please empty your brain below
An hour's less sleep and this analysis with my morning tea has created a bit of brain-ache. Happy Easter.

Waterhouse | 31.03.24 - 7:31 a.m. | #

The Easter Act 1928 appoints a fixed date for Easter. It is as much part of the law of the land as any major statute. And although the Govt could bring it in to force, they have had 96 years already to do it.

Crispy | 31.03.24 - 8:28 a.m. | #

But what’s the earliest and latest dates that Cadbury’s creme eggs can come on sale?

Brian | 31.03.24 - 8:47 a.m. | #

Many years ago, as a junior computer programmer, I was given the task of writing a program to calculate the Easter Date. I researched the arcane algorithm required (moon and "golden date" related I think). And then had to write it in Assembler language! It was quite a challenge, but a rather pointless one. But it did mean I discovered how complicated the Easter Date was!

Chris L | 31.03.24 - 9:18 a.m. | #

Dominical(?) letter and Golden Number are two of the components in the formula - it's to be found in the Book of Common Prayer

David Cook | 31.03.24 - 10:23 a.m. | #

In the 21st century and we still faff around with arcane bwilderment like this. Others are Legal calendars, Parliament sitting (on arses dates) and University years and terms.There will be others I'm sure. Get rid of them all. Who benefits from this?

David | 31.03.24 - 12:31 p.m. | #

100% agree with David. Wasn't previously aware of The Easter Act (1928) and don't understand why a modern rational Parliament wouldn't implement such a sensible improvement.

Frank F | 31.03.24 - 12:43 p.m. | #

You will, of course, correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought Easter was the first Sunday after the first full moon after the 21 March, regardless of when the equinox falls.

RogerB | 31.03.24 - 12:51 p.m. | #

(see previous Easter posts)

diamond geezer | Homepage | 31.03.24 - 1:13 p.m. | #

The Easter Act itself suggests the churches should be consulted before fixing the date and despite suggestions from time to time there's been no progress on this. Successive governments have taken the view this is a matter for the churches to agree on rather than forcing dates upin them.

The only anchoring achieved has been to replace the equally wandering Whit Monday bank holiday with a fixed one on the last Monday in May.

Tim Roll-Pickering | 31.03.24 - 2:48 p.m. | #

The other archaic dates mentioned are all "private" to the UK. But Easter is not. Of course, the UK could go it alone, and fix it, but that would be ludicrous. The 1928 decision dates from a time when the UK thought it could make changes like this, and the "rest of the world" would follow, or could be ignored if they didn't. We really ought to grow out of thinking like this.

Malcolm of Kent | 31.03.24 - 2:52 p.m. | #

On the other hand, there could be some benefits in having our big Spring holiday on a different date from the rest of the world. It would spread the holiday traffic. Christians would still be free to celebrate with the rest of the world.

RogerB | 31.03.24 - 3:21 p.m. | #

You can look up the Table and Rules of how to find out when Easter day is, and in the book of Common Prayer I believe there is a list of all the dates past and future and how to work them out.
But basically, I agree with
Roger B, above:

Easter Day is always the Sunday after the full moon that occurs on or after the spring
equinox on March 21, a date which is fixed in accordance with an ancient ecclesiastical
computation, and which does not always correspond to the astronomical equinox. This full
moon may happen on any date between March 21 and April 18 inclusive. If the full moon
falls on a Sunday, Easter Day is the Sunday following. But Easter Day cannot be earlier
than March 22 or later than April 25.

Teresa | 31.03.24 - 3:38 p.m. | #

So I understand why the Orthodox Easter can be a month behind the Western one, as it is this year - if a Full Moon falls between 21st March (Gregorian) and 21st March (Julian, ie 3rd April (Gregorian)) then the Orthodox have to wait for the following new Moon.
But how can the Orthodox Easter fall, as it does about 50% of the time (and five of the past six years), only one week behind the Western one?

Timbo | 31.03.24 - 6:38 p.m. | #

I'm sure Easter Sunday used to be on 26th March quite regularly back in the 1960s and 70s, but clearly not since the Millennium. I wonder why that might be, and whether it's linked with the equinox moving about rather than staying on 21st March...

cau1khead | 31.03.24 - 9:37 p.m. | #

What I have never understood is why Easter moves every year according to the phases of the Moon, but Christmas is always on the same day of the year.

SS | 31.03.24 - 10:13 p.m. | #

Tim Roll-Pickering: the holiday in the first Monday in May is the May Day holiday. The Whit holiday is the later Monday in May.

David B | 01.04.24 - 9:34 a.m. | #

I would say there is a very good chance of the next Easter being warmer as it falls on May 5 this year when Easter is celebrated in the Orthodox churches that follow the Julian calendar.

BWB | 01.04.24 - 11:07 a.m. | #

The May Day bank holiday is a totally separate matter.

The Late Spring Bank Holiday, if that is its official name, was a replacement for the bank holiday on Whit Monday which is the day after Whitsun which is on the Sunday seven weeks after Easter and so equally moved back and forwards. Replacing the bank holiday with one on a regular date has given predictability including contributing to school half-term dates converging on that week.

Many other countries still have public holidays on Whit Monday.

Tim Roll-Pickering | 02.04.24 - 12:32 p.m. | #

Easter is special in that it's the only Western festival to follow the old Chinese calendar more closely than the Julian / Gregorian calendar (it's the Sunday after first "15th" of a Chinese month after 21st of March).

Meanwhile, the Chinese "Ching Ming" (tomb-sweeping) festival is one of the few Chinese festivals that follows the Julian / Gregorian calendar more closely.

The two are often close to each other, so for the few places where both are observed (e.g. Hong Kong), people often treat them as one long festival.

As a matter of fact, I went tomb-sweeping on Easter Monday and took a rest on the actual tomb-sweeping day as if I was observing Easter.

Patrickov | 08.04.24 - 1:56 p.m. | #











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