Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 06.djvu/686

* EASTER. 598 EASTERN EMPIRE. paschal candle (a huge taper which burns at sok'Min mass and vi'spcrs until Ascension Day), is a pari of the lercinonies in the mass rcfi'rred to above. Some of the mediieval customs, especially in Kranre and (iermany, were very quaint — for e.xample, that which prevailed in several French cathedrals of a solemn game of ball played by the bishops, canons, and other dignitaries (de- scribed by Pater in one of his Imaginary Por- traits) ; grave and rhythmical dances were per- formed at Auxerre as late as the fifteenth century and at Besanron as late as the seventeenth cen- tury, to the strains of the Easter sequence, Vic- lima: pasclutli. All these observances had a common purpose, the exi)ression of joy in the resurrection. To the popular sports and dances (still maintained in some places, as at Con- stantinople, where the whole Greek colony cele- brates the festival with thi; ordinary accompani- ments of a fair in the Cemetery of Pera) were added farcical exhibitions, in which even the clergy joined in some places, reciting from the pulpit stories and legends calculated to excite laughter (ii'xh.s iiiiKclmlis) among the hearers. The proper time for the celebration of Easter has occasioned no little controversy. In the second century a dispute arose on this point be- tween the Eastern and Western churches. The great nia,ss of the Eastern Christians celebrated Easter on the fourteenth day of the first .lewish month or moon, considering it to be equivalentto the .Tewish Passover. The Wesleni cluirclies cele- lirated it on the Sunday after the fourteenth day, holding that it was the connucmoration of the resurrection of .Tesus. The Council of Niciea ( in 32.5 ) decided in favor of the Western usage, branding the Eastern with the name of the ■quartodeciman' heresy. This, however, only settled the point that Easter was to be held, not upon a certain day of the month or moon, but on a Sunday. The proper astronomical cycle for calculating the occurrence of the Easter moon was not determined by this council. It appears, however, that the nietonic cycle (q.v. ) was already in use in the West for this purpose; and it was on this cycle that the Gregorian cal- endar, introduced in 1582. was arranged. The time of Easter, being the most important of all the movable feasts of the Christian Church, de- termines all the rest, tt was debated, at the time of the introduction of the tiregorian cal- endar, whether Easter should continue to be movable, or whether a fixed Sunday, after the 2Ist of ilarch. should not be adopted. It was deference to ancient custom that led the ecclesi- astical authorities to adhere to the method of determination by the moon. It must be remem- bered, however, that it is not the actual moon in the heavens, nor even the mean moon of astronomers, that regulates the time of Easter, but an altogether imaginary moon, whosp peri- ods are so contrived that the new (calendar) moon always follows the real new moon (some- times by two. or even three, days). The effect of this is, that the fourteenth of the calendar moon — which had, from the times of Moses, been considered "full moon' for ecclesiastical purposes — falls generally on the fifteentli or sixteenth of the real moon, and thus after the real full moon, which is generally on the fourteenth or fifteenth day. With this explanation, then, of what is meant by 'full moon.' viz. that it is the fourlecntli day of the calendar ninnn. the rule is that Easter Day is always the first Sunday after the paschal full moon, i. e. the full moon which happens upon or ne.xt after the 21st of March (the beginning of the ecclesiastical year) ; and if the full moon happens vipon a Sunday, Easter Day is the Sunday after. One object in arranging the calendar moon was, that Easter might never fall on the same day as the Jewish P!is>over. They did occur to- gether, however, in 1S05 and 1825. and will do so again in 'M):i. on the 12th of April; in 102.3, on the 1st of April; in 1027, on the 17th of April; and in IIISI, on the lOlh of .pril. The Jewish Passover usually occurs in the week be- fore Easter, and never before the 2th of March, or after the 2.")th of April (new style). On the other hand, the Christian festival is never before the 22d of .March, or after the 25th of April. In 1761 and ISIS Easter fell <Mi the 22d of March; but this will not be the case in any year of the twentieth century. The latest Easier in this century occurs in 1043, on the 25th of April. EASTER ISLAND l so called because discov- ered by lloggcvei'U on Easter Day, 1772; also called Wailiu, Tiapi, and by the natives, Rapa- nui). The most easterly of the inhabited islands of Polynesia, situated in the Pacific, in latitude 27° 20' S., and longitude 100° 30' W. (Map: World, Western Heniispbcre, M 0). It is of vol- canic origin, rising 1200 feet above the sea. and is moderately fertile, but almost destitute of water. It is triangular in shape, and has an area of about forty-five square miles. The most interesting feature is the nuiltitude of rud? stone statues, some of them of colossal size, which are to be seen standing on long platforms of Cyclopean masonry. The island has been in the possession of Chile since 1888. The natives of Easter Island are the last out- post of the Malayo- Polynesian race, to which they belong by physical characteristics, lan- guage, arts, etc. The stone images, sculptured stones. petrogly])hs, etc., whose origin has been so much discussed, are not beyond the known capacity of the Polynesians. Indeed, the recent studies of Hrown on the art remains of Piteairn Island indicate the presence there of all but the famous tablets, which again are Polynesian products. The interpretation of the tablets and the meaning of the inuiges have not yet been discovered. Many strange theories have been put forward to account for their presence, but the study of similar remains in the Carolines, Tonga, Piteairn. etc.. may ultimately clear up the "matter. ICdge-Partington (1001) considers Easter Island as nuidi a mystery as ever. The population of the island, by reason of missionary transference to Tahiti, and the Periivian slave trade, has dwindled almost to extinction. It is estimated at 150. Consult: Geisclcr. Die Ostcr- iius-cl: i:iiw l^tiillc pnihixiorisoher Kiilliir (Mer- lin. 1883); and Thomson's monograph, "Te Pito Te Henna, or Easter Island," in the llrpnrt of thr T'liilrrl Stnlrx yrilioiinl Mii.iciim (Wash- ington, ISSO). EASTER MACKEREL. See Chub-Mack- KHEI-. EASTERN ARCHIPELAGO. Sec M.I..Y .miiii"Ki,.(.. EASTERN CHURCH. See Greek Chubch. EASTERN EMPIRE. See Btzantin'e Em- IMRE.