The custom of setting apart one day in the year for the special commemoration of the resurrection of our Master did not prevail in the very early days of the Christian Church, and the Scriptures do not record the celebration of Easter as a Christian festival nor is it so recorded in the writings of the apostolic fathers; in fact "the sanctity of special times and places was an idea quite alien from the early Christian mind, too profoundly absorbed in the events themselves to think of their external accidents." According to Chrysostom, "The whole of time is a festival unto Christians, because of the excellency of the good things which have been given." The ecclesiastical historian, Socrates, writes, "The apostles had no thought of appointing festival days, but of promoting a life of blamelessness and piety." It was quite natural, however, that the Jews who were converted to Christianity should continue to observe their ancient festivals, but with a changed thought about them and under new conditions; and thus the Passover or Paschal festival of the Hebrews gave place to the Easter of both Jewish and Gentile Christians, but it was not until several centuries had elapsed that there was a definite agreement as to the exact day upon which the festival should be celebrated, one party contending for a certain day of the moon, irrespective of the day of the week, while the other party insisted upon observing the festival on the first day of the week, irrespective of the day of the month. Even now, the Greek church, by continuing to use the "old style" calendar, celebrates all its festivals upon days which do not correspond with the dates observed by other Christians.
We therefore see that day and date are not essential to the observance of that great fact with which the Easter festival is associated in our thought; and further, that the use of mere formality and ritual in commemorating the resurrection of Jesus is not a vital and indispensable feature of Christianity. In regard to the celebration of this and similar Christian holidays, Christian Scientists are like the early Jewish Christians, who brought into their new religion many of their old religious and racial observances, adapting them, however, to their changed conditions of thought. To Christian Scientists, the birth of Jesus, his resurrection, and ascension have taken on a larger meaning; a more lofty and more spiritual aspect than ever before; and by this higher understanding of Jesus' life and teachings which they have received through the unselfish ministry of their Leader, they can repeat, "The whole of time is a festival unto Christians, because of the excellency of the good things which they have been given."
The lesson of the resurrection is to each one an individual and progressive experience, an awakened consciousness, a clearer perception of the Christ. Through it the power and presence of God is seen and the powerlessness of sin and death, the nothingness of envy, malice, and revenge are laid bare.
