2011Easter - Set

The stamp design uses a reproduction of a work by the textile artist Erzsébet Szekeres entitled Hungarian Golgotha. The stamp’s first day cover is adorned by a detail from another work by the same artist, Lamb of God. The graphic design of the special postmark employs a stylised version of the lamb on the cover. The word golgotha is derived from the Hebrew gulgoleth, and the Aramaic transcription of this (gulgalta) has been adopted and adapted in modern use. In Greek this is kranion, while the Latin translation calvaria provides the deriva-tion of our word calvary. The word means skull or place of skulls. Originally, it was the name of a hill in a quarry north north-west of Jerusalem, which was a place of execution in ancient times. The name probably refers to the skulls remaining from the executions. According to the Gospels this is the place where Jesus was crucified and buried. The precise spot is questionable but it is probably at the right angle where the western and northern city walls meet. The description given in St John’s gospel is also important as it says that the place of execution was near the city as the sign fastened to Jesus’ cross was read by many Jews (John 19, 19-20). It is possible that it was next to the trade route connecting Jaffa and Ashkelon In AD 135 Hadrian built a temple dedicated to Jupiter over the site, and then in the 4th century St Helena, mother of the Emperor Constantine, constructed the present Church of the Holy Sepulchre there. Today it is surrounded by the Christian quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem. (Source: hu.wikipedia.org)"