Easter is the date every year on a Sunday when Christians celebrate the resurrection of their Lord, Jesus Christ. Christians believe Jesus Christ died on a cross on Good Friday and then his body ascended into heaven on the third day, which is known as Easter Sunday. Computing the date of Easter Sunday is moderately complex, as it has to do with when the Paschal full moon happens during the year.
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Difficulty:
Moderate
Instructions
1
Find a calendar with the months of March and April for the year you're looking to compute the date of Easter. Easter always falls between March 22 and April 25. March 21 is the date of the vernal equinox, the start of spring in the northern hemisphere.
2
Look at your calendar for the dates of full moons. This is typically shown with the sign of an all dark moon on a standard calendar.
3
Find the date of the first full moon after the vernal equinox, March 21.
4
Circle the first Sunday after that full moon date. This is Easter Sunday for the given calendar year. If the full moon falls on a Sunday itself, circle the following Sunday as Easter Sunday.
5
Celebrate the date of Easter at the same time Jews celebrate Passover. In New Testament times, Christians calculated the date of Easter at the exact same date as Passover, which is Nissan 15 on the Jewish calendar.
Tips & Warnings
The calculations for determining the celebration of the modern-day Easter were created by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582 when he created the Gregorian calendar.
