EASTER SYMBOLS
THROUGH AGES
Egg and Hare Have Always Been
Connected—Feast of Resur
rection a Mingling of Cel
ebrations Common to
Many Peoples.
(By MARY RICHARDS GRAY.)
DO YOU ever wonder why we
use the egg and the hare as
symbols of Easter? Why we
connect the two? They are
symbols as old as man himself. East- !
er, apparently a solar festival con- ■
nected with the equinox, is in reality
a moon festival. The hare is the sym
bol of the moon, the measurer of
time, and the egg with its burled germ
represents the revival of life. In the
mythology and religion of the most an
cient peoples both are used. Mod
ern people have joined them in curious
fashion.
Our Feast of the Resurrection Is a
mingling of the many feasts of many
peoples. It had its direct origin in the
Festival of the Jewish Passover which
Christians continued to observe ac
cording to established traditions. At
an appointed time in a certain lunar
month the Lord commanded the Jews |
to make prescribed sacrifices and to !
eat certain foods—roast lamb, unleav- \
ened bread, and bitter herbs—saying
“it is the sacrifice of the Lord’s Pass
over, who passed over the houses of
the children of Israel in Egypt when
he smote the Egyptians and delivered i
our houses.” Later “to suit the cir
cumstance of their history as a type of
their departure from the land of Egypt j
the egg was made a part of the fur- J
nlsliing of the table with the Paschal
Lamb.”
Celebrating the Passover.
Through the centuries the fundamen
tal ideas of why and when to cele
brate the Passover have not changed, j
As a moon festival we still give thanks
for salvation through rebirth. In de
termining the time of the festival the
.Jews and the casters church follow
the old lunar reckoning which some- j
times brings it before the vernal eqni- ;
nox. The western church, though it
adopted the sun reckonings—the Urego
rian correction of the calendar—for
other things yet clings to a moon reck
oning for Easter and makes it “the
\ first Sunday after the full moon which
happens upon or next after the 21st
of March. If the full moon comes on
Sunday, Easter is the next Sunday
thereafter.” This fixes the date be
tween the 22nd of March and the 25th
of April. Twice in the niueteenth
tentury Jews and Christians cele
brated on the same day and three
mes during this century the dates
111 coincide. That the holiday pe
b(l connected with Easter has been
V
v
\
shortened, that other feasts having
Ideas in common with it have been
merged, that sacrifices have been done
away with, that the original foods,
wtth the exception of the egg, have
fallen into disuse—these are non-essen
tials. The feast retains its original
character.
Egg Always Easter Symbol.
The egg ns symbol did not originate
with and was not confined to the Jews
but was common to Persians, Phoeni
cians, Egyptians, Japanese, Greeks and
Romans, as well as the Teutonic bribes
of Gaul. The Persians made it repre- ;
sent the triumph of the Sun of Nature ;
Hnd used it as their New Year cele- !
t> ration. They believed that the world
ivas hatched from an egg at the vernal
equinox. Hindus, many Eastern peo
ples, and Romans, hud It typify the
universe, the work of the Supreme De
ity; the Teutonic tribes used it at
their celebration In honor of Ostara—
really Ashtornth, the Egyptian God
less of the Moon—whom they called
Goddess of Spring, and from whom we
set the name now applied to our feast.
Our use of It U that of a symbol for
i symbolic Idea.
The egg, at all times a symbol,
serves a tliree-fold purpose—food,
plaything, and gift. Everywhere the
prescribed manner of use Is to boll it
hard In some uon-polsonous stain, pref
erably red, the color of Christ's blood,
jnd decorate It with mottoes, land
scapes or symbols of the resurrection.
Accounts of the use of Raster eggs
I made interesting many pages of ro
j flgious history.
' Italian Easter Customs.
