Newspapers / Polk County News and … / March 18, 1921, edition 1 / Page 2
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THE TRYON NEWS, TRYOtf , N. Ol U. -,-r -r -.'', j -1 'IV;".; ' ' " '.--.:--'-- - V ' ;" :-. ,.,V - .. ..... f " . . " ' -' ' ' " - " ' ' '"fc iU., , , TT 1 HUGHES SDHHY HE . ' ' -1 j S0LDH1S HOUSE in Oil. e rxaoDit and the' Easter Egg 1 eg 7 I How did the rabbit get into the nest -of Easter eggs? Of all the curious,, leg czd8 the centuries have gathered .sbout the Easter season none are more widely circulated than those having to da with the rabbit and the Easter eggs. !X&ster eggs are seen all over the Chris rtfan world on Easter Sunday, and -rterever the eggs are there is the -xa&bblt also. Just where and how such a total abstainer from eggs, such a clearly saoa-producer of eggs as a rabbit, got edxed up In a nest of them the biog raphers of neither the hen nor the rabbit are able to say. But there he is, and there he persists in staying, however inconsequent, ir relevant and im material his pres ence may be. ' Myths of. the Easter egg are more easily ac counted for. The Ancient Egyp tians, Persians, Gauls, Greeks and Romans saw in the egg an em blem of immor tality. In it life lay dormant. An in sensate thing, a mere object, it had xne power to become a living being. : To the early Christians the egg sym bolized the resurrection. Because of tfiis, and also because eggs were looked rtzsfen as meat, Roman Catholics of .Italy, Spain and France were formerly t&rbldden to eat eggs during Lent. Af--tfer the fasting was oyer, eggs were the iUcst meat to be eaten. Every Easter i tsE&Se held eggs dyed red, to. represent Jfiefclood of Christ, and piled in pyra naOOB At various points of vantage ticxig the table. Before the eggs were broken they were blessed by the priest. special blessing for the Easter Sass,was given out by Pope Paul V, vAo sat in the papal chair from 1605 -to 1621. This blessing, which is still used by many Roman Catholics, is: "Bless, O Lord, we beseech thee, this &y gift of eggs, that It may become ,-a. wholesome sustenance of thy falth servants, eating It in thankfulness . to thee on the morn of the resurrection our Lord." Greek Catholics believe that eggs Said on Good Friday have within them Seir . own blessing, and that-he who eats them as his first food on Easter .'S&mday will be blessed throughout the Uratr. 'They, too, hold that the egg 3s symbolical of the resurrection. But all of these eggs are the fruit vif the hen, she that cackles over her product, when every child be lieves that JJhe rabbit Is respon sible for the Eas ter eggs. Germany for a long time claimed that she was the mother of the ,' Eauter rabbit She said that it happened, 'one time, Shut the children of a very poor peasant had . been told that they could have no exits at Easter tim& because their parents had no TCaaie: and were too poor to boy a hen. The children grieved over thin t '-Cat, and then decided that they would neTfranapray. They prayed for Why All Mankind Hails the Morn of the Resurrection Easter morning the most joyous of all the mornings of the year, the one great day of gladness, supreme above all others on the calendar, the Morn of the Resurrection. And why is this the gladdest day of the year? J It is the gladdest of all days because it typlfleC the hope that beyond the grave there Is another life pian this. It speaks the promise that we shall rise again from the dust of death, that we shall be reunited with those- whom we have loved and lost, that we shall open our eyes In another world where there is no parting again, no sorrow, no loss, no pain. Compare this hope with all other hopes that man can have, and they sink Into Insignificance. If the sons ef men believed that this life were the only life they could ever know, if they believed that the grave Is the end and that when they were laid away with the dust from which they came there would be n awakening, not only would the dearest m hope they could possibly have be taken then from them, but the world would then become a place unfit for habita tion. Without the hope of resurrection from the grave man would surely sink at once to the low level of the beast. But that this is not his belief, and that-man has, instead, a firm and a ful hope to live again, is what makes Easter the one great joyous day of all days. Easter eggs, prayed earnestly and fer vently. On the night before Easter they made a nest for'the eggs they so confidently believed the morning would bring. When they awoke the next morning they ran to the nest, and there, sure enough, lay three lovely eggs, and sitting back of them, very proud of himself, was a big white rab bit, the very rabbit that had laid the eggs. . But the Easter ' rabbit .is far, far older than this tale, and the myths about the rabbit, many of them associ ating the rabbit In one way or another with eggs, are centuries older than the Easter festival. t ' The Moon, festival In China ' comes in the springtime and corresponds with Easter. It's