Friday, November 30, 2007

The Date of Easter

According to about.com:

In Western Christianity, Easter is always celebrated on the Sunday immediately following the Paschal Full Moon. I had previously, and somewhat erroneously stated, "Easter is always celebrated on the Sunday immediately following the first full moon after the vernal (spring) equinox." This statement was true in 325 AD, when it was established by the Council of Nicea. However, the course of history has modified the meaning of this instruction.
The Paschal full moon is explained thus:
The full moon used to calculate the date of Easter. This full moon does not correspond to any astronomical event, but is a historical artifact determined from tables.
I didn't know this. I always thought it was "the first full moon after the vernal (spring) equinox." What messed things up was the switch from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar. Here is a detailed explanation of the whole thing.

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