How Do We Know When Easter Is?

Monday in Holy Week
March 25, 2013

The Lord be with you

In doing some research for the worship services this Holy Week, I came across, on line, the newsletter for St. John the Baptist Episcopal Church. In it, their “Senior Warden” had an article which is the clearest explanation of how the date of Easter is determined that I have ever read. I thought I’d share it.

Have you ever wondered how they come up with the date for Easter? It skips all over the place. Sometimes it is in March and sometimes it is in April. It seems like you need a degree in rocket science to figure it out.

According to the Book of Common Prayer (p.880) “Easter Day is always the Sunday after the full moon that occurs on or after the spring equinox on March 21.”

So to break down the formula:

The first day of Spring is March 21.
Sometime in the next 28 days there will be a full moon.
The next Sunday after the full moon will be Easter.

If Spring starts on March 21, and the full moon is on March 21, and March 21 is a Saturday, then Easter will be the next day on March 22. The earliest possible date.

If Spring starts on March 21, and the full moon is on April 18, and April 18 is a Sunday, then Easter will be the following Sunday, April 25. The latest possible date.

This year Spring starts on March 21, the full moon is on March 27, and March 27 is a Wednesday, so Easter will be on Sunday, March 31.

Is your head spinning yet?

Well whatever day Easter falls on you can be certain of one thing: The Lord is risen! He has victory over death. All of us who believe in Jesus have been granted eternal life. This is the good news on Easter...and every day.

Blessings in Christ, Pastor