Emlllanne gives the following de
scription of an Italian practice; “On
Easter eve and Easter day all the
i heads of families spnd great chargers
| full of hard-boiled eggs to the church,
to get them blessed, which the priests
i perform by making several appointed
I prayers and making great signs of
| the cross over litem, and sprinkling
| them with holy water. These blessed
j eggs have the virtue of sanctifying the
entrails of tile body and are the first
fat or fleshy nourishment they take
after the abstinence of Lent. As Sofia
as the eggs are blessed everyone car
ries his portion home and causeth a
large table to be set In the best rtxwa
in the house, which they cover with
j their best linen bestrewn with flcwv
i ers, ami place round about it a dozen
dishes of meat and the great charger
of eggs in the midst. ’Tis a very pleas
ant sight to see the tables set forth in
| houses of great persons, w hen they
, expose on the side tables round about
tlie chamber all the plate they have in
the house and whatever else they have
that is rich and curious, is honor of
I the Easter feast.”
In the roll of expenses for the royal
household of King Edward L there oc
curs this item for a certain Easter
Sunday: “Four hundred and a half
eggs. 18 pence. These were stained
> in boiling or covered with gold leaf and
afterwards distributed to the royal
household."
In early days all Christians greeted
each other -at the Easter time with
tlie words “Surrexit” (Christ has ris
en) and the response, “Surrexit
vere” (Christ has. Indeed, risen).
Even now in Russia, where Easter is
set apart as a time for payiug visits
as well as for going to church, friends
greet each other with the old form
of salutation, the kiss of peace, and
a gift of hard-boiled egg.
Easter Hare Everywhere.
Everywhere along with the candy
and hard-boiled eggs in confectioners’
windows we see the rabbit, or more
correctly, the hare. He trundles
a wheelbarrow filled with eggs, or else
drags a single egg. Children ure told
hares lay Easter eggs and are sent to
the fields to look for them. They are
also told that “babies” come in the
form of hares. The hare, the same
as the rabbit. In symbolism is, in fact,
“the type of the moon itself across
whose disk endless numbers of Hindus
have painted the little animal.” “Buhli
ha took the shape of the hare that he
might feed Ills hungry fellow creatures
and was translated into the form of
the moon and In that form evermore
abides.”
Iudian mythology says Indra, dis
guised as a fahilshed pilgrim, was
praying for food when the hare, hav
ing nothing bat himself to give, threw
himself Into the fire that he might be
ronsted for his benefit. Out of grat
itude Indra translated him to thQ
moon.
Easter Promise.
Salute the morn, let joyous songs
arise!
And bear our hearts' thanksgivings to
the farthest skies,
For Christ is risen indeed, his won
drous love to show,
And bring the Easter promise to each
child of God below.
INSTRUCTIONS TO VOTERS
—
UNDER ORDINANCE NO. 35, OF
THE TOWN OF CORDOVA
ALASKA.
-.
Sec 4. The qualifications of a voter
for councilman shall be as follows: He
or she shall be a citizen of the United
States, or one who has declared his or
her intention to become a citizen of
the bolted States, twenty-ojie years of
ape or over, who has resided continu
ously one year next preceding the elec
tion in the Territory of Alaska, and six
months next preceding the election
within the limits of the Town of Cor
dova.
Sec. 5. The qualifications of a voter
for members of the School Board for
Cordova School District shall be as
follows: All adults, male and female
1 who are citizens of the United States
or who have declared their intention
to become such, and who are resi
dents of the Cordova school district.
Sec. 6. A person who possesses the !
qualifications of a voter is eligible
to the office of councilman or mem
ber of the school board.
Sec. 28. Any person desiring to
vote shall give his name and if re
quested designate his residence to the
judges of election, one of whom shall
thereupon announce in a loud and dis
tinct tone of voice, clear and audible,
and if such name is found on the regis.
ter of voters, the officer having it in j
charge shall repeat it and the voterp
shall be allowed in the space enclosed
by the guard rail as above provided.!
