Why Easter’s Date Changes

It seems like Easter is never on the same Sunday.

In some years it’s in March and in others it’s in April.

There’s a reason for that.

Not long after Christ died there was disagreement among Christians about when Easter should be celebrated.

Because the original Crucifixion had happened at Passover, many people felt it should be held close to that.

Others felt it wasn’t right to tie a Christian holiday (Easter) to a Jewish one (Passover).

After a lot of arguing the decision was made by the First Council of Nicene to use a set standard to calculate Easter each year.

The standard is that Easter is held on the first Sunday after the first full moon following the Spring Equinox.

This is very similar to how Passover is calculated.

Passover typically begins on the evening of the first full moon after the Spring Equinox.

 

There is one big difference, though.

Easter is calculated using the Gregorian calendar – the one most people use in their everyday life. This calendar is based on the sun.

Passover is calculated using the Hebrew calendar. This calendar is based on the moon.

Additionally, the Hebrew calendar has less days in each month. Because of this, they occasionally have to add a leap month in their year to make their calendar stay in line.

On the years this happens, Passover begins on the second full moon following the Spring Equinox.

This causes Passover to occasionally occur a little later in the spring than in other years.

 

Because these holidays are calculated by the Spring Equinox and full moons, their dates vary from year to year.

 

Incidentally, there is a third calendar, called the Julian calendar.

It contains 365 days, but because of how it was instituted, it runs 13 days behind the Gregorian calendar.

It is used by the Orthodox Church. to decide the date they celebrate Easter.

Orthodox Churches celebrate Easter on the first Sunday after the first full moon following Passover.

They believe that since Christ was crucified just after He celebrated the Passover meal, it is only right that His Resurrection be celebrated immediately after the Jewish observance of Passover.

 

Whichever calendar we follow, the important thing is we remember Easter and celebrate the Resurrection.

To God be the Glory!

 

 

 

 

For more information on these calendars, please visit these sites: Gregorian Calendar, Hebrew Calendar, and Julian Calendar

 

To learn more about the Easter Season, please visit my Easter page, a compilation of previous Easter and Lent posts.