How Is Date Of Easter Determined
Average Easter Date
Easter Sunday typically falls on a different date each year.Easter is always the first Sunday after or on the first full moon,after the Spring (vernal) Equinox in the Northernhemisphere and the Autumnal Equinox in theSouthern hemisphere.The date is determined by a combination of events centeredaround the lunar cycle, the solar cycle, the division of each yearinto 365 days and a 1,700 year old Church ruling.The explanation starts with the fact that early Christianselected to link the date of Easter to the Hebrew calendar. The NewTestament states that the Resurrection took place on the first dayof the week following Passover. Sunday is the first day of a Jewishweek; the Passover falls on the day of the first full moon afterthe Spring Equinox, which can fall on either March 20 or 21.Chaotic, or what? The result was that different churches endedup celebrating Easter on various days. And to try to clear up theconfusion, the Roman Emperor Constantine I organized a major summitmeeting.The first Ecumenical Council was held at Nicea in present-dayTurkey in the year 325.
How Is The Date Of Greek Orthodox Easter Determined
It decreed that Easter would be celebratedon the Sunday following the first full moon that occurred after theSpring Equinox. Free piano songs with notes. This retained a lunar connection as a sort of'memory' of the Jewish calendar system, and ensured that the feastwould be on a Sunday.
Because lunar phases occur independently ofthe solar year, this means that there is a 'window' of severalweeks during which Easter may be celebrated. By this reckoning, inour calendar, Easter must occur between March 22 and April 25.So, find the first day of spring in the northern hemisphere, orthe autumn equinox in the southern hemisphere, then find the firstfull moon immediately following that. Easter will be the firstSunday after (or on) that first full moon. Note the difference inthe southern hemisphere: Easter falls on the first Sunday on orafter the first full moon after the Autumnal equinox, notafter the first day of Autumn.The system that was slowly developed throughout the Middle Agesis the base for what we use today.
The time distance from which Easter can fall is determined and it moves from April 4 to May 8, at the earliest: three days before the Blagovec, and at the latest: two days after St.George’s Day. Which means that Easter can fall to 35 different dates. Easter is a Holiday over the holidays. With Easter are connected the most holidays in the year. How is Easter determined each year?Source: PixabayEaster Sunday differs every year and this has to do with the fact that the date of the holiday is based according to the March Equinox.