EASTERTIDE.

Waipa Post, Volume 38, Issue 2286, 28 March 1929, Page 4

EASTERTIDE.

THE great Easter festival is still subject to the immemorial rule which makes it a movable occasion. Easter Day may fall as early as 25th March and as late as 23rd April, the calculation being based upon a system concerning which a vivacious bishop, asked to explain, once said: "I am not an expert mathematician, and I don't want to go mad." Anyone desirous of probing the mysteries of the "Golden Number" and the rest of the weird labyrinth may be referred to some prefatory pages in the Book of Common Prayer—with a warning suggested in the episcopal remark. During the last few years an idea has been mooted with a view to stabi Using the incidence of Easter. Advocates of a distinct fixture of date recommend that the second week in April should be chosen. The movement is secular, no doubt, and; is chiefly associated with considerations of popular convenience. But no serious objections appeal- to have been raised in ecclesiastical circles; and, indeed, it is difficult to see how any religious principle can be involved. It is true that Eastertide cannot be fixed with the absolute precision of Christmastide. The 25th of December must always be Christmas Day, whether it be a Sunday or an ordinary week day. On the other hand, Easter Day must always be a Sunday; for, as an English Church paper, favouring a change of system, puts it, " Easter Day is the real origin of Sunday; it is the first ' Lord's Day' in religious history." The proper plan would be to celebrate the Feast of the Resurrection on the second Sunday in April, Good Friday preceding it as usual. Meanwhile, fixed or changeable, the season preserves, and is not likely to lose, its perennial import. The vogue of the holiday sentiment may gain ground upon the holy day sanctions; but the sacrifice of Good Friday and the triumph of Easter maintain their influence and teach their abiding lessons. Even the pulpit, admirable in its persistent resourcefulness, may have its difficulties in trying to give a novel colour to an unchanging sentiment; and the secular press, trying not to trench too closely upon the province of the pulpit, is not free from a similar peril of commonplace. Still, after all, the commonplaces and truisms of life and faith are the everlasting verities; and the struggle for a fresh presentation is not necessarily wise or fruitful. The ideals, distinct on the surface but essentially allied, of sacrifice and victory require no novel comment.