Last year, Easter was in April. This year, Easter is in March. In 2025, it will be in April again. So, how is the date of Easter determined?
Easter, the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, is part of the Paschal Triduum, “the holiest” time of the church’s year where Christians observe the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus, according to the Diocese of Des Moines.
Easter 2024 is on Sunday, March 31. Whether you celebrate with easter egg hunts, attend church services or go out for a family brunch, here’s what you should know about the holy dates.
Easter falls on the first Sunday after the full moon that follows the spring equinox. But the spring equinox date isn’t fixed, so the Catholic Church created a fixed date of March 21 to define it, USA TODAY reported. So, the full moon after that equinox will indicate which Sunday the holy day will be held.
Last year, the Paschal full moon — the name of the full moon deriving from “pascha,” the Greek and Latin word for “Passover”— appeared on Thursday, April 6. So, Easter fell on Sunday, April 9.
Friday, March 29 is Good Friday, which always takes place before Easter Sunday. Many Christians worldwide observe the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ, or the day known as Good Friday.
Good Friday is not a federal holiday, but the day is part of the Holy Week, which leads up to Easter. The post office will be open and delivering mail.
Carlie Procell and Veronica Bravo contributed to this article.
Paris Barraza is a trending and general assignment reporter at the Des Moines Register. Reach her atpbarraza@registermedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @ParisBarraza.
Easter falls on the first Sunday after the full moon that follows the spring equinox. But the spring equinox date isn't fixed, so the Catholic Church created a fixed date of March 21 to define it, USA TODAY reported. So, the full moon after that equinox will indicate which Sunday the holy day will be held.
In a simplified way, the celebration of Easter is determined based on the Sunday following the first full moon of the spring equinox, so Holy Week can fall between March 22 and on April 25. That said, in 2024, Easter Sunday will be celebrated on Sunday, March 31, a week earlier than the previous year.
The simple standard definition of Easter is that it is the first Sunday after the full Moon that occurs on or after the spring equinox. If the full Moon falls on a Sunday then Easter is the next Sunday.
It swings between March 22 and April 25 based on a calendar calculation involving the moon. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops explains further: “Easter is celebrated on the first Sunday after the Paschal full moon, which is the first full moon occurring either on or after the spring equinox (March 21).”
The ecclesiastical rules are: The vernal equinox occurs on March 21, the ecclesiastical full moon is the 14th day of a tabular lunation (new moon), and. Easter falls on the first Sunday following the first ecclesiastical full moon that occurs on or after the day of the vernal equinox.
A comparison of the frequency of the Easter dates in both tables is given in Table III, along with the maximum intervals; March 24 is the most unusual Gregorian Easter date, and the interval of 467 years between March 22, 1818, and March 22, 2285, holds the record for “absenteeism.” TABLE III FREQUENCY AND INTERVALS ...
In 2024, the spring equinox fell on Tuesday, March 19, according to the Farmers' Almanac. The first full moon after the spring equinox was the Worm Moon on March 25 according to the moon phases. That makes Easter the Sunday following the Worm Moon.
The date of the birth of Jesus is not stated in the gospels or in any historical sources and the evidence is too incomplete to allow for consistent dating. However, most biblical scholars and ancient historians believe that his birth date is around 4 to 6 BC.
But wait, Easter is mentioned in the New Testament: Acts 12:4. This is the only verse in the New Testament that uses the word “Easter”—and you'll find it if you are using a King James Bible.
Easter, also called Pascha (Aramaic, Greek, Latin) or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in the New Testament as having occurred on the third day of his burial following his crucifixion by the Romans at Calvary c.30 AD.
The Eastern Christian churches still determine the Easter dates using the older Julian Calendar method. The usual statement, that Easter Day is the first Sunday after the full moon that occurs next after the vernal equinox, is not a precise statement of the actual ecclesiastical rules.
The Hebrew calendar is based on a lunar cycle, so for this year, Passover is celebrated starting at nightfall on Monday, April 22, 2024. This is also the date of the fourth full moon of the year. Seder feasts are held on the first two nights of Passover, so this year they fall on Monday, April 22 and Tuesday April 23.
Why Is Easter Celebrated in Spring? According to the Bible, Jesus Christ's death and resurrection occurred at the time of the Jewish Passover, which was celebrated on the first Full Moon following the vernal equinox.
Easter falls on the first Sunday after the full moon that follows the spring equinox. But the spring equinox date isn't fixed, so the Catholic Church created a fixed date of March 21 to define it, USA TODAY reported. So, the full moon after that equinox will indicate which Sunday the holy day will be held.
For millions of people around the world, Easter falls on Sunday 16 April 2023. Orthodox Christians in Europe, Africa and the Middle East celebrate Easter later than most in the western world. It's because they use a different calendar to work out what day Easter should fall on.
The holiday occurs on the Sunday after the first full moon that follows the vernal (spring) equinox, which begins spring in the Northern Hemisphere. Because the lunar calendar is always 29 ½ days and the Gregorian Calendar is not in sync, Easter can be any Sunday from March 22 to April 25!
Easter is calculated based on the Christian liturgical calendar tied to the first Sunday following the first full moon after the vernal equinox. Passover, on the other hand, is determined by the Jewish calendar, which is also lunar-based. That's where the similarities end.
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