Unbelievable facts
Easter is the day when Christians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and for everyone else it is another reason to get together as a family.
Unlike Christmas, Easter is a passing holiday, as its date is determined by the lunisolar calendar.
Read also: Dos and Don'ts for Easter
Why is Easter celebrated on different days every year and how do Easter dates differ between Orthodox and Catholic Christians?
What is the date of Easter in 2021?
Easter marks the end of the 40-day period of Lent. Christians call the week preceding Easter Holy Week because it commemorates the events related to the crucifixion, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Easter does not have a fixed date, but Orthodox Christians always celebrate it on a Sunday between April 4 and May 8. Orthodox churches celebrate transitional dates according to the Julian calendar, the Roman calendar first proposed by Julius Caesar in 46 BC.
In 2021, Orthodox Christians celebrate Easter on May 2.
Why Easter is celebrated in spring
According to the Bible, the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ took place during the Jewish Passover (Passover).
In 325, the church held its First Ecumenical Council, known as the Council of Nicaea. Until then, churches around the world celebrated Easter at different times.
To achieve unity between the churches, the members of the cathedral created a formula for a single day to celebrate Easter.
It was decided to celebrate Easter on the first Sunday, which falls after the first full moon after the vernal equinox, but always after the Jewish holiday of Passover.
To avoid further confusion, it was determined that the date of the vernal equinox would be March 21. This system ensured that all churches would celebrate Easter together on the same day.
Although the Council of Nicea has set an Easter date for churches around the world, not all Christian churches observe Easter according to the Gregorian calendar. Orthodox churches celebrate Easter according to the Julian calendar.
How to determine the date of Easter
Did you know that Easter dates back to the full moon?
Easter is celebrated on the first Sunday after the full moon, which occurs during or immediately after the spring equinox.
There is one clarification: if the full moon falls on a Sunday, Easter is celebrated the following Sunday.
Orthodox and Catholic Easter
The date when Christians celebrate Easter is not only different every year, but also between the Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church. This is because they use different calendars to calculate the date of Easter: the Catholic one is Gregorian, and the Orthodox one is the older Julian calendar.
Currently, the old Julian solar calendar is 13 days behind the Gregorian calendar, and its lunar calendar is 4-5 days behind, which is why the date of Orthodox Easter often does not coincide with the date of Orthodox Easter Catholic Easter. Therefore, Catholics often celebrate Easter between March 22 and April 25 according to the Gregorian calendar.
Orthodox Easter is usually celebrated 1-5 weeks later than Catholic Easter, but sometimes their dates coincide, as in 2017. The next coincidence will take place in 2025.
Orthodox and Catholic Easter dates by year
