DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.9841#0187
168 SUPERSTITIONS RESPECTING EASTEK. [CHAP.
Here, however, we are celebrating the festival of
Easter more than a month after its anniversary in all
Roman Catholic and Pi-otestant countries, so that, even
if we believed, with our superstitious countrymen of
former days, that the sun dances for us in March or
April, still we could hardly expect him to do the same
thing again, in the month of May, for the Oriental
church.
Miraculous phenomena, supposed to have taken
place on the anniversary of Easter, have been referred
to in the great controversy on the proper time of cele-
brating that festival. Had the English superstition,
respecting the sun's dancing on Easter-day, prevailed
in this part of the world, it might have served as an
additional argument. The oriental Christian appealed
to the annual descent from heaven of the sacred flame,
which served to illumine the holy sepulchre, on his
Easter-Sunday, and thought this occurrence an unanswer-
able argument against the practice of the western heretics.
Phenomena, still more extraordinary than that of
the holy flame, were also said to happen in Egypt,
during the forty days which follow the paschal festival
of the eastern church. Graves opened and bodies of
dead men arose, during the whole of that period. When
once the orientals adopted the observance of the western
church, the graves no longer opened in Egypt, and the
sacred flame no longer shewed itself in Jerusalem: but,
on their return to their own ancient usage, "the holy
flame again descended, and the earth again gave up its
dead23," yearly, as it had been in the habit of doing
previously24.
23 This feature of the legend was manifestly suggested by the narrative
of Matthew, xxvii. 52.
24 Christophorus Angeius, de vit. etmor. recent. Graec. c. xlii. (in
Leo Allatius, de quorum!. Graecor. opinat. p. 181.) "Apxerai rj ytj iitefoij
duair^iiTCLV Tft vcicpd (rwfxaTa, diro tjjs jueydXi/s Trc'/iTrxijs, toutcgtiv diro
Ttjs t'ipepas iv y b Xpto-Tos eTrotijtre to deilrvov to ix\httik6v, Kai Ka8'
LKaaTi]v lj/iepav cKfidWeL Ta vetcpd ow/icto, ews Tfjs ijfiepas ri;s dyaXtf-
(//twv—touto £c to 6avp.a TovpKot Kai "EWrjyes <5ttjyoDyTai, otTtuey -n-pos
Here, however, we are celebrating the festival of
Easter more than a month after its anniversary in all
Roman Catholic and Pi-otestant countries, so that, even
if we believed, with our superstitious countrymen of
former days, that the sun dances for us in March or
April, still we could hardly expect him to do the same
thing again, in the month of May, for the Oriental
church.
Miraculous phenomena, supposed to have taken
place on the anniversary of Easter, have been referred
to in the great controversy on the proper time of cele-
brating that festival. Had the English superstition,
respecting the sun's dancing on Easter-day, prevailed
in this part of the world, it might have served as an
additional argument. The oriental Christian appealed
to the annual descent from heaven of the sacred flame,
which served to illumine the holy sepulchre, on his
Easter-Sunday, and thought this occurrence an unanswer-
able argument against the practice of the western heretics.
Phenomena, still more extraordinary than that of
the holy flame, were also said to happen in Egypt,
during the forty days which follow the paschal festival
of the eastern church. Graves opened and bodies of
dead men arose, during the whole of that period. When
once the orientals adopted the observance of the western
church, the graves no longer opened in Egypt, and the
sacred flame no longer shewed itself in Jerusalem: but,
on their return to their own ancient usage, "the holy
flame again descended, and the earth again gave up its
dead23," yearly, as it had been in the habit of doing
previously24.
23 This feature of the legend was manifestly suggested by the narrative
of Matthew, xxvii. 52.
24 Christophorus Angeius, de vit. etmor. recent. Graec. c. xlii. (in
Leo Allatius, de quorum!. Graecor. opinat. p. 181.) "Apxerai rj ytj iitefoij
duair^iiTCLV Tft vcicpd (rwfxaTa, diro tjjs jueydXi/s Trc'/iTrxijs, toutcgtiv diro
Ttjs t'ipepas iv y b Xpto-Tos eTrotijtre to deilrvov to ix\httik6v, Kai Ka8'
LKaaTi]v lj/iepav cKfidWeL Ta vetcpd ow/icto, ews Tfjs ijfiepas ri;s dyaXtf-
(//twv—touto £c to 6avp.a TovpKot Kai "EWrjyes <5ttjyoDyTai, otTtuey -n-pos