Crucifixion
Method of capital punishment among the Persians, Seleucids, Jews, Carthaginians, and Romans from about the 6th century BC to the 4th century AD. The condemned man was usually whipped and forced to drag the crossbeam to where the upright was standing. His hands were tied or nailed to the crossbeam, which was attached to the upright 9 – 12 ft (2.5 – 3.5 m) above the ground, and his feet bound or nailed to the upright. Death was by heart failure or asphyxiation. Political or religious agitators and those without civil rights were crucified. Its overwhelming association today is with Jesus. Constantine I abolished Crucifixion in AD 337 after his conversion to Christianity.

The Easter Bunny
The Easter Bunny as an Easter symbol bringing Easter eggs seems to have its origins in Alsace and the Upper Rhineland, both then in the Holy Roman Empire of German Nation, and south-western Germany, where it was first recorded in a German publication in the early 1600s. The first edible Easter Bunnies were made in Germany during the early 1800s and were made of pastry and sugar.

Resurrection
Resurrection can be described in the following ways. The act of rising from the dead or returning to life; the state of one who has returned to life or the act of bringing back to practice, notice, or use; revival. Resurrection in Christianity can mean the rising again of Jesus on the third day after the Crucifixion or the rising again of the dead at the Last Judgment.

Easter
Easter, like the spring season it graces, is associated with birth, renewal, and fertility. Easter marks the Resurrection of Jesus three days after his Crucifixion. Sandwiched between the 40 preparatory days of Lenten penitence and the seven weeks of Eastertide, it is the most important and most joyous holiday on the Christian calendar.

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Page Last Updated 29 March 2010