The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1927-04-06

~ thought of all else in concentrating the
Resurrection. The gay rejoice with sighs
of memory, at the relaxation of Lenten abstinence
The worldly flaunt the pomp of social season.
Todding children in white, basket arm, wander
about the house searching for the wonderful col
ored eggs left by the White Rabbit And some
body, devoted to antique CUSTOM repeats the ancient
absurdity:
Easter Christmas, and the other Christian
Holidays are merely adopted pagan festivals!"
The iteration of this nonsense of the season can
now be expected like the confetti of an Italian carni-
val or the horns of Scottish Halloween. 1t comes
in the ordinary circles of American life regular
y as the hanging of holly wreaths the outfower-
ing of the immortal white lilies.
The weird notion circulates only within the in
telectual range of certain Individuals as the myth
OF the -purveying White Rabbit finds acceptance
only among Santa Claus children. No scholar of
the first rank would include the White Rabbit in
a treatise on domestic animals nor Santa Claus in
a discussion of philanthropy nor pagan origin" in
authoritative work Christian festivals. But
some numbers of people have actually been found
who take the notion seriously just there chill
dren who become convinced of the reality of
Santa Claus that it is a heavy task to undeceive
them.
F The difference between the Child Mind that
believes in the White Rabbit and the Sophomore
Mind that dogmatzes about the identity of Christ
ian and pagan rites and days. is that the Child
Mind is tolerant and enlightened His White Rab-
bit does not devour Easter lilies any other hope
full flowers that grow between the graves of this,
world. The Sophomore Mind-sometimes visible in
young intellectual Tapping immature wings, and
sometimes found in an older whose thought has
never rpened beyond the promise of youths in
tolerant. 1t is unscentific 1t is arrogant 1t
gares upon US with red signal of DANGER for "a
little learning is dangerous thing"
When looks back from this Easter to all
the casters that have been, it too bad, in
deed. that the old pagans never knew that Christ
ianity only paganism. Sixteen hundred and
fourteen years ago, Constantine the Great issued
from Milan decree of complete tolerance for the
Christian religion. This decree, which brought up
from sunken catacombs and from obscure exile the
chieftains of faith, issued while Constantine
himself still pagan-it preceded by
years his assembling of the Council Of Ncea and
his own baptism.
Of course, it is easy to see the origin of this
fallacy of Easter and Christmas as pagan festi-
walls. The faacy is like assertion that the Amer
Fourth of July is festival in honor of Chinese
dragon gods, adopted by the superstitious Yankees
and associated in their superstition with the idea
of their independence.
How could anyone say that? BY pointing out
that frecrackers invented by the Chinese as
offering to dragon gods, that punk sticks, with
which firecrackers often lighted, burned as
incense in Monaghan temples. This may not prove
to all that the Fourth of July originated in China
but presents the identical kind of evidence offer
ed to prove that Christmas and Easter originated
among the heather.
We Yankees, of course, know that it was only
by chance and accident that frecrackers ever came
to be burned the Fourth of July. The familiar
nose-making instrument the gun, and the gun
is what the boys wanted. The firecracker was
substitute-it produced the noise with lessened
peril So it was adopted, not a Chinese votive
offering, but an American toy.
The word Easter We have taken from pagan
ism and of English speech alone have taken
it. Nearly all other languages of Europe call
Easter by that recalls the Passover sea-
son. which also the time of the Crucihxion and
the Resurrection We have taken the word only,
and added entirely meanng-just as the
Scandinavians took the old word Jul Yule.-and
applied the name of this February pagan festival