REV. ARTHUR HOLT.

BY REV. ARTHUR HOLT.
- ASTER Sunday was formerly
- equivalent to New Years. day :;
though not the first day Of the
year it was the day on which
the opening Of the year was celebrated.
Historically the Christian Easter is
simply continuation Of the Jewish
Passover, which was celebrated on the
18th day Of the first month of the Jew.
ish year-that is, on the day. of the
! first full moon next following the day
| of the equinox. It has been questioned
whether any special observance of this
day was practiced or enjoined by the
| apostles and the early Church Fa-
theirs; yet the words of st. Paul Il Cor.
$3.50 seem to sanction if they do not
| recommend an observance of some sort
| and foreshadow the thought which
came finally to underlte it: "For even
| Christ our passover is sacrificed for
| us. Therefore let US keep the feast,
not with old leaven, neither with the
leaven Of malice and wickedness, but
with the unleavened bread Of SINGER
ity and truth" According to the Jew
ish tradition, the Passover commence
| rated the passing of the Angel of
Death over the houses Of the Israelites
| in Egypt, the doorposts and lintels of
| which had been sprinkled with the
blood of the paschal lamb. The Chris
! tlans, in adopting the festival, gave, It
new significance. For them the Say
;or became the true Paschal Lamb; and
The new festival cOmmemorated. His
resurrection on the third day following
he Crucifxion. ....
The proper day for celebrating East
er was one Of the questions which the
Council Of Nice "a. D. $3.50 was called
upon to decide. BY the Eastern Chris
tians it was at that time celebrated; on
The same day as the Jewish Passover,
without regard to the day Of the week
IN which it might fall. Among the
Western Christians, who he}d that the
cruciixion occurred "a a Friday and
The resurrection on Sunday, there
.lad arisen custom of celebrating
Caster on the first Sunday following
he 14th Of the first month, and to this
custom was given the official sanction
If the council. Furthermore. the rule
hen established for fixing upon the
proper Sunday was designed partly to
prevent the possibility Of Easter ever
falling on the same day as the Pass
,ver, but the rule has failed on several
occasions to prevent this coincidence.
md at rare intervals the two festivals
came together. ~. >, =.
Charges in Calendar. ">,.i -
The old Roman year, like the Jewish
year. began in March, when the sun en-
cred the constellation Aries When the
calendar was reformed under Julius
Caesar, the year was made to begin on
the first day of January. After the
adoption of Christianity in Europe, the
date of the beginning of the year was
changed to March in most countries, so
that Easter became recognized as a
New Years day. The reform of the
calendar by Pope Gregory, in 1852,
again changed the day on which the
year began, although in England it
continued to begin on the 25th Of
March until the adoption Of the new
style" there in 1852.
Christianity found Spring festivals
already in vogue in heather Europe
and to these oldtime festivals many Of
the customs and superstitfous rites still
connected with Easter are clearly
traceable. The name Easter, given to
the day by the Teutonic nations-the
Roman nations have retained the old
Hebrew name, pascha, under modified
forms, as the Jour de Paques, of the
French-is derived by Bede from Eos
ter or 0stara, the name Of Ean old
Angfo-Saxon goddess, I'm whose honor
Spring festival was celebrated
Grimm was unable to find any mention
Of deity Of this name among the an
cient GeEn1ans, but from the fact, TINT
the month ofrApril still bears the name
ostermonat Tin Old High German os-
tarmanoth), he did not doubt that such
a goddess, probably "the divinity Of
the radiant dawn" had been known
was clearly Of a solar character, cell
ebration in honor of the birth or. the
rejuvenatlon of the sun Of the new
year. This is made evident, aside from
the known character of similar festi
walls in other parts Of the world. by
many Of the observances which it be-
queathed to Easter. Thus it was for
merly custom all through the north
OF Germany, on the night Of Easter
Sunday or the third night following, to
kindle bonfires on all the heights, at
fording magnificent spectacle, when
these fires were to be seen here and
there over miles Of country. This Gus
tom had become simply q mode Of
merrymaking, but It Is held with plaus-
Utility that originally the bonfire was
symbOlical Of the new fire that was to
warm the earth and quicken it into re-
newed life after the cold embrace Of
winter.
I ! : : @ = :