Happy Easter!

[Wyliefan]

To all who celebrate, may your Easter be blessed. He is risen!

 

[skategal]

Happy Easter everyone.

 

[Firedancer]

Happy Easter!

 

[ilovepaydays]

He is Risen! Happy Easter everyone!

 

[Simone411]

Happy Easter, everyone!

 

[attyfan]

Chag Sameach!

 

[paskatefan]

Hope everyone who celebrates Easter had a joyous holiday!

 

[ilovepaydays]

So……I feel dumb for asking this because I’ve been a Christian for about 30 years, but why was Easter this year yesterday and not the same weekend as Passover (later in April)?

Aren’t they supposed to be at the same time? That’s the story in the Gospels.

 

[Simone411]

So……I feel dumb for asking this because I’ve been a Christian for about 30 years, but why was Easter this year yesterday and not the same weekend as Passover (later in April)?

Aren’t they supposed to be at the same time? That’s the story in the Gospels.

I found this.

https://www.indherald.com/2024/03/25/why-easter-falls-on-a-different-date-every-year/

The answer is in the lunar calendar. The date of the full moon determines the date of Easter. Specifically, in Western civilization, Christians celebrate Easter on the first Sunday after the first full moon of spring.

There are a couple of slight exceptions to that rule:

One, the equinox, which marks the start of spring on the calendar, can fall between March 19 and March 22. However, the church sets the equinox at March 21. In other words, if the full moon occurs on March 20, it doesn’t count. (By the way, if the full moon occurs on Sunday, Easter is celebrated the following Sunday.)

Two, the church uses a lunar cycle which is called the ecclesiastical calendar on the Gregorian calendar, and it differs slightly from the astronomical calendar.

Illustrating these exceptions, the equinox in 2019 occurred on March 20, and the next full moon on the astronomical calendar was March 21. However, the ecclesiastical calendar placed the full moon on March 20, and the church fixes the date of the equinox as March 21. So instead of Easter being observed on March 24 in 2019, it wasn’t until the Sunday following the next full moon, which was April 21.

While Western societies use the Gregorian calendar, most Orthodox Christians follow the Julian calendar. The dates don’t line up the same on the two calendars. March 22 – April 25 on the Julian calendar is April 3 – May 10 on the Gregorian calendar. Therefore, Orthodox Easter can be as late as May 10 on our calendar.

Next year, in 2025, Easter will fall on the same date regardless of which calendar is used — April 20.