The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1933-03-31

various trinkets. But the modern child, favoring
something useful well as ornamental, prefers
an Easter egg which he can first admire and
then eat.
The lily, as symbol of Easter, has double
significance. 1t is one of the earliest spring
flowers. 1t typifies the rebirth of nature after
the long winter sleep. In its dry, brown bulb
life lies dormant during the winter and then
when spring comes this life begins to stir.
First it pushes out the tender green leaves, and
then the buds appear. Finally the white blossom
comes forth in all its glory the perfect EN-
blem of resurrected life.
Its other significance is religious one, it's
snow-white purity being emblematic of the flaw
less life of Christ whose resurrection from the
tomb we commemorate on Easter day. In fact
no other flower has place in the religious life
and literature of the Christian world to COM
pare to the lily. Yet it's glory is not so new as
Christianity, ancient though the beginnings of
that religion may seem to us.
The Greeks and the Romans priced it above
all flowers and in their earlier civilizations it
had already come to symbolic purity and virtue
1t was because of the place lilies had won in
the popular esteem that they found place in
the early paintings of the Virgin. The angel
Gabriel was depicted carrying them in annunca-
tion pictures and it is because of this that the
most beautiful of these flowers Lilium condi-
udI HlOSL uSeu 1T EdSIcT, 10 Cdlleu Tie Luduouud
lily.
The custom of wearing new clothes at Easter
time was both pagan and Christian in origin
Nature bedecked herself in fresh and attrac-
tive raiment and it was thought only fitting that
the people, too should signalize the great change
The Christian conception of "newness of life"
here and hereafter was symbolzed appropriate
ly by the white robes worn on the occasion of
their baptism by converts to the faith. These
robes also had reference to the garb Sef the
angels seen at Christ's tomb
During later years the custom of donning
new clothes on Easter Sunday became such a
fixed and universal one that nonobservance was
considered not only to be sign of eccentricity,
but also q forerunner of bad luck.
One does not commonly think of fire as an
Easter SYMBOL yet fires and the burning of
effgies were features of Easter celebrations in
some parts of the world. Bonfires were lighted
in Great Britain in the early spring to honor
the sun, while in Athens Judas was burned in
efigy on Easter Sunday. Such efigies also
were burned elsewhere and the practice con-
tinued for many years, although it is a custom
that has not been followed for long time and
never was universal
The custom of sending Easter cards is one
that has grown tremendously, particularly in
very recent years. Cards are of every style and
kind and range from plain inexpensive ones to
those which represent considerable hand labor
and are costly in proportion.
Perhaps nothing associated with Easter IS a
better example of Christian adaptation of
pagan symbol than the eating of hot cross buns
on the Good Friday, preceding Faster.
In Egypt, where the moon goddess was be-
lieved to have horns representing the crescent
moon, sacred cakes were offered to her. each
cake cut with horns. The Greeks adopted the
Egyptian CUSTOM and they also offered horned
cakes to the moon goddess on the altar where
the OK, her sacred animal. was sacrificed
In fact, the custom of eating cross-marked
cakes in honor of the sun or moon god espe-
cally at the time of the spring equinox, was
found by the early Christian missionaries in
many parts of the world. especially Britain,
Mexico and Peru. 1t has been suggested that
the crossmark on the cakes was intended to
represent the four phases of the moon, but In
the Christian symbolism, this mark. of course,
represents the cross upon which the Chris.
died.
(@ by Western Newspaper union.l