In many cultures around the world, the egg is a symbol of new life, fertility and rebirth.

For thousands of years, Iranians and others have decorated eggs on Nowruz, the
Iranian New Year that falls on the spring equinox. ... For Christians, the Easter egg is
symbolic of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The story of the Easter Bunny is thought to have become common in the 19th Century.
Rabbits usually give birth to a big litter of babies (called kittens), so they became a
symbol of new life. Legend has it that the Easter bunny lays, decorates and hides eggs
as they are also a symbol of new life.

Easter, which takes place this Sunday, usually occurs towards the beginning of
spring, a season when plants bloom and animals give birth. Eggs in particular are a
clear symbol of rebirth and fertility. So it may not seem surprising that Easter eggs
are often associated with Easter, a holiday that celebrates the resurrection of
Jesus Christ. It may also be no surprise they are sometimes referred to as
“resurrection eggs.”
rabbits, known to be prolific procreators, are an ancient symbol of fertility and
new life. According to some sources, the Easter bunny first arrived in America in
the 1700s with German immigrants who settled in Pennsylvania and transported
their tradition of an egg-laying hare called “Osterhase” or “Oschter Haws.”

Actually, the differences were much deeper than those indicated above. The Western
Church, considered itself to be the one true church, the universal, hence "Catholic"
Church. The Church in Constantinople considered itself the correct and traditional
church, hence the "Orthodox" church.

The people of the Western Empire spoke Latin, and church services were conducted in that
language. The people of Constantinople and the Eastern Empire spoke Greek. The Latins
considered the people of Constantinople to...

Here are some facts relevant to the resurrection: Jesus of Nazareth, a Jewish
prophet who claimed to be the Christ prophesied in the Jewish Scriptures, was
arrested, was judged a political criminal, and was crucified. Three days after His
death and burial, some women who went to His tomb found the body gone. In
subsequent weeks, His disciples claimed that God had raised Him from the dead
and that He appeared to them various times before ascending into heaven. From
that foundation, Christianity spread throughout the Roman Empire and has
continued to exert great influence down through the centuries.
The New Testament witnesses were fully aware of the background against which
the resurrection took place. The body of Jesus, in accordance with Jewish burial
custom, was wrapped in a linen cloth. About 100 pounds of aromatic spices,
mixed together to form a gummy substance, were applied to the wrappings of
cloth about the body. After the body was placed in a solid rock tomb, an
extremely large stone was rolled against the entrance of the tomb. Large stones
weighing approximately two tons were normally rolled (by means of levers)
against a tomb entrance.

A Roman guard of strictly disciplined fighting men was stationed to guard the
tomb. This guard affixed on the tomb the Roman seal, which was meant to
prevent any attempt at vandalizing it. Anyone trying to move the stone from the
tomb’s entrance would have broken the seal and thus incurred the wrath of
Roman law.

But three days later the tomb was empty. The followers of Jesus said He had
risen from the dead. They reported that He appeared to them during a period of
40 days, showing Himself to them by many “infallible proofs.” Paul the apostle
recounted that Jesus appeared to more than 500 of His followers at one time, the
majority of whom were still alive and who could confirm what Paul wrote. So
many security precautions were taken with the trial, crucifixion, burial,
entombment, sealing, and guarding of Christ’s tomb that it becomes very difficult
for critics to defend their position that Christ did not rise from the dead.

The shrine (sometimes called the Edicule) that holds the tomb of Jesus is seen in this
photograph. The shrine is located within the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in
Jerusalem. A tomb that, according to legend, held the body of Jesus Christ dates back
almost 1,700 years, scientific tests show.

A sepulcher (or if you're British you'll spell it sepulchre) is basically a stone room
with a stone coffin where your body lies. The word comes from the Latin
sepulcrum, which means “burial place,” for obvious reasons. Pronouncing
sepulcher could trick you, because the ch actually sounds like a k: "SEP-ul-ker."

It is believed that after Jesus' resurrection, he spent the next 40 days teaching his disciples how
to continue his teachings. On Ascension Day Jesus took his disciples to the Mount of Olives,
where they watched him ascend to heaven.
The resurrection of Jesus or resurrection of Christ is the Christian religious belief that, after being
put to death, Jesus rose again from the dead.

According to tradition, the ascension took place at Mount Olivet near Bethany.
He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.

A Doubting Thomas is a skeptic who refuses to believe without direct personal experience—a
reference to the Apostle Thomas, due to his refusal to believe the resurrected Jesus had
appeared to the ten other apostles, until he could see and feel the wounds received by Jesus
on the cross.

