TIIE OREGON SUNDAY JOURNAL. PORTLAND. SUNDAY KOMUNG. APRIL 19. 1903
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Curious
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Traditions
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Lfocwfc-J Keacn
Back Through
the Centuries
fjl HERE 'tvere eggs long Ufore hens
v Aii "to lay U but " WJ'
iAwm wrr focfoi from egg
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the maternal instinct ' 1 I 'M.
, Aj centuries before the first Easter U i g
ell wai associated tn men minus wn
certain seasons and with ' hoary traditions. ;
There are fern objects about which cling such
annque my int. . f I.
In ancient mythology it was believed that ;' W,'
the world itself sprang from the egg. 'Before r '( '
Zoroaster was born the Persians presented I k
eggs to one another at the time of the year
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corresponding to our Easter. So did the Ro
mans before the gods oracled of Caesar; so
did the Franks before the story of tha cross
reached their forest homes.
Most ancient symbol of life, the egg re
calls many interesting legends. The humble
hen may cackle with pride over the impor
tance ascribed to her product. The Chinese
believe mar himself sprang from the egg.
Perhaps there is a nest in your home this
morn'tngeggs variegated, tinted with all the
colors of the rainbow; chicken eggs, bird eggs,
chocolate and candy eggs Easter ts the hey
day of the egg.
So perhaps you may be interested tn a
journey back to the periods when the egg
myths began.
ADAM and Ey td not flrur in Persian myth
ology. Th wera two forces, food and avU
Ahrlinan and Ormuad; th. world, thay believed,
waa created from a iantlo eg.
At that time-before the creatlon-thera waa w
llcht-only an eg-. Tha egg broke. Then, lot the
lo'weTjortlpn of the .hell changed into th. -earth; th.
whit, albumen .oared Into th. heaven. m
th. aun. while th. yolk became th. moon to light tn.
new aphere by night . . .
Breaking Into littl. plec.a. the upp.r portion , ot
th. .hell filled th. aky. and countle.a
Thua, th. P.r.lana declared, the world waa created.
At th. celebration of their New Tear the, ' PJJ
on. anoth.r beauUf ully tinted egga In commemoration
of th. creation. ,ri,v
"Evarythlng aprlnga from th. egg. " ! ww"
eradlO waa a. proverb among the anclenta. The old
nnn. cherl.hed I myth a.mllar to that of X
A myaterloua bird Uld an egg on tha lap of vai
malnou. tha god. who hatched It on hi.
Whether th. god, tired or f.U aaleep la 'eowdjj.
but h. let th. egg fall. It brok.; th. lower half be
came th. earth, th. upper portion b"rn. b
Th. charming lalanda of Hawaii, th. ttm
U.v.. .merged.from an egg. which a atrang. bird laid
upon th. water.. ,
Man, th. Chine., declare, had hta origin in a coloa
aal egg. When th. egg brok. Pon-Koo-Wong. th.
flrat human being, .merged. ,uHr
Pon-Koo-Wong had an Idea as to th. utility 01
thing... ao h. aet to work" and of th. egg mad. th.
earth and h.aven. With th. lower half
planet, and with th. upper half th. T?o? mJ
aettled down peacefully In th. home preparea xor at.
descendants.
ALWAYS A DELICACY
Egga hav. alwaya been a food for human beloge.
Before the time of Adam. som. otmtlau "?rh.f!
elmlans regarded them with delight f;
d oeuvre of Mother Nature, and after man. Jjln,"r??
Sf apples, learned of their rar. delicacy, th. mi ike. In
It. avll dealr. to compaBa all knowledge, began auck-
'They' hav. always been nM hr man. V
not a few beasts, aa a morsel of tastefulness. ana to
day Volumes of trench cookery book. ar. devoted to
theWnIn the custom of presenting eggs began Is not
lnnltely known. Egg gamea were 'celebrated by the
Roman.yinegg-.hap!I arena, th. winner. vlng
baskets of eggs as prlaea. These, gamea were insti
tuted In honor of Gasvor and Pollux, who w.r. brought
forth from eggs laid by JUda th. Bwan after th. visfta-
ti0VanyUwrtters claim that the custom of using egg.
at Easter waa borrowed from th. Hebrews, who used
them at their Passover feaata, It la mor. likely that
th. custom originated In th. fourth century, when th.
church prohibited th. us. of eggs during forty days of .
"urlnsr'that tlm., however, th. hens continued to
lay7so that by the nd of Lent there wer. larg. quan
tise, of eggs on hand. Parents then gay. th. eggs to
their children, and, in order to make them attractive.