a great holiday. Nobody works. Everybody puts on his best clothes' and goes out for a general jolli fication. The culmination of events comes on what is our Easter, which, as old-fashioned: people will tell you, comes "on the first Sunday after the first full J moon after the 22nd of March," "V , ; - ; f ; r.; - ' It Is on this night that "the rabbit la the moon" U best seen. The Chi nese, in their Moon festival, pay hom age to this rabbit. Their ancient reli gion, Taoism, taught them that this rabbit was the slave of genii who kept him everlastingly busy pounding herbs and drugs to make the elixir of life. He squats In a cassia tree to do the pounding, and if you will look at the moon any Easter Sunday evening when the sky Is clear there you'll see Br'er Rabbit pounding away. And when you see It, you will see a mixture of Taolst belief, East Af rican mythology, southern negro folklore and early Christian legend The Japanese have a legend, doubtless passed over to them from India, that the gospel of the resurrection was; first sent to the earth by the moon god, who used a rabbit as his messen ger. The message given to the rab bit was this: "Like as I die and rise to life again, so shall you die and rise to life again." The rabbit, however, thinking It would be a good Joke on the people of the earth, reversed this gospel : What he said to the people was : "Like as I die, and live no more, so shall ye all die and be no more alive." The people took this gospel very sorrow fully, which amused the rabbit, and he went back to the moon god and boasted of what he had done. The god was so Infuriated with his mes senger that he threw a hatchet at him and spilt his lip wide open, and that. If you would like to know, is why the rabbit's Hp is slit. In certain parts of England, particu larly at Hallaton, there was an old custom of celebrating Easter Monday with a "hare pie scramble" and "bottle kicking." This celebration began with a procession leading to the house of the rector of the parish and consisting of two men abreast, carrying sacks with cut-up pies Inside; three men abreast two carrying wooden bottles filled with beer, and the third a large dummy bottle that was to be kicked about; one man, carrying a pole on which was fastened a hare In a sitting posture, and, last of all, a band of music. The band was followed by all the people of the parish who could walk. The dummy bottle was kicked Into the neighboring' parish, where it was burned, or "drowned," after which bits of it were taken home as trophies by the people. The custom fell into disuse about 1767. But other customs Jn which the hare figured were continued to a much later date, one having to do with thtf hunting of a hare on Good Friday, to be eaten on Easter day,, the alternative being that "he who does not eat a hare must eat a red her ring." At least one mythologist has tried to account for the Easter rabbit In England by making him the creature of the Anglican, goddess Eostre, whose name, according to Bede, was given to the month of April, which was called Estermonath. Grimm calls this god dess Ostara, "divinity of the, radiant dawn, of upspringlng light" 1 . SECRETARY OF STATE'S PLACE NOW IS PROPERTY OF WEEKS, SECRETARY OF WAR- 'v RAPID PROGRESS OF DENBY Chief of the Navy Was One of Its Pr. . vates Less Than Four Years Ago---' Postmaster General Hays as a Bible Student. ; - -By EDWARD B. CLARK. Washington. Several of the men who are to serve In President Hard Ing's cabinet are hew to Washington life, while some of them have spent a good part of their adult years In tine public 'service In this city. Wash ington,- noweerji'is not strange to any of them, for alf of them have spent some time here In the prosecution of their business activities. Charles Evans Hughes, the new sec retary of state, was an associate jus tice of the. SuQreme court of the United States for six years. The new secretary of state when he was on' the Supreme bench occupied a fine house at the corner of Sixteenth and V streets. When he was nomi nated for the presidency of the United States In 1916 he gav up his Washing ton residence, knowing of course that If he were elected he would move Into the White House, and that If he were defeated he must go back to New York to earn his living as a lawyer. Today It Is probable that Mr. Hughes wishes he had kept hold on his house Instead of turning It over to another, the "another" In this case being former United States ' Senator John W. Weeks of Massachusetts, the new secretary of war. So today Washington Is witnessing a secretary of state looking for a home while the secretary of war probably is chuckling over the fact that he was wise enough to take over the real estate holding of Charles E. Hughes. It is hard to day to get a place In Washington to live. Denby Has Prospered and Progressed. Edwin Denby Df Detroit, the new secretary of the navy, during his so journ In Washington as a member of congress lived Ins a modest house on the world has prospered Mr. Denby,' and If he wants