Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-03-30

TWO great festivals or the ChrlStla
Easter was, first of all, time for
celebrating the festival of Ostara, God
dess of Spring, according to the belief
of the ancient Norsemen. Ostara was
supposed to bring the earth rebirth.
Life was the theme of those original
Easter carols-new life on earth. To-
day the Christian world listens to the
story announcing definitely that there
is life after death in another sphere
which is the message of the Christian
EaStertide.
The early Easter carols were songs
accompanied by dancing. The Easter
egg and rabbit, symbols of prolific re-
production. are still the symbols given
in toy form to little children at Easter.
The Easter bunny has assumed legend
airy fellowship with Santa Claus. The
many colors of the Easter eggs were
originally planned to reflect the glory
of the Aurora Borealis, the rising sun,
so significant in the frozen lands of
the Norsemen, where the sun warmed
and thawed running streams and made
the earth fertile and livable again.
In those pagan Easter rituals the
hearth-fires were rekindled to diSperSe
Winters. evil, dying germs, and youths
and maidens seeking marriage danced
about the new fires or leaped over the
flames.
THE Greek and Latin word for Easter
celebration of the Spring festi-
val-was paScha, a direct derivative
from the Chaldee word signifying
passing" (the Hebrew, pesach), or the
festival of the passing over of the He
brew households, as recorded in EXo-
duS xii.
Socrates, ecclesiastical historian Of
the Greeks, mentioned that in the
Christian Church's earliest days, while
the memory of the actual crucifixion
was still vivid, 'the apostles had no
thought of appointing festival days, but
of promoting life of blameleSsness
and piety." He attributes the observa-
tion of Easter by the churches as re-
sulting lust as many other old Gus
toms have been established"
y !. x
IT is interesting that, musically and
otherwise, so .iany of the original
pagan Easter customs have been handed
down to present days under the new
cloak of Christian meanings or inter-
pretations of the original significance.
Christian churches continue the ritual
of blessing water and its purifying
qualities. In the old days the children
carried garlands of flowers to decorate
fresh springs and the banks of streams:
tomorrow many Washington churches
will have numerous baptisms of infants
as leading feature of the chief serv-
ice.
The Christian version of the Easter
carol is the most popular form, posi-
bly, excepting the hymn, which like
wise had its pagan origin in odes or
songs of praise sung in honor of pagan
h0TNnc a
contrary, are later in date ard were
originally planned to be sung, as the
name indicates, antiphonally, or re-
sponsively.
Monday, at the White Lot, lighter
themes of Easter music will be PLAYED
by the United States Marine Band while
the littlest folks of the National Capital
roll their Easter eggs behind the Presi-
dents Mansion, and eat candy chickens
and rabbits.
The children, too, will place bouquets
OF flowers in huge crosses in many
children's Easter services in churches
tomorrow and, they will sing the most
familiar carols.
The present-day version of the orig
1nal Pascha Candle will be found on
the altar of many churches. In olden
days of early Christianity, in some of
the cathedrals of medieval England, the
Pascha candle was of huge dimensions.
Records show that the deliberately con-
structed brass candlesticks in Durham
Cathedral had a height of the central
stem Of SO feet, with branch candelabra
for smaller candles at the four cardinal
points, giving the entire height of 70
feet. The candles were lighted from an
opening above. In Salisbury Cathedral,
IN 1877, the candle used for burning
during the entire period of WhitSuntide,
was So feet long of itself After Whit
suntide was over, what remained of the |
Pascha candle was melted and made
over into small candles given to the
poor people.
TT Is easy to realize, through the me-
dunn of these Easter customs and
music, that the world, Christian and
pagan, has supreme, unified interest
In the Spring festival known as Easter.
Whether it be in celebration of the re-
birth of earth itself as according to the
ancient Morse idea, or the Christian be-
lief in the rebirth of the human soul
after passing through the veil of death,
Easter is, and doubtless will remain to
the end of time, the most vitality signifi-
can't festival Of the world in which we
humans live. It is quite natural that
music, the art that gives the greatest
number of people emotional outlet for
such celebrations, Should be the DOM
inant feature of the services in all these
rs churches of Washington tomorrow.