One of the judges shall give the voter
one, and only one, ballot, on the back \
of which the officer in charge shall;
endorse his initials in such a manner
that they may be seen when the bal-1
lot is properly folded and the voter’
name shall be immediately checked on
the register list. When the name of
any person so desiring to vote at said
election is not found, on the register
of voters he shall not receive a ballot,
and such person presenting himself
shall not be allowed to vote. If any
person desiring to vote at any elec
tion shall be challenged he shall not
receive a ballot until he shall have
established his right to vo;e m the
manner provided by law; and if he
Sail be challenged after be has re
ceived his ’ballot he shall not be al
lowed to vote unless he has fully com
plied with the requirements of law.
Not more than 'two (2i voters in ex
cess of the whole number of "voting
booths provided shall he allowed in
said enclosure at one time.
Sec. 2k. On receipt of a ballot, the
voters shall forthwith and without
leaving the enclosed space, retire
alone 10 the voting booth so provided,
and shall prepare his or her ballot,
by marking in the appropriate mar
gin or place opposite, the name of
the candidates of his or her choice;
providing, however, if he or she shall
decide to vote for all of the candidates
of one political party or group of peti
doners, he or she may place a cross
at the appropriate place preceding the
appellation or title under which the
names of the candidates or such group
of ipetitioners are printed and the bal
lot so marked shall be counted for all
candidates named under that title. Be
fore leaving the voting booth the voter
shall told his ballot in sudh a manner
i as to conceal the marks thereon He
sluill then vote forthwith Jby handing1
itlbe ballot to one of the judges, who
shall examine the initials and if found
i,correct shall deposit it in the town
ballot box. He shall mark his ballot
without undue delay and shall quit
such enclosed space as soon as he has
voted. No voter shall occupy a voting
booth already occupied by another. No
one shall remain inside the enclosed
space more than ten (10) minutes. No I
one shall occupy a voting booth more!
thus five (5) minutes in case all of;
said voting booths are in use anclj
other voters are waiting to occupy thei
; same. No voter on election of offi
; cers shall after having voted be al
lowed to re-enter inside the enclosed
: space during said election. No l>erson '
shall take any ballots from the polling;
place before the closing of the polls.
| ‘v,'° v0*er shall vote or offer to vote
except after he has permission from
the judges of election in charge of the
ballots. Any voter who shall by acci
dent or mistake spoil the ballot given 1
biin. shall upon returning the spoiled ‘
ballot receive another in place there *
of. •N*° voter shall vote or offer to {
vote any ballot except such as he has
received from the judges of election s
in charge of the ballot. 1
Sec. 30. Any voter who may swear *
upon oath that he can not read the 1
English language or that by a physical h
V
t
disability he is unable to mark his
ballot shall, upon request, be assisted
in marking his ballot by two of the
election officers of different political
parties, if possible, to be selected from
the judges and clerks, to be appointed
by the judges of election at the open
ing of the polls. Such officers shall
never divulge the information about
the same. The clerks of election shall
enter upon the poll list after the name
of any elector who received such as
sistance in marking his ballot, a memo
randum of the fact. Intoxication shall
not be regarded as a physical disabil
ity, but no intoxicated person shall
receive assistance in marking his bal
lot.
Sec. 43. No person whatever shall
do any electioneering on election day
within the polling place or within one
hundred (100) feet of the polling
place; no person shall interrupt, hin
der, or oppose any voter while ap
proaching the polling place for the
purpose of voting. Whoever shall vio
late the provisions of this section
shall be punished by a fine of not less
than twenty-five ($25) or more than
one hundred ($100) dollars, for each
and every offense; and it shall be the
duty of the judges of election to en
force the provisions of this section.
Sec. 44. Any voter who shall, ex
cept as herein otherwise provided, al
low his ballot to be seen by any per
son with the apparent intention of
letting it be known how he is about
to vote, or shall make false state
ments as to his inability to mark his
ballot, or any person who shall in
terfere or attempt to interfere with
any voter when inside the enclosed
space or when marking his ballot, or
who is endeavoring to show any other
voter how he marks or has marked
his ballot, shall be punished by a fine
of not less than five ($5) or not more
than one hundred ($100) dollars, and
it shall be the duty of the election
judges to enforce this section.