to he can take a mansion and not worry when rent day comes around, but the chances are for such is the nature of the man. that he wjll seek an Inconspicuous abode, comfortable but not palatial. The late Lieut. Adna Chaffee, U. S. army, rose from the ranks of a private of the forces to be the ranking officer of the United States army, but it took him over forty years to make the Journey. Th new secretary of the navy, who to all intents and purposes Is the commtrndlng officer of our sea forces, made the trip from private in the ranks to his present position In less tnan rour years, thereby break ing the record, but of course Denbys case was exceptional and the cir cumstances attending It were exceptional. James ,Sloane, a member of the secret service of the United States and for years a member of the Roose velt body guard, was stationed at Detroit the year the United States entered the war. He knew Denby well. On6 day Denby met Sloane and said. "Jimmy, come over with me and see me enlist In the marine corps." Sloane thought df course that Denby was joking and that the invitation to see him enlist was merely another way f asking his friend to lunch Denby at that time was forty-Wx years old. The two left the oflSce building to gether and Sloane was somewhat as tounded when Denby did hit the way to a marine corps recruiting office, where Inside., of three-quarters of an hour he had passed the physical test, had convinced the authorities that his character was all right, and he was duty sworn in to the marine corps as a private In the ranks. ; Bird Lovers Like Weeks. John W. Weeks, the new secretary of war was, with Endwln Denby, a member of the 90-called ".spanking committee" of the house of represen tatives which was appointed to draw a resolution of censure of President Roosevelt who, In an Ironically humor ous way, had said something which the house did not like. Both' Denby and Weeks were good friends of Roosevelt, although neither voted for him In 1912. s j Bird lovers generally all over the United States hold Weeks In affection for the position he took in congress In the r campaign for a federal law which would protect the song birds of the United States. . v - Will H. Hays, the new postmaster general, lived in Washington, or at least made his headquarters here, from the time that he was appointed chairman Of the Reisnbllcan national committee early in 1919 until the Re publican convention; was held last June. when; he moved over' to New York.1 ' ; i ; 1 ; . - ;. For a long time Hays conducted a Bible class in his home town of Sulli van; Ind. He is a, deep Bible student, and the story Is told of him thatywhen Warren Gamaliel Harding was nomi nated for the presidency and his fall name became known to most people for the first time, Hays was the only man In a roomful of politicians who could tell anybody who the Biblical Gamaliel was. I .1 tne FAITH AND HOPE, EASTER MESSAGE Promise . of Immortality Most Glorious to the World ' of Humanity Sorrow and lone liness and bleaK winter come to the entrance of the cold, dark tomb. ' And, lol the tomb is bright with light super natural! The all glorious Angel of the Resurrection stands within It! They thought It the grave of life. It, is really the womb of the morning, all a glitterwitb the sun-rising . of a new and better day. The tradition of Easter is a holy one. The Feast lacks the merri ment we have learned to associ ate with the Na tivlty. but Resurrection is to the full as essential to the Christian: faith. Christmas is a season of joy, of blithesome cheerfulness at the advent of the Savior. To a world sobered by its Gethsemane and Calvary, Easter brings a message of Faith and Hope, the essence of the religion mankind needs. Mankind has passed through the Agony culminating in and symbolized by the little white" cross. Heavy hearted we are still Inclined to seek solace at the tomb. To us the mes sage comes again: "Why -seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here; He is risen." - Therein lies the message of Easter : the promise of immortality beyond the tomb. ' Nor Is it a mere coincidence that Easter falls at this season. Spring is simply Nature's way of reiterating the Easter message. Through the long winter months the world of Nature has seemed asleep In death. Trees bare, fields destitute, death appeared to reign supreme. Then, Just as we are almost wea ried enough to give up hope, the sap begins to run, little green things to shoot, birds to chirp as cheerily , as ever. It is Nature's message of immortal ity to the world of humanity. There Is another and a wider aspect of the Easter message. We seem to be standing by the tomb of much tha Is holy. Religion, belief in principle, Idealism, how dead they seem to be! Seeking only material things, neglect ful of things of the spirit, the world IS In a parlous state. The f e;w who have held their beliefs look about in perplexity and dismay. Has the very body of the faith been removed? Ah, no. In the midst of our anxious grief comes the reviving