As you may already know, Easter Sunday has no fixed date. Every year, the date changes and somehow, many people are wondering why the church or the government won't just determined a fixed date for it? There's a reason why Easter Sunday dates keep changing and today, let's talk about how the date is determined.
How is the date for Easter Sunday determined?
First off, it is worth noting that the uncertainty lies in the calendar used to determine the date of Easter. While other holidays are based on the Gregorian calendar, which is based on the cycles of the sun, the Lent season is based on the Lunar calendar, which is based on the phases of the moon.
When Jesus died, it was on the first full moon after the vernal equinox. This was also the time of the Jewish Passover. But since the full moon changes in each time zone, the Church then decided to use the 14<sup>th day of the lunar month as a basis and picked the Sunday following that as Easter Sunday. Hence, to be able to determine Easter, they have to know the moon first.
Why does the date change every year?
The changing dates is also because of the Lunar calendar. In the West, Easter Sunday is decided on the day after the next full moon following the Spring Equinox. To give you an estimate, this date will fall around March until late April or May. This will depend on the year as well as the calendar used. In the East, they use the Julian calendar so they'll have a different Easter Sunday. Another factor affecting the change is because the full moon can fall on different days in different time zones.
Will Easter Sunday be a fixed date soon?
The changing dates of Easter Sunday seem to be affecting areas of life more than we think. Schools have to adjust their examination schedules and school summer terms around this time. Business owners also think that this affects the economy due to the holiday. Many are lobbying for the date to be fixed instead.
In 2016, the Archbishop of Canterbury suggested making Easter Sunday a fixed date. According to Telegraph, the change won't happen in the next five years because the calendars have already been printed out for that. So, the change will happen after these five years at the earliest. Will the change matter? What do you think?
It is useful to know how the date for Easter Sunday is determined, but we must not fixate on this. Regardless of the date Easter falls on, every Christian must be ready for it. Whether it's two weeks earlier or later, it's worth adjusting your plans if it's for God, right?
