How do they decide when Easter is?
I found out Easter falls on the first Sunday following the first full moon on or following the vernal equinox (which is fixed on March 21). This year the full moon falls on March 21 and the Sunday following is March 23. March 22 is the earliest date on which Easter can fall. I discovered that from 1700 through 2300, Easter will fall on March 22 only three times (1761, 1818 and 2285). And it falls on March 23 only eight times (1704, 1788, 1845, 1856, 1913, 2008, 2160 and 2228). So, my friends, for almost all of us, this is a once in a lifetime happening. Easter is one of those few times of the year that brings families together, like Thanksgiving and Christmas. One reader asked me to write a column about difficult family dinners. I think this is an appropriate time to do this, especially because Easter this year falls only two days away from a full moon. I have found that full moons have the ability to show the vulnerable side of people. Hospital emergency rooms can be busier, 911 calls
Catholics and most Protestants use the new Gregorian calendar decreed by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582 to calculate the date of Easter. The Greek Orthodox Church uses the old Julian calendar introduced in 46 B.C.E. by Julius Caesar. For more information, see: Catholic: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregorian_c… http://aa.usno.navy.mil/faq/docs/easter…. Greek Orthodox: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julian_cale… http://www.smart.net/~mmontes/OrthEasttb… Catholic: The time of Easter is based on the cycles of the moon, the equinox, and seasons and things in nature. In simple (?) terms Easter occurs on the first Sunday following the first full moon that occurs on or after the day of the vernal