'mm
lnated in O.rmany. Trom Germany, too. cam. in.
quaint Id.a that har.a laid egga While eggs ar. col
ored at Easter th. world around, th. p.opl. of certain
part, of Austria b.ll.v. It U an unholy custom, and
that th. p.rson who colors eggs at thla aeason of the
year will n.ver b. married.
In th. charming district of Bresse. on th. western
alopea of the Alpa, a pretty custom prevalla. On Eas
ter morning a hundred eggs are scattered over a level
apac. In th. town. A lad and lass com. forward and
danc. th. "Branles."
If they compl.t. th. danc. without breaking an
fortune Whll. coloring eggs. Macedonians rub on.
over both cbeeka, with th. b.U.f that their com
plexions will remain ruddy. i
A general superstition Is that one call, bad luck
upon himself by painting a cross , on an egg. Good
luck Is secured If flowers ar. palnt.d on an egg
In Italy th. egg figures largely in tha Easter cele
bration. William Jones quotes a description from
Emlllanne," which Is quite picturesque:
"In Italy th. heads of a family on Easter .v. .end
great chargers filled with boiled egga to th. church to
be blessed. The priest having performed th. cere
mony, .very on. carries his portion home, and eauseth
a largo table to b. set In the best room of th. house,
which they cover with their best linen, all bestrewed
with flowers, and place around it a dosen dish., of
meat. t-
"Tls a pleasant sight to see thee, tables set forth
In the houses of great persons, when they expos, on
side tables, round about th. chamber, all th. plat,
they have In the house, and whatever else they hav.
that Is rich and curious, In honor of, their Easter eggs,
which by themselves mak. a great show, for th. shells
of them are painted with divers colors and gilt
"Sometimes there are no less than twenty, dosen
in the aame charger, neatly laid In th. form, of a
pyramid. All who com. to vlait at that tlm. ar.
after th. ang.l hae departed and leaves an egg con
taining all evil. An old legend In central Franc i.
founded on this belief. The peasant houaewlves tell
th. .tory each Easter to their children to teach them
th. moral of being humble and satisfied with th.lr
position.
One. upon a tlm., th. legend runs, there lived in a
email village In Franc, a widow and her daughter.
Jeanne was young and pure, and possessed an almost
unearthly beauty. She had many suitors, but loved
none She loved her mother and her church.
On. Eaat.r morning, whll. returning from mass,
Jeanne waa accosted by an old beggar woman. Into
the outstretched palm Jeanne .lipped a coin, and was
passing on when th. old woman called her back.
"Beautiful young woman," croaked the old dame,
-do not disdain a little gift Taka thla egg. and
within twelve month, you will b. a great lady. A
handsome noble will ask you In marriage." Tha face
of th. old woman was hidden in her hood. In her ex
tended hand waa a red egg. "You wlU have riches,
dresses, pleasure." Jeann. took the egg. "But on your
nuptial night." added th. crone, "break It There will
b. within It a nuptial gift."
From that moment Jeann. w.s unhappy. Sh.
dreamed of honor and wealth: she became vain and
devoted houra to caring for her beauty. She dr.amed of
1UXOne"day a knight rod. into the village. He took
possession of an old castle, which had not been ten
anted within the memory of man. He proclaimed hinj
tha heir of. tha ancient lords, restored th. castl.
and furnished It magnificently. Guests arrived by th.
.cores, and feasts, and balls and hunting parties w.r.
held without interruption. At night th. castl. glowed
with lighta. By day laughter rang from th. turr.ta.
While riding through the village one day the young
'lord, who called himself Sire Robert de Volplao, eaw
Jeanne. Struck by her beauty, h. sought h.r moth.r
and asked her in marriage. The mother wished Jeann.
' to refuse, but Jeanne, burning with ambition, accepted.
On the nuptial night, after the feast Jeanne and
her husband retired to their chamber. The hour of
twelve struck. Volplac opened hl arms to caress the
bride.
"Wait" sh. declared. "I must see what the egg
, contains." She opened a casket and. after telling him
the story of the gg. took It into her hands. It waa
so hot It burnt her fingers. She let It drop. The in
stant it broke a hideous toad sprang from th. egg.
Are spouting from its nostrils. In a moment th. room
was aflame, the bride and her husband wer. .nvel
oped in fire. The next morning where th. castl. had
stood there was a mass of smouldering ruins.
