Red Lodge daily news combined with Carbon County news., 1934-03-28

- sacrilegi0us shouts of April fool u?
vi shall the youngsters exercise their right to
"spoot' each other and their elders on this day
which, by tradition and by custom. is dedicated
TO the practical joker? Truly, 1t is a sperplexing
problem of conduct and one wonders how they
VIII solve 1t to the satisfaction of both them
selves and their elders.
Fortunately, perhaps, such q situation doesn't
arise very often. The rules by which the date
or Easter Sunday Is fixed allow this to happen
only about every IL years. Within the memory
Oh most people now living 1t has happened
only four times. In 1866 Easter Sunday came
on April ], again In 1877 and again In 1885.
Logically 1t would seem that the next time would
be In 1893 but, due to the vagaries of our cal
endar, the eleven-year-old rule didn't work. For
In 1899 II was one day off that schedule and
Easter Sunday In that year came on April 2. II
didn't get back on the eIeven-year rotation until
1873 when Easter Sunday and April Fools day
conceded. That happens again this year and
Will happen again IL years from now In 1916.
Although Easter Sunday and April Fools day
seem utterly inconsistent, so far as the essential
spirit of each is concerned, 1t Is interesting to
note that. historically, they trace back to SINH
lar origins-religlous festivals among the an
clients celebrating the coming of spring. Although
we moderns have changed the form and the
meaning Of these festivals, we have retained some
or the very same symbols which those ancients
used.
The celebration of April Fools day is usually
traced back to the festal rites of the period of
the vernal equinox In Persia. 1t was the dav
when the Persian New Year began and was very
close to the old English New Years dav of
March 25. The sun was then entering into the
sign OF the frisky and playful Aries, so II was
appropriate that on that day the 'season of mr.
al sports and vernal delights began. In India
there was a similar celebration on March RI
called the Hull festival, which was a time for q
general holiday and many jests, including the
practice OF sending people on long and ~fruitless
errands.
From the Orient the custom came into western
europe many centuries ago. The ancient Ro-
mans took delight In planning all sorts of nrac-
teal jokes In connection with their feast of the
Saturnalia and more particularly In plavinp
harmless, though often very humiliatlng Jokes. on
each other at the time of the athletic tourna-
ment, held In honor of Neptune, around AprIl
i. One solemn antiquarian has declared that
the first big April Fool joke In history was the
time the Romans invited the Sabines to attend
this Neptune celebration and then carried off
by force the Sabine women.
Just as April Fools day had Its origin In pagan
festivals, from which 1t has departed a long
way, so did Easter have such an origin. The
Christian peoples Of the world, Of course. cele-
brate 1t as the anniversary Of the resurrection
OF Christ, but In some Of Its elements. includ-
Ing that essential one of a resurrection. II traces
far back beyond the beginning Of the Christian
era to the religious rites of several different
ancient peoples. 1t lis associated with the wor-
ship of Astarte, a goddess of the Phoenicians,
Isis of the Egyptians. Diana Of the Greeks and
and Eostre of the Teutons.
In fact, there are some who say that we get
the name Of Easter from this Teutonic goddess.
Eostre, who was worshlpped In the spring, al
though others claim that 1t is derived from the
word least" one Of the four cardinal points. IT
Is also the cardinal point which has always
been most important In all religious ceremonies
all races and creeds. This is because 1t is the
part Of the heavens where the sun Is seen to
rise-the sun, bringer of light and heat, the
very giver Of life itself. The most primitive in
of the most primitive man recognized I
the fact that the sun and life were inseparablv
associated and 1t was only natural that when I
ne came to worship the thing which was greater I
than he, he should turn to the East whence r
anne that greater and higher thing which he /
as being the life-giying power. q
The symbols which we have retained from 4
hese pagan festivals to associate with our cele- {
of Easter include the white lily, the rab- Q
and the egg. The Greeks and Romans priced |
he white lily above all other flowers and In i
heir earlier civilizations 1t had already come r
o symbolic purity and virtue, hence an appro-
'riate symbol for a festival celebrating renewed I
lie. I