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Days and Dates |
The Date of Easter . . .Enter the year and click on "Calculate" to find out the date of Easter for any year from 1900 to 2099. We know from scripture that the Lord Jesus Christ rose from the dead on the first day of the week (i.e. Sunday). It is also recorded that the previous day was the Jewish Sabbath (i.e. Saturday). We also know that the events of Easter took place at the time of the Jewish Passover. The latter has always been celebrated at full moon as it was on the 14th night of the month of Abib that God delivered the Israelites from their slavery in Egypt. (The Jewish calendar uses lunar months starting at a new moon and thus reaching full moon on the 14th day.) The month of Abib became the first month of the Jewish year and falls in the early spring around the time of the Vernal Equinox. The Catholic and Protestant churches have adopted the tradition that Easter is to be celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the Vernal Equinox. Theoretically it can fall on any day from 22nd March to 25th April. A method of calculation is described in the Book of Common Prayer and has been used to devise the program on this page. It works on a system known as the Golden Numbers, based on a 19 year cycle of the phases of the moon in relation to the calendar. |