Why does the date of Easter keep changing?

Answer 1

Easter is called a moveable feast because it is not celebrated on a fixed date every year. Easter falls somewhere between late March and late April each year, following the cycle of the moon. After several centuries of disagreement, all churches accepted that Easter is the first Sunday after the Paschal Full Moon, which is the first full moon on or after March 21 (the ecclesiastic "vernal equinox").

Answer 2

Short answer: Easter Sunday is the first Sunday after the first full moon after vernal equinox.

Detailed Explanation: The calculation of Easter is complicated because it is linked to (an inaccurate version of) the Hebrew calendar. Jesus was crucified immediately before the Jewish Passover, which is a celebration of the Exodus from Egypt under Moses. Celebration of Passover started on the 14th or 15th day of the (spring) month of Nisan. Jewish months start when the moon is new, therefore the 14th or 15th day of the month must be immediately after a full moon. It was therefore decided to make Easter Sunday the first Sunday after the first full moon after vernal equinox. Or more precisely: Easter Sunday is the first Sunday after the "official" full moon on or after the "official" vernal equinox. The official vernal equinox is always 21 March. The official full moon may differ from the real full moon by one or two days. (Note, however, that historically, some countries have used the real (astronomical) full moon instead of the official one when calculating Easter. This was the case, for example, of the German Protestant states, which used the astronomical full moon in the years 1700-1776. A similar practice was used in Sweden in the years 1740-1844 and in Denmark in the 1700s.) The full moon that precedes Easter is called the Paschal full moon.

Two concepts play an important role when calculating the Paschal full moon: The Golden Number and the Epact. They are described in the following sections. The following sections give details about how to calculate the date for Easter. Note, however, that while the Julian calendar was in use, it was customary to use tables rather than calculations to determine Easter. The following sections do mention how to calculate Easter under the Julian calendar, but the reader should be aware that this is an attempt to express in formulas what was originally expressed in tables. The formulas can be taken as a good indication of when Easter was celebrated in the Western Church from approximately the 6th century.

Answer 3

The dates on which Easter is celebrated are determined by the lunar calendar, and so they change each year. Apparently, it is the Sunday which is two weeks after the vernal equinox. More details can be found on the related link.

Easter must fall on a Sunday, so that changes the date within a few days each year. Also, it happens after the first full moon in April, which changes the date from year to year slightly.

Answer 4

The early church fathers wished to keep the observance of Easter in correlation to the Jewish Passover. Because the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ happened after the Passover, they wanted Easter to always be celebrated subsequent to the Passover. And, since the Jewish holiday calendar is based on solar and lunar cycles, each feast day is movable, with dates shifting from year to year.

Easter falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon after equinox.

Answer 5

Easter is held the first Sunday after the full moon immediately following the March equinox. This varies in relation to the calendar, therefore Easter can be any of the 35 days March 22 and April 25.

Answer 6

Easter comes on the Sunday after the first full moon after the start of spring. Confusing, isn't it? It's because it's based off of a lunar calendar and not the Gregorian calendar or solar calendar that we use today.

Answer 7

It is an attempt to make Good Friday fall on or near the first day of Passover since that was the date of the execution of Jesus.

Answer 8

because lunar equinox happens at different times of the year hence easter falls on sunday on the first full moon after spring equinox

Answer 9

Because the Easter Bunny gets high on different days so we have easter on different days