Why Is Easter So Early?
The answer to why Easter comes so early this year is actually up in the sky tonight: the full moon. Easter is defined as the first Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox (which was today rather than the normal March 21, presumably due to it being leap year but someone may correct me on this).
JimVAT:
The real question is why Easter moves around each year. No one has ever been able to answer that question.
March 20, 2008, 9:05 pmdearieme:
JimVAT, there's been legislation to fix the date, but alas action was to be deferred until the Churches agree. It'll be some wait.
March 21, 2008, 6:02 amhttp://www.statutelaw.gov.uk/content.aspx?LegType=All+Primary&PageNumber=1&BrowseLetter=E&NavFrom=1&parentActiveTextDocId=1080813&ActiveTextDocId=1080815&filesize=4970
la petite chou chou:
Isn't the answer to the question "why does Easter move around" answered in the original post?
"Easter is defined as the first Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox..." That's my best guess.
March 21, 2008, 10:55 pmKelly Moffitt:
I thought everyone knew this.
March 22, 2008, 7:18 amRodrigo:
I think the question was more like "Why don't they choose a freaking date like the last Sunday of March instead of the full moon?".
The answer to THAT is that Easter is supposed to be around Passover, and Passover is calculated with the lunar Jewish calendar.
Actually, they don't coincide due to other minor issues, such as certain date not coming on a Sabbath, but that's the gist.
March 22, 2008, 9:31 amMesa Econoguy:
I thought it was global warming.
March 22, 2008, 9:40 amAnonymous:
Here's how it works: Passover begins on the 14th day of the Hebrew month of Nissan, and lasts 7 days (some Jews celebrate 8 days). Easter is supposed to fall on the Sunday of Passover.
However, the Jewish calendar has a leap month which is inserted approximately every 3 years. For some reason the Church doesn't recognize this leap month, so in Jewish leap years such as this one, Easter comes early, and falls exactly a month before Passover Sunday.
March 23, 2008, 4:23 amTripAZ:
Yes, but why did they still show 'The Ten Commandments' on Easter? :-)
March 24, 2008, 8:24 am