This year Easter falls on its latest possible date: April 25. Only once
in the past 100 years—in 1886—has it been so late. It will not happen
again in this century.* The timing of Easter, a confusing system mixing
astronomy and ecclesiasticism, was worked out by the early Christian
Church at the Council of Nicea in 325 A.D. and has never been changed.
The Council provided that: > Easter must closely follow the spring equinox, in accord with the
pagan tradition of spring festivals. For convenience, the Council
arbitrarily set the equinox on March 21, although astronomically it
usually falls on March 20, sometimes on the 19th. > Easter must closely follow a full moon in order to light the way for
pilgrims' travel to the festivals. The Council arbitrarily fixed the
14th day of the Jewish “paschal [Passover] month”
as the day of the full moon, although the actual full moon is usually
one or two days earlier. > Easter must follow the Jewish Passover
to avoid
conflict between the two holy days. > Easter must be on a Sunday. These rules meant that Easter could not fall on a fixed date, since it
must always follow the changing Passover. This year there was a full
moon at 5:08 p.m. on March 21, and the next lunar month after that
begins on April 4. Therefore this year Passover will fall on April 18
. Thus Easter Sunday cannot be
celebrated until the following Sunday, April 25. * The earliest
possible date, March 22, last occurred in 1818, also will not recur in
this century.
