Do you ever think of why Easter hops around each year? It can fall anywhere between March 22nd to April 25th. Along with the confusion of when Easter will be celebrated exactly, the time of joy, time of religious reflection, time of fluffy bunnies, and a time of candy and commercialization has come again. People keep on asking themselves “when can I be free up for family, friends and church in the coming next few Sundays?” Easter Sunday falls on 20th April in this year.
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When is Easter occurring in 2014?
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As per Easter calendar:
Palm Sunday is on April 13, 2014
Good Friday on April 18, 2014
Easter Sunday on April 20, 2014
Easter Sundays, a 6-week period of penance, reflection and prayer, marks the end Christian observation of lent. It is the holiest of days within the religion.
Why Easter Sunday date change?
It is not a holiday that is set on a fixed date every year. Beside there is a reason why its date keeps on changing. In fact, Easter Sunday relies upon the lunar cycle to determine its place within the character. It usually occurs on the first Sunday after the full moon following the spring equinox.
As mentioned above, in Western Christianity, Easter may fall anywhere between March 22 and April 25. Whereas in Eastern Christianity, holding the festivities of Orthodox Easter fall somewhere between April 4 and May 8. But, fortunately this year, it is on the same day by both the sects.
All the holidays surrounding Easter like Ash Wednesday, Palm Sunday, Good Friday, etc. are considered as moveable feasts due to the lunar cycles of the Gregorian (western) calendar and Julian (Eastern) calendar. This is the reason of facing similar confusion for the dates of different holidays. For this reason, there is a huge difference between the date of last year’s Easter Sunday and this year Easter. That is, in US, last year, Easter Sunday was widely celebrated on March 31st and this year Easter Sunday is celebrated on April 20th.
Who did decide Easter’s Fate as it pertains to the lunar calendar?
In an area which is now considered as a part of Turkey, the first Council of Nicaea existed around 325 A.D., focused on establishing the nature of Jesus Christ and even his place within the Christian religion. This group of Christian officials linked the lunar dates of Easter to the same timeframe of the Jewish holiday of the pass over, and believed to have been celebrated around the time of Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection.
As the lunar cycles are not In line with a standard 365 day calendar, Easter Sunday is sure to fall on different dates each year. To save you from confusion for further Easter Sundays, here are the Easter dates for 2014-2020.
- For 2014: April 20th
- For 2015: April 5th
- For 2016: March 27th
- For 2017: April 16th
- For 2018: April 1
- For 2019: April 21st
- For 2020: April 12th
