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A Question of Dates
from the March 18, 2008 eNews issue
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Resurrection Sunday, more commonly known as Easter, is only a few days away. This year we celebrate Easter on March 23rd, almost a month before Passover. Yet Christ was crucified on Passover, so why are they an entire month apart?
Passover is observed on the 14th day of the month of Nisan, the first month of the religious year. Jesus was crucified on Passover and rose on the 3rd day, appropriately on the Feast of Firstfruits (the morning after the Sabbath after Passover). This was always on a Sunday, irrespective of the day of the week of Passover. Thus, Christians have traditionally celebrated His resurrection on Sunday.
In the West, most of our major holidays occur conveniently on fixed dates. However unless you are an astronomer, the date of Easter can be much more difficult to determine. That's because its date is set by the lunar calendar. The rules for determining the date of Easter were imposed by Constantine and the Council of Nicaea in AD 325, long before the advent of the Gregorian calendar that is most widely used in the world today. Easter is celebrated on the first Sunday, after the first full moon, after the spring equinox. Therefore, it is held on a Sunday on varying dates between March 22 and April 25.
This year Passover begins at sunset on April 19th, almost a month after Easter, in part because it is a Jewish leap year. During leap years, an entire month is added to the Hebrew calendar. Furthermore, this year Easter comes early, very early. In fact, the next time Easter will fall this early will be in the year 2228 – not for another 220 years. The last time it fell on March 23rd was the year 1913. Easter sometimes falls on March 22nd, a day earlier, however that hasn't happened since 1818 and won't happen again until the year 2285 – in another 277 years. What does that mean? No one alive today has or will ever celebrate it any earlier.
You may have noticed that many aspects of our holidays are more tradition than truth. For example, the word "Easter" appears in the King James Version in the Book of Acts (Acts 12:4), but the Greek word pascha, actually refers to Passover, and is so corrected in most modern renderings. The name "Easter" has its roots in earlier pagan practices, as do many of our more peculiar Easter traditions (like rabbits that lay eggs). Chuck discusses this topic in further detail in our briefing pack titled The Easter Story.
Related Links:
• The Easter Story - DVD - Sale Price!
• Bible Study Resources - Easter
• Friday or Wednesday? - K-House Archives