The free press. (Poplarville, Miss.) 1890-19??, 1919-04-10

= W. Il
year for the reason that it commentaries the res
direction of Jesus. In the words of Paul, IL
Christ be not risen then is our preaching vain and
your faith is also vain" But" he says, now Is
Christ risen from the dead and become the first
fruits of them that sleep" Which is to say that
the Christian religion stands the resurrectiond
Jesus.
Pagan Rites Survive.
But the Easter season is observed by millions
who are not even nominally Christians They do
not celebrate the resurrection of Christ but rather
the end of winter the approach of spring, the be-
ginning of life in nature after the long sleep of
winter. Celebrations of this kind antedate re-
corded history. When Christianity came into the
world the Christian church adopted and modified
such of these pagan rites of celebration as 1t could
not abolish. This accounts for the many queer
rites of the Christian observance of Easter in
various parts of the world. They pagan rites
that had their origin in the remotest past and
have been modified by time and custom and
changed meaning.
Thus the parade of fashion to Easter morning
church services in the large American cities had
its origin ages ago in the superstition that failure
to wear at least one piece Of clothing would
bring bad luck during the year The of the
egg as a symbol of new life Is far older than Chris
tianity. The Easter rabbit is a survival of an Old
old superstition. The use of flowers as an expsas-
sion of rejoicing is probably almost as old as man
himself. The paschal candles are in another
form the bonfires lighted by our remote ancestors
to celebrate the arrival of spring
Just how the rabbits managed to get into the
Easter celebration nobody seems to be able to
find out with any certainty. Anyway, they are
not properly rabbits; they are hares. Undoubtedly
the association of the hare with Easter ana iS
eggs was introduced here by the Germans, DuI
where they got the idea is what none OF the anu
quarians have been able to learn to their satlslae
ton AS far as they have gone they figure this
way: The relation between the moon and he
hare is fairly close The relation of the moon to
Easter Is very close. Gradually in ancient times
the hare seems to have become associated WIN
Easter and with Easter eggs.
Easter anc the Egg.
Easter without eggs-fresh laid, dyed and sugar
would be like Christmas without Santa Claus
the stocking and the tree. And the association
the egg with Easter Is easily explained. Many
the old peoples Of earth have used the egg rr0m
time immemorial as the symbol of the germ
lfe The wise men of old taught that the wona
wss Matched from an egg All the pagan
world 1t signhed fertility and potential life. in0
place Of the egg was therefore firmly fixed IN tne
spring celebrations that long antedated ChrsI INV
the Christian Easter. The Christian church founu
the egg so firmly established as an Easter symD~
that 1t could not be disOdged Therefore M
church adopted the egg and adopted 1t as syn
Dol of the resurrection. In the transition OF Eas'.
from a heather to Christian festival the trau,
ton of the egg stands unbroken. When the c~
oring of eggs began, to the Christian the wm@
stood for the Immaculate conception: the req ~.
the blood of the redemption and the yeiiow W.
the dawn of the resurrection morn.
1t is natural that many queer relics OF ancien'
egg customs should have survived, While man,
have died on the way. For instance, the rulers u
earth no longer indulge In Easter eggs WhoesH.
After the Easter celebration found lts wa! NV.
France every hen roost In the country w..
searched for the largest eggs which were aAe.
as a tribute to the king. And after the Eas' e.
high mass in the chapel Of the Louvre there w.
brought into the royal cabinet pyramos ol snS
eggs decked with verdure. The chapiaii 80 -.
blessing them, distributed them among te p...I
Of the court in the presence of his most Chris'aD
majesty. .o. de.
In the time of Henry l. eggs were IN grea' IA
mand on Easter morn. In the tower Is al .oo
roval roll with an account Of entry "lod ioi -.
eggs to be used for ornamental purposes
Easter" Itch
Thot the whole world associates the egg w." w.
Easter Is shown by the fact that the o hA a.
children In Mesopotamia play the same sa An
Easter of picking" eggs that American ooso a s
Tn England in many places the bcys anu So s.or
"roll" their colored eggs, just as the "aS Th,s
children do on the White House grounu' "a.
White House egg-rolling, by the way, Is Nc nth
celebration and as curious spectacle Is W.
seeing - oh+an Al
There are many curious customs that oDtan :.
Easter that have nothing to do with tns w.