Sec. 45. Any person w'ho shall,
prior to election, wilfully destroy or
spoil any lists posted in accordance
with the provisions of this act, and
during election shall wilfuly tear down
• he cards, of instructions or specimen
ballot printed and posted for the in
structions of voters, or wrho shall dur
ing the election wilfully destroy any
of the supplies or conveniences fur
nished to enable the voters to prepare
ballots, or shall wilfully hinder the
voting of others, shall be punished by
a fine of not less than ten ($10) nor
more than one hundred ($100) dollurs.
Sec. 40. Any person who shall take
from the polling place any such bal
lots or substitute for them any spur
ious or counterfeit ballot, or make use,
circulate or cause to be made or cir
culated any such ballots, any paper
printed in imitation of resemblance
thereto, or wilfully destroy or deface
any ballot or wilfully delay delivery
of any ballots, shall be punished by a
fine of not less than ten C$10) and not
in excess of one hundred ($100) dol
lars or by imprisonment in the town
jail for a period ‘not exceeding ninety
(90) days or by both such fine and
imprisonment.
Sec. 47. Any public officer u|ton
whom a duty is imposed by this ordi
nance who shall wilfully neglect to
perform or who shall wilfully perform
it in such a wray as to hinder the ob
ject of this ordinance, stiail be pun
ished by a fine of not less than five
($5) nor more than one hundred
($100) dollars or by imprisonment in
the town jail for not less than five
(5) nor more than thirty (30) days,
or by both such fine and imprison
ment. The municipal magistrate shall
have jurisdiction of all violations of
the provisions of this ordinance.
ORDINANCE NO. 42.
AN ORDINANCE AMENDING SEC
TION 42 OF ORDINANCE NO. 35.
BE IT ORDAINED by the Common
Council of the Town of Cordova, in
the Territory of Alaska:
Sec. 1 In the event that any mem
ier has failed to attend the meetings
>f the Common Council for a period
if ninety (90) continuous days of his
erm, the Common Council may de
dare a vacancy therein, and the same
■hall be filled by the Common Coun
dl, the person chosen to fill such va
;aucy, holding until a successor is
dected at the next annual election
ind qualified; provided, that a vu
ancy may also be created by the res-:
gnat ion of any member in writing,
uly accepted by the council, and pro
dded further: that a vacany shall
Iso be declared if a member die, or
t a person elected a member of the •
'ominon Council shall fail or refuse
o quality within thirty (30) days after
is election.
Sec. 2. All ordinances and parts of
ordinances in conflict herewith are
hereby repealed, and especially Sec
i tion 42, of Ordinance No. 35, approved
i July 20, 1914.
EDWARD F. MEDLEY,
Town Clerk
Alta
| Coffee
| and Tea |
Given
| Highest Award |
At the
P. P. I. 1
| EXPOSITION |
When ordering
Coffee or Tea
Why not order
The Best-They
Will Cost You
No More - - - -
I BLUM,O'NEILL 1
| COMPANY 1
:£ DISTRIBUTORS $:
' 111 1 .. ■■■■ - ..
MEET ME AT
THE
‘ HORSESHOE’
POPULAR RECREA
TION PLACE
Where we can always find our
friends
Finest Billiard and Pool Ta
bles in Alaska
BEST GRADES OF STAND
ARD BRANDS OF CIGARS
5_ _ i
; Northwest ♦
l Soda Works ♦
* Manufacturers and ♦
» Bottlers *
* Soda Water, all Flavors, ♦
« Gingerale, J
* Root Beer, ♦
* Coco Cola. ♦
* Mail Orders Given Prompt «
* Attention. *
* Cordova, Alaska. J
* * *•♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦*♦*
WANTED
Hairless Seal Pelts
We pay high prices for hair
less seal Belts. We want a big
supply, Quick! Send them right
to us. Our references, any bank
in Seattle.
North Coast Tanning Co.
1138 West 46th St.
Seattle
Aunty
Keating's
Uppi,»:;? city Buttery.