heartening assur- nnce: "He is not dead; He is risen." Ever the Easter festival comes around -after the Inevitable Agony and every spring the magic words are spoken and we go forth clad in invul nerable armor for the fray, . for "He Is not dead ; He Is risen." Sp shall we other men also rise! , Easter Customs in Other Landi SERVICE ON EASTER MORN Impressive Ceremonies Annually Car- . ried Out on Summit of Mount Rubidoux In California. The famous Easter pilgrimage to the cross on Mount Rubidoux, . near Riverside, CaU heralded all over the country for its sincerity and beauty, was the conception of Jacob Rlis. who Inaugurated It several years ago. The service la nonsectarlan and makes a Easter dav . th according to an authority, that is Z tioned by the Bible, yet takes ;!as from the heathen goddess, Eastre 1! every part of the world, almost,' thu Joyous season-In which we celebraf the greatest event in history, the iw ullwu"u "ur ipra, is marked by many picturesque customs, mnn. L which, unhappily, are gradually fall ing into disuse. In Russia. One cannot help speculating Easter will be observed this year in this land, where Terror still reigns su preme. In prewar days it was the out standing event In the year in the lives On Mount' Rubidoux. universal appeal, as prayer at sunrise is a racial expression - impulse of the ' heart to bow f to God The cross, which stands ly . tn the morning Ught as the thou sands of voices are ratted In song, is on uie iwauoa 01 ine one planted on the mountain bv PiithpV Tnn Sena, ve famous old mission padre. mUvo iwu w.u in me tJignteenth century are considered th kt4i- of civilization in tht inH wvtu t uw California, Russian Peasants Salute Each Other on Easter Sunday, Saying "Christ Is Risen!" of countless peasants. For months be forehand they scraped and saved every kopeck, so that they might provide themselves with at least one new gar ment to wear for the first time on Easter day. If they could afford it they bought themselves an entirely new outfit. Men and women meeting each other change the customary salutation of Good morning" to "Christ is risen." to which response is promptly made. "He Is risen, Indeed." tfhe Easter dinner was a most elab orate meal, and in many places the festivities were continued for a whole week. In France. During this season In the south of France crowds of young men in holi day attire, and of merry mien, parade the streets, carrying chairs lined with white silk and decorated in a lovely fashion with spring flowers and gay I IMJ.K1 V . In the South of France Pretty Girl Are Chaired Through the Streets. ribbons. The first girl they come across is captured, placed in the ve hicle and borne away In triumph amid shouts of laughter. The ransom of a kiss is demanded before the captive maiden Is released by her kidnapers. This well-known practice is no de terrent, for instead of keeping girls indoors, there appear, to be more of them about in the streets than usual, so It must be presumed that they are by no means averse from the old cus tim, the origin of which is difficult to determine. Among the Cherry Blossoms. The great white festival of Shinto Is held at Eastertide in Japan,' as it heralds the resurrection of, Nature from the white-shrouded tomb of win ter. Then all Japan goes out rickshaw riding to view the cherry trees, which are laden with lovely bloss6ms. They line the roadways for miles ; no house is too poor to possess several In the tiny garden, and as the sweet spring Easter Is the Feast of Cherry Bios soms In Japan. . ... breezes shake the boughs a constant pink snowstorm prevails throughout the day. The sweetly tinted petals fall until they are an Inch deep on the ground,, and then the children, daintily dressed: In their kimonos, disport them selves and roll about amongst the fallen blossoms. Laughter and song ring through the land, for three days the temples are thrown wide open, and there is an entire cessation of work for that period.' " ! Easter Eggs The one who geta a golden egg Will Dlentv hav and nAV ha The one who gets an egg of blue Win find a sweetheart fond and true. ATie one who gets an egg of green Will Jealous be and not serene; The one who gets an egg of black Bad luck and troubles ne'er wUl lack. The one who gets an egg of white In life shall find supreme delight. The one who gets an egg of red Will many tears of sorrow shed. Who gets an egg of purple shade WUl die a bachelor or inald. A silver egg will bring much Joy And. happiness without alloy. A lucky, one the egg of pink. The owner ne'er see danger's brink. The one who gets an egg of brown Will have an establishment In town. The one who speckled egg obtains Win go through life by country lanes. A striped egg bodes care and strife, A sullen man or scolding wife. The one who gets an egg of plaid, HI heart is good but luck Is bad.
Polk County News and The Tryon Bee (Tryon, N.C.)
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March 18, 1921, edition 1
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