March 13, 2008
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I knew Easter was early this year, but didn't realize just HOW early.
HT: Brad
Easter this year is: Sunday March 23, 2008
As you know, Easter is the 1st Sunday after the 1st full moon after the
Spring Equinox (which is March 20/21). This dating of Easter is based
on the lunar calendar that Hebrew people used to identify Passover,
which is why it moves around on our Roman calendar.Based on the above, Easter can actually be one day earlier (March 22)
but that is pretty rare. This year is the earliest Easter any of us
will ever see the rest of our lives! And only the most elderly of our
population have ever seen it this early (95 years old or above!). And
none of us have ever, or will ever, see it a day earlier!Here are the facts: The next time Easter will be this early (March 23)
will be the year 2228 (220 years from now). The last time it was this
early was 1913 (so if you're 95 or older, you are the only ones that
were around for that!). The next time it will be a day earlier, March
22, will be in the year 2285 (277 years from now). The last time it was
on March 22 was 1818. So, no one alive today has or will ever see it
any earlier than this year!
Comments (3)
Wow, I didn't realise that it was as rare as all that. Not that I'm complaining. I understand the Catholic Church has had a bit of a problem with the revelry of St. Paddy's Day clashing with Holy Week. It's not easy to drink barrels of green beer and stay somberly sober too, I guess.
It's not unusual for local bishops to issue dispensations when St. Pat's falls on a Friday, to allow folks to eat their traditional corned beef. I think the local bish did that here when it happened back in ought-six. St. Pat's, OTOH, was never intended to be a wild revelry anyway, so I imagine they would not find it appropriate to let "wild revelry" supersede Holy Week reflection in the way that "eating beef at St. Pat's" supersedes "not eating meet on Fridays."
Gee Anne - you scrounge up a wealth of knowledge! Very interesting....
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