During the Middle Ages France was scoured for
unusually largo eggs, which were brought as tribute
to the king on Easter Sunday. After mass had been
celebrated in the chapol of the Louvre, great baskets
of these large eggs, beautifully gilded, wer. brought
before the chaplain and blessed, after which the chap
lain distributed them, In tha presence of his majesty,
to the people of the court
Colored eggs, according to an ancient legend, had
a strange origin. On the day after the Saviour died a
little bird alighted outside the sepulcher and. sang a
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1 faJjsSj&erjgg:
egg they ar. Irrevocably afflancd. Th. opposition of
parenta cannot prevail. S6 at this tlm. lov.ri whos.
marrlag. is opposed by parent. Invariably Join th.
dance
An egg dyed acarlet at Easter tlm. i. carrl.d
during the entire year by many Italian.. They de
clare It brings good luck. The peasants of Franc, at
Easter glv. their children a scarlet egg. which, they
ar wards off evil charms. . ,
In the Tyrolean mountain, a young woman desirous
of winning the favor of a young man glv.a him a
Scarlet egg. In Armenia the people place red eggs on
the graves of the dead at Easter, so the apirlt. may
take Dart In the glorious resurrection.
1 The custom of egu rolling originated among th.
farmers of Europe, who believed that the land over
which eggs were rolled at Easter would be fruitful
yieia iaro crop. a d,..-.-, . -
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ii i nil! i in i gum.- , 7 -.. ; ' 21.1 ' . '
w-sS
rrt awa tM.tiw nMnfi4iriAtl Mr
invited to eat an Eaat.r egg. which they mutt not
refuse"
In modern lif. th. egg of Eaater has assum.d large
and costly proportlone Not aatlsfled wltn th. product
of th. hen, w. hav. gon. to th. confectioner and nov
elty dealer. There ar. eggs of candy, chocolate paste
board and glase On. gives hi. .w.etheart her Easter
Sift of bonbons In a pasteboard egg. And grown folic
nd amusement in th. egg kaleidoscope, whll. children
find stomach ach. In the twenty-pound egg of choco-
Ut Soma year, ago th. larg.st Eaat.r .gg ever con
atructed waa mad. in England. It was eighteen feet
In circumference and held half a ton of caaav. E
and contenta cost, it waa atated. no less than $3500.
And Just as legend created th. gg and things wer
created of the egg before hen. began work on tha
fifth day of creation ao today thanks to th. confec
tioner there ar. Easier eggs regaraiesa vi mm uuuiui
ox voe HP"
plied, and they will be blessed with good fortune
If th. candle ia extinguishes tny jook wr ui
of a relative The fortunate person arriving noma wii
a lighted taper, with it lights an oil lamp which, burn s
before th. picture of the patron saint of th. household.
Of course th. belief that if on. wears a new garmtni
on Eaater he will be blessed with good luck prevail, even
in this country. At least the superstition, if not cradlte- .
is observed. Th. young folk of East Yorkshire. England,
however, make It an act of sacred duty to wear a new
article of attir. ao as to prevent any spoiling of their
clothe, during the year. ., ;
Great fires ar. built in th. churchyard, of certain tor
tlona of Bavaria on Easter Sunday. Tney are .light .i
with steel and flint To the fir. th. devout com. wlu
walnut aticks, which they lightand. when partly on
aumed. take to their homes. . These sticks ar.plac i !
above the hearth with,th. belief they will protect th )
bUfnd of" England th. p.opl.xtingujgh th,
Area on Eister day and ieUght them with flint.. This l
believed to bring Uesalnga and protect th. folk from
ttUA curtow'beUef prevails in many sections Of Euron
that If on. goes to th. grav. of , "llf
earlv Easter morning end, kneeling by th. grave
hvmn as the sun riiee th. spirit of th. 3jad will r l.n
above th. grave and reveal the secrete ojc "
e.Q 'l'".K?,..".t. tlrt-. me-ri fc-.
- it waa &v iiiia vtc mo -
gan. and the children naa great run irymj i
fead tie egg of hardest shell. Of course, it was a
rather sloppy gam. at first for the content, would
. run to th. ground, and often on the clothing of th.
littl. ones. Bo the custom of boiling them hard orig- ,
lnated. and it hae lasted to this day. . v
Many peculiar custom, are observed . in various
countries in connection with the egg. In many dis
tricts of Franc, th. parish priest visits and blesses
th. house, at Eaat.r. A. a reward h. 1. given bask.t. .
of boiled egg., both plain and colored. , , -
In various parts of Europe there i. told a legend
that early each Easter morning, whll. .oft sweet
muilo pul.es through the budding trees, and the sky .
'brightens, beautiful angels with asur. wings descend
from heaven and visit th. homes of th. faithful. They
all bear baskets of eggs, which, th. peopl. believe '
ar. deposited in th. homee .
