The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1926-04-03
EASTER is THE
OLDEST OF ALL
THE FESTIVALS
1t Even AntedateS Christmas
AS One of Universal
Days Of Rejoicing

Easter. concentrating to Chris
tan believers the Resurrection of Tho
Saviour Of Mankind. but al
most universally observed as /;
time Of JOY and feasting, is tn,
Oldest Of all the festivals in tn,
Christian calendar. Easter signa.izc:
the formal dawning Of Springtlmc
Winter is at an end; the trees anc
flowers, stirring from their slum be n
and throwing off their cuveriets Of
snow. put forth buds and blossoms
there is balm in the air. 1t is the
real awakening of the new year. Eas.
ter even anteda;cs Christmas as one
OF the universal days Of rejoicing
For while Eostrc or Pascha, ancicn,
designations Of the day, has been OBJ.
served from the time of the fou,lda-
ton Of the Christian religion, it was
not until four centuries after the
birth Of Jesus Of Nazareth that Ills
natal day was set apart for general
CONNIE moration.
AS leading to the joyous observance
OF Easter, increasing Importance has
been attached by Christian peoples
in later years to Long, or Gods, OF
Good Friday, rs it is variously known,
Immediately preceding the Easter
festival. 1t is probably, as the day
on which the tragedy Of the Cross
was enacted Oh the Hill of Golgotha,
the most sacred and solemn OF the
Christian Year. In most of the
churches on Good Friday the affairs
are stripped Of all their decorations,
the Cross is shrouded in black, and
the day is given over to prayer and
meditation. This note Of solcmnity
is even reflected in the affairs OF tho
secular world, most Of the states of
the federal government having made
It legal holiday. From the earliest
days OF the Christian era Friday has
been regarded as a day for fasting
as Sunday has been Il feast day; and
the connection between the one as
marking the day Of the crucifixlon
and the other AS marking the day Of
the resurrection is easily traced.
Its Origin
One Of the most interesting facts
in connection with Easter is that its
origin dates back to the old Jewish
Feast Of the Passover. According to
q Church historian, "The first Chris
tians being derived from or intimate.
ly connected with the Jewish Church.
naturally continued to observe the
Jewish festivals; though in new
spirit. rs commemorative OF events
of which those had been shadows, The
Passover, cnnoblcd by the thought
Of Christ as the true Pascal Lamb,
continued to be celebrated and be-
came the Christian Easter"
Early differences arose as to the
precise day on which the Easter fcs-
tival should be observed In the
Jewish calendar the Passover occurs
on fixed day of the month. The
Christians assigned Easter to Sun
day, that being the first day Of the
week and the day, according to Scrip
turc. that Christ arose from the dead.
Astronomical problems Of complex
character were largely responsible
tor these differences. which contin-
ued until the year 1876 A. d. when
the Council Of Nicea decreed that
everywhere in Christendom, Easter
should be observed on the same day.
II was not until the adoption Of the
Grcgorian Calendar in 1852, however,
that this decree secured anything
like general acceptance. Even now,
though the Gregorian Calendar was
within the past year adopted in the
Near East, there are some Of the
oriental congregations in which
Easter is observed sometimes before.
and sometimes after, the date on
which the Festival is celebrated in
the Western churches.
According to Barry. historian OF
the Book Of Common Prayer, "Its old
name was Pascha, both in the East
and West, and endless titles Of honor
and reverence we're heaped upon it.
The Pasch-cgg, symbol of life out
Of what seemed dead, the salutation.
Christ is riscn,' Of the Eastern Gus.
tom, all show how from time i'm
memorial Easter has been the great
festival Of hope and love-