Easter's date can change, but it is not chosen at random. Instead, it is determined by a formula that takes into account the lunar cycle and the Gregorian calendar.
Easter's
date can change a lot from year to year, sometimes by more than a month. This
is different from other Christian holidays. For the Western church, it happens
between March 22 and April 25, and for the Eastern church, it happens between
April 4 and May 8. This, in turn, affects when public holidays, school breaks,
and school terms are in many countries. Why does Easter change so often?
The
Bible states that on the evening of the Jewish holiday of Passover, Jesus
shared the Passover meal with his disciples, died the following day (which
Christians refer to as "Good Friday"), and was resurrected three days
later (the following Sunday). The first full moon that occurs following the
vernal equinox marks the beginning of the Passover holiday, and this full moon
might appear on any day of the week. The Council of Nicaea made a decision in
325 AD that Easter would be celebrated on the Sunday that came after the first
full moon that occurred on or after the vernal equinox. This decision was made
so that Easter would always fall on a Sunday. Nevertheless, there is a catch:
if the full moon happens on a Sunday, then the first day of Passover will also
be on a Sunday. In this case, Easter will be moved back one week to ensure that
it will still take place after Passover. To make matters even more confusing,
the council fixed the date of the vernal equinox to March 21st, the date on
which it occurred in 325 AD (even though it now occurs on March 20th), and
introduced a set of tables to define when the full moon occurs, which do not
quite align with the actual astronomical full moon. Both of these actions were
done to make the date of the vernal equinox the same as the date on which it
occurred in 325 AD. This indicates that, in actuality, Easter can take place
before to Passover if it so chooses.
When
the hypothetical full moon happens on March 21st itself—that is, in a year in
which March 21st falls on a Saturday—the date of Easter is considered to be the
earliest that it can possibly be. After that, Easter is celebrated on Sunday,
March 22nd, which is a very unusual occurrence that hasn't taken place since 1818
and won't again until 2285. The latest date that Easter can fall on is the one
that occurs when there is a full moon on March 20. In this scenario, the first
full moon that occurs after March 21st will be on April 18th, which is a lunar
month or 29 days later. In the event that the 18th of April happens on a
Sunday, the "special Sunday rule" will be in effect, and Easter will
be celebrated on the Sunday that comes after it, which is April 25. The last
time that occurred was in 1943, and the next time will be in 2038. Because of
this, the date of Easter can fall anywhere within a 35-day range before or
after the 21st of March, depending on when the full moon occurs in relation to
that date. The earlier Julian calendar, which is currently 13 days behind the
Gregorian calendar, is utilized by Eastern Christianity. This results in a
different range of possible dates being used by this branch of Christianity,
despite the fact that it follows the same fundamental rule. This may create
some difficulties and confusion.
Unfinished
Business
Several
plans have been made to change how the date of Easter is figured out. At a
meeting in Aleppo in 1997, people from different churches suggested that,
starting in 2001, the dates of the spring equinox and the full moon should be
based on real astronomical observations instead of tables. This would have made
sure that both parts of the church celebrated Easter on the same day. But the
idea was not taken up. In 1928, Britain's parliament passed a law that says
Easter is the Sunday after the second Saturday in April. This law has never
been put into place. In another idea, Easter would be the second Sunday in
April. Several churches, including the Catholic church, say they are open to
the idea of setting the date of Easter in this way, so that it doesn't change by
more than a week. But until everyone agrees on a date, it will keep moving
around within a five-week window.
Notes
Bikos, K. (2023). Calculating
the Easter Date. Retrieved from Time and Date:
https://www.timeanddate.com/calendar/determining-easter-date.html
Boeckmann, C. (2023, April
2). Why Does Easter Change Every Year? Retrieved from Almanac :
https://www.almanac.com/content/when-is-easter
Carter, M. (2023, March 16).
Everything You Need to Know About Why Easter's Date Changes Every Year.
Retrieved from Yahoo! Finance:
https://finance.yahoo.com/finance/news/ash-wednesday-valentine-apos-day-223005225.html#:~:text=Easter's%20exact%20date%20varies%20so,moon%20after%20the%20vernal%20equinox.
The Economist. (2013, March
28). Why does Easter move around so much? Retrieved from
https://www.economist.com/the-economist-explains/2013/03/28/why-does-easter-move-around-so-much
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