Saturday, March 22, 2008
Easter Dates
How Easter is Determined
Do you ever wonder why Easter can be in March or even late April ? Easter is determined as the first Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox. We know that the vernal equinox can vary up to a day or so but when you factor in the moon cycle the date of Easter can really change. For example if the full moon is the day before the vernal equinox then Easter is at least another twenty eight days away, possibly more depending on the day the equinox hit. The latest Easter could fall is April 25th. The earliest Easter could occur is March 22nd, which was the date of Waster in 1818 and will be again in the year 2285. Some governments and churches have tried to suggest a fixed date for the holiday, the second Sunday of April, but that idea hasn’t exactly caught on yet. For all you math majors out there Easter dates repeat exactly every 5,700,000 years. Since the date varies so widely so does the weather. I can remember Easters with highs near 90 degrees and some Easters with a few flakes flying. It looks like a cold, blustery Easter this year. Given our weather this year we wouldn’t picking out our spring clothes just yet but it is Easter after all. You might want to wear a coat over your Easter clothes and you better hang on to your bonnets. ¶ 1:12 AM
Do you ever wonder why Easter can be in March or even late April ? Easter is determined as the first Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox. We know that the vernal equinox can vary up to a day or so but when you factor in the moon cycle the date of Easter can really change. For example if the full moon is the day before the vernal equinox then Easter is at least another twenty eight days away, possibly more depending on the day the equinox hit. The latest Easter could fall is April 25th. The earliest Easter could occur is March 22nd, which was the date of Waster in 1818 and will be again in the year 2285. Some governments and churches have tried to suggest a fixed date for the holiday, the second Sunday of April, but that idea hasn’t exactly caught on yet. For all you math majors out there Easter dates repeat exactly every 5,700,000 years. Since the date varies so widely so does the weather. I can remember Easters with highs near 90 degrees and some Easters with a few flakes flying. It looks like a cold, blustery Easter this year. Given our weather this year we wouldn’t picking out our spring clothes just yet but it is Easter after all. You might want to wear a coat over your Easter clothes and you better hang on to your bonnets. ¶ 1:12 AM