Som.tlmee they say, th. avll on. enter, th. nous.
GIRLS, do you wish to know whether your
lover is true! Would you, not like to
learn whether your imafre entirely fills
, hi heart, whether he loves you, in-
cerelyl It is easy.
On Easter morning the maiden wlo eats an
apple may learn her fate. While you eat you
must say:
"A. Eve In her thirst for knowledge ate.
So I, too, wish to know my fate
Then count the t3eds. If they are of an even
number he is true; if not-look for another
fellow. 7 ;
TV,,' a ia nnW nnA nf mflnv 8nrtratitinttg con
nected with Easter. Curious omens and -beliefs
connected with the season have sprung up during
the ages, many of them having no association with
the religious side of the time. There is a great
deal of interesting Easter lore that is unknown to
the majority of persons. "( ,
HARKEN, y. married ladles, would you enjoy a
thrashing this morning? Would you consider
It a good omen If your husband, after break
fast had applied a .witch to your .houlder.
WltTBVmIa they do atrang. things in Bphemla
.veTy faithful husband faithfully awltch.s bis faith
ful wlf. on Eaater morning. If h. did not they w"
tell you, th. couple would almost parish from ,
scourge Of fleas during the summer.
Then, Imagine what you would do If. whll. yon
were on your way to church. In your spring he", soma,
well-meaning friend should pour upon you th con
tent, of pitcher of water. . . : P . .. '
Such is . custom of th. Slave . .Te.7.fCces it!
to dousa his or her friend with water: if success at-
tend th. effort good luck to both; if th.r. is rauure
th. y.ar will b. fruitless of blessings, . 8Vfcn.
In Manchester. England, a curious custom prevaua.
",W.re you in Manchester this morning you would see.
no doubt, women, in parties of alx. wal'"",.
strwte O'hey ar. looking for men. One comes " ,
. Th. women Jump upon him, and sels. him by th. arma
. and lege lifting him. they throw klm ov.rtn.ir
heada, and. catching hfm. repeat h. p.rfornwnc..
This custom brlngs'good luck to th. city, th.y de-
"UManV uch atrang. Easter beliefs end customs pre
: valL In part, of Europ. th. p.opl. rls. .arly Easter
' -
nis water is t" r . . t "
.up occaalonally the peasanta all.v. they bring g
iluck and prosperity to their homee A, little rubbed
th. .kin 1. .aid to glv. ;olw .nd baautlful co
morning and with . pall or pitcher go to th. tor.st
They neither talk nor look behind them going or re
turning. Just as the light or th. rising aun sparklea
on th. water of a running stream th.y fill th. vess.1.
X n 1 8 water is Dotweu m ui ...i wu fc -j.
1 on
com
plexion. .jiorIa- ,8 gUng in th. chtirche. on Easter
morning th. mother. ofWta oiPv their Jable. In
bath of cold water In which, bava been sprinkled th.
petala of flowera which hay. decorated th. aepulcher
In the churches on Good Friday. This done, they ar
.atlsfl.d th. chUd wlU not .utter, from .ny fright I
nrpfous folk Itt.LKSl''
grass barefooted on master b
from meat on Easter day. they not suffer from l
durlnx th. ensuing year. Th. fishermen of Holland
gard t .a .xtremely unlucky to eat meat ,p oa
in Albania th. priest of .ach P'h.sjta i t
hous.. of "hi. parlshroner. gwUm t h-;
aU vU .way with aim, ' ' . j? , ; '
WOE TO CARELESS HUSBANDS
Should a husband b. foolish enough to mlstaV a .
dawn. . . i,Ane th. good wlf.
To bring luck to- the houovne g ot
visit .vary room oa .Easter. Anotu
luck ia th. visit tor th. nr. ------
a baby on Juastar n'
To tau
that on. i
T iITIIL A u -mm a -
loss of on.', .weetbeart. EMtardsr i to
p.rhapa tn. ,h Thr. Is 4Ueapr4a
aqulrr.1 cros. your path. e "
to thle - fciiA,ii'jSasB, berUiv. th. '
jl nerson who j k h, ,
Transylvania, wlH Bv--bab bora Kasl, r ,
Snr.VWnif ilStlW.r . brUllant end fonu, ,i ,
be visit tor tn. nrs - r"-..
n Eastor morning. . v.Antr dy is a !
ftUeTvJu" SiT wlthYn1. ,
If yon do," the anr'
t ana si
i . however, U destined
.."D not Veep: t.
y 'deolar. you wm na- - 01 WMUllIil!
-T.,l DO not HUM r i.lv,iU,
TV an InVVaUon .xUnde'd t?diy It w,.
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