r Typhon and the new
god comes forth "with healing in his wings." On Lady's day, the 25th of
March, the Virgin conceives. In Phoenicia numerous fetes were instituted
to rejoice with Astarte in her conception. During the months preceding
the birth of the young sun-god the Queen of Heaven receives marked
homage.

In a former portion of this work we have observed that the festival
which celebrated the return of spring was instituted by the inventors
of the Neros thousands of years prior to the beginning of the Christian
era, to celebrate the vernal equinox and to commemorate a return of
Nature's bounties; but, after male reproductive power began to be
regarded as the creator, when passion came to be considered as the
moving force in the universe, and when the operations of Nature began to
be typified by a dead man on a cross who was to rise again, Easter was
celebrated in commemoration of a risen savior or sun-god.

The following is an account given in Ramsay's Travels of Cyrus,
concerning the vernal equinox festivals in the East. When Cyrus entered
the temples he found the public clad in mourning. In a cavern lay
the image of a young man (the dying savior) on a bed of flowers
and odoriferous herbs Nine days were spent in fasting, prayers, and
lamentations, after which the public sorrow ceased and was changed into
gladness. Songs of joy succeeded weeping (for Tamuz), the whole assembly
singing hymns: "Adonis is returned to life, Urania weeps no more, he has
ascended to heaven, he will soon return to earth and banish hence all
crimes and miseries forever." This scene, it will be remembered, was
presented 500 years prior to the birth of Christ. In Rome, throughout
the months preceding the winter solstice, Hilaria or Ceres, was
especially honored. Apollo and Diana rose on the 7th of the Julian April
and on the 10th their religious festivals began.

On Easter morn, during the earlier ages of the church, the observances
of Christians were exactly the same as were those of the so called
pagans, all together hurried out long before the break of day that they
might behold the sun ascend, or "dance" as they called it, for on this
morning he was to "make the earth laugh and sing." Pagan and Christian
alike greeted each other with the salutation "The Lord is risen," and
the reply was "The Lord is risen indeed." On Easter morning the peasants
of Saxony and Brandenburg still climb to the hilltops "to see the sun
give his three joyfu