Who Were the Women at the Empty Tomb?

1. Joanna (wife of Chuza)

Among the first women to discover the empty tomb (Luke 24:10), she was the wife of Chuza, the
household manager or steward of King Herod Antipas (Luke 8:3).

She was a follower of Jesus and helped to provide financially for Jesus’s ministry, along with
Susanna and many others (Luke 8:3).

2. Mary Magdalene

A Galilean woman probably from the town of Magdala (on the west bank of the Sea of Galilee).
Jesus delivered her from seven demons (Luke 8:2; Mark 16:9).

She became a follower of Jesus (Matt. 27:57), a witness to the crucifixion and burial (Matt. 27:61;
28:1; Mark 15:40, 47; John 19:25), and was among the women who went to the tomb on Sunday
(Mark 16:1; John 20:1).

She was the first person to see Jesus alive (Mark 16:9) and told the other disciples (Luke 24:10; John
20:18).

3. Mary (mother of Jesus, widow of Joseph of Nazareth)

From the cross Jesus entrusted his widowed mother to John’s care, and she went to live in his home (
John 19:25-27)—perhaps because Mary’s other sons were not yet believers ( John 7:5; see also Matt.
13:57; Mark 3:21, 31; 6:4).

Mary’s other sons (Matt. 13:55; Mark 6:2-3; Acts 1:14; 1 Cor. 9:4-5; Gal. 1:19) were named:

 James (author of the biblical book of James)

She also had at least two daughters (Mark 6:3).

4. Mary (mother of James and Joses/Joseph)

A witness of Jesus’s crucifixion, burial, and resurrection appearances.

Her sons were named James the Younger (hence her husband must have been named James) and
Joses/Joseph. See Matt. 27:61; 27:56; Mark 15:40, 47.

The fact that two Marys in the story have sons with the same names (James and Joseph/Joses) shows
the commonality of certain names in first-century Galilee. The name Mary, in particular, was
exceedingly common in first-century Palestine, hence the need to distinguish between different
Marys in the Gospels, whether by way of their hometown (Mary Magdalene) or in association with
their husband (Mary of Clopas) or sons (Mary mother of James and Joses).

5. Mary (wife of Clopas)

A Galilean witness of Jesus’s crucifixion, she may be identified as Jesus’s “mother’s sister” ( John
19:25)—though see discussion under Salome below.

According to Hegesippus, as quoted by the historian Eusebius, Clopas was the brother of Joseph of
Nazareth (Hist. Eccl. 3.11; 3.32.6; 4.22.4). If so, Mary and Clopas were Jesus’s aunt and uncle. Their
son Simeon (Jesus’s cousin) became a leader of the Jerusalem church succeeding James the brother
of Jesus.

6. Salome (mother of James and John)

One of Jesus’s female followers in Galilee, she witnessed the crucifixion and went to the tomb on
Sunday (Mark 15:40; 16:1).

The parallel passage in Matthew 27:56 makes it likely that she is the mother of the sons of Zebedee
(i.e., James and John).
The transfiguration of Jesus is an event reported in the New Testament when Jesus is
transfigured and becomes radiant in glory upon a mountain.[1][2] The Synoptic Gospels (Matthew
17:1–8, Mark 9:2–8, Luke 9:28–36) describe it, and the Second Epistle of Peter also refers to it (2
Peter 1:16–18). It has also been hypothesized that the first chapter of the Gospel of John alludes to
it (John 1:14).

In these accounts, Jesus and three of his apostles, Peter, James, John, go to a mountain (the Mount
of Transfiguration) to pray. On the mountain, Jesus begins to shine with bright rays of light. Then the
prophets Moses and Elijah appear next to him and he speaks with them. Jesus is then called "Son"
by a voice in the sky, assumed to be God the Father, as in the Baptism of Jesus.[1]

Many Christian traditions, including the Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Anglican churches,
commemorate the event in the Feast of the Transfiguration, a major festival.

Mount Tabor
Mount Tabor (575 metres or 1,886 feet high) is the traditional location. The earliest identification of
the Mount of Transfiguration as Tabor is by Origen in the 3rd century. It is also mentioned by St.
Cyril of Jerusalem and St. Jerome in the 4th century. The Church of the Transfiguration is located
atop Mount Tabor.[1] It is later mentioned in the 5th century Transitus Beatae Mariae Virginis.