The tomb is empty

Alleluia! The Lord is risen!

Easter is a Christian feast and holiday celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ on the third day after his crucifixion at Calvary as described in the New Testament.

Easter is preceded by Lent, a 40-day period of fasting, prayer, and penance. The last week of Lent is called Holy Week, and it contains Maundy Thursday, commemorating Maundy and the Last Supper, as well as Good Friday, commemorating the crucifixion and death of Jesus.

Easter occurs on different Sundays each spring. The First Council of Nicaea (A.D. 325) established the date of Easter as the first Sunday after the full moon following the northern hemisphere's vernal equinox. The date of Easter therefore varies between March 22 and April 25.

Easter customs vary across the Christian world, but decorating Easter eggs is a common motif. In the Western world, customs such as egg hunting and the Easter Bunny extend from the church, and are often secular.

In the United States, Easter Sunday is a flag day but has not been a federal and state holiday due to falling on a Sunday, which is already a non working day for federal and state employees.

Historically, schools have given extended spring breaks of one to two weeks around the Easter holiday, but this practice has been declining in favor of fixed one-week recesses around Washington's Birthday and in late April.

Many Americans follow the tradition of coloring hard-boiled eggs and giving baskets of candy. The Easter Bunny is popular in American culture. On Easter Monday, the President of the United States holds an annual Easter egg roll on the White House lawn for young children. New York City holds an annual Easter parade on Easter Sunday.

The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia! 

This Week in The Civil War: Sunday, April 8, 1862

Shiloh’s fallout, First year of war. Lincoln’s early emancipation move

Union Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant sends troops in pursuit of Confederate fighters retreating after the battle at Shiloh, or Pittsburgh Landing, in Tennessee. But a feisty Confederates rearguard led by Nathan Bedford Force thwarts the Union pursuit, allowing the secessionists to slip away. It is a difficult week for the Confederacy as word of their loss at Shiloh reaches Richmond. The news for the secessonists stands in glum contrast to celebrations one year ago this week in the South. The first shots of war were fired April 12, 1861, at Fort Sumter in South Carolina. That Confederate bombardment — and the subsequent Union surrender of that federal garrison at Fort Sumter — kicked off wild celebrations on April 14, 1861 in Charleston. A year later, euphoria has given way to the grim reality of the deadly grind of war. Shiloh’s two days of pitched fighting end with more than 23,000 men killed, wounded or missing on both sides — the bloodiest battle in U.S. history at the time and a portent of big battles to come. The Associated Press reports Shiloh’s outcome in an April 13 dispatch, reporting “the beginning of the fight on that day was a total surprise’’ for the Union as Confederates attacked — “many officers and soldiers being overtaken in their tents and slaughtered or taken prisoners.’’ The dispatch notes the Union attacked back the second day of Shiloh “and the rebels soon gave way.’’ It adds one captured Confederate prisoner told officers the Southern fighters were told a Confederate victory “was a sure thing’’ and that “they could not fail to capture Grant’s army.’’ On April 16, 1862, Abraham Lincoln signed the Compensated Emancipation Act freeing thousands of slaves in the nation’s capital. It is an early step during the war that would lead to the formal end of slavery across the U.S. as a result of the conflict.

Stamp of approval

Booker Taliaferro Washington (April 5, 1856 – Nov. 14, 1915) was an African-American educator, author, orator, advisor, and political leader.

Washington rose from slavery to a position of power and influence. A realist and a man of action, he became one of the most important African-American leaders of his time. He was committed to improving the lives of African-Americans after the Civil War.

Representative of the last generation of black American leaders born in slavery, he spoke on behalf of the large majority of blacks who lived in the South but had lost their ability to vote through Jim Crow Laws.

Washington advocated economic independence through self-help, hard work, and a practical education. His drive and vision built the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute in Alabama into a major African-American presence and place of learning.

Washington maintained power because of his ability to gain support of numerous groups: influential whites; the black business, educational and religious communities nationwide; financial donations from philanthropists, and his accommodation to the political realities of the age of Jim Crow segregation.

On April 7, 1940, Washington became the first African American to be depicted on a United States postage stamp. Several years later, he was honored on the first coin to feature an African American, the Booker T. Washington Memorial Half Dollar, which was minted by the United States from 1946 to 1951. He was also depicted on a U.S. Half Dollar from 1951–1954.