Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-04-20

three times as it rose on Easter Sunday. The
pagans themselves used to dance at a festival
in honor of the sun after the vernal equinox.
But the early Christians thought that the sun
actually spun around three times to comment
crate the third day on which Christ arose
from the dead.
To this day the Devonshire children get up
early on Easter morning to see this remarkable
feat. Elaborate devices, such as mirrors and
tubs of water, are set to entrap the image OF the
SUM- slight movement on the surface OF
pond or tub of water materially strengthens
this illusion.
IN East Yorkshire it is considered exceedingly
unlucky for those who wear old clothes on
Easter. The "rookS" or "crakeS" are said to
spoil all clothes except new ones. Particularly
must the young SWANS wear new clothes on
Easter If they wish to be lucky in courtship and
marriage during the "wooing season." which is.
of course, the Springtime
The Chinese New Year, LIB Ch'un-the begin
ming of Springs the greatest festival OF the
Chinese calendar. Morally it represents the
idea of resurrection, the rebirth of the year.
It is a season of great rejoicing. The Chinese
have no Sundays or one-hah Saturday holidays,
so their feast days are needed for resting. But
there is little rest. The people busy themselves
by preparing many gifts for each other, such
as food, tea, fruits and growing flowers-never
cut blooms. The climax of the three-day fes-
OK At the exact hour that Spring begins the
great procession stops and the OK is beaten by
willox twigs decorated with ribbons of colored
paper. The beating is to rush the season
and to incite the farmer to begin work In his
field If the OK Is not well beaten there will
be late Spring. After the ceremony the OK
is burned and the ashes scattered over the land.
The people then go home take off their furs
and 1annels and don Spring clothes. In re-
cent years the OK and driver are made of paper,
- ~ hickr a
real OK was slaughtered and its raw meat di-
vided among the worshipers. The sacrificed
OK is the identical principle of the lamb of the
Israelites in ancient times. It was the nvariable
custom of the ancents to offer a living sacrifice
to the god of Spring.
In some remote sections of India the natives
celebrate the Tamil, or Spring season, with
great military pomp and ceremony. At the end
of the three-day holiday buffalo Is slain by
a man whose right to perform the ceremony is
hereditary. There Is great rejoicing among the
men. Women are not allowed to participate IN
this event; they stay at home to prepare the
great feast, which must be ready for the men
when they return at night.
In India the word year" originally meant
"the Spring" and the season was celebrated
by offering flowers and the first fruits OF the
year to the dead-both the human dead and
the dead Winter. In some far corners OF the
globe the heather still celebrates the Festival OF
the Dead. The Hindus believe that the pious
who die in the Spring 60 straight to heaven
but those who, unfortunately die at other sea-
sons must remain in the neither world to be
born again and return to earth to work out
their true salvation A person dying in the
Spring is buried with his head to the south,
where the death god Yama abideS. An ancient
legend says that the angel, Trisanku was hurled
from the heavens but caught by Yama and
suspended in the southern sky because of his
goodness and valor This Is TIE story of the