If our grandmothers clearly understood when Easter Sunday would be celebrated, then we learn about it from the Internet. And we are very surprised why Christmas, the Annunciation, and the Savior are celebrated every year on the same day, and the day of Easter celebration changes every year. Why does this depend and how to calculate it?

Why do we celebrate Easter on different days?

There is a long-standing rule that is common to all religions: Easter is celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon. And the first full moon follows the vernal equinox - March 22.

IMPORTANT.There are two exceptions to the uniform rule for celebrating Easter Sunday:

The first full moon falls on Sunday - Easter is postponed to the next;
. Christian Easter is not celebrated on the same day as the Jewish one.

We focus on the lunar calendar, which is 354 days (in the solar calendar - 365 or 366 days if the year is a leap year). It is also important to understand that the lunar month consists of 29.5 days, so the full moon occurs every 29 days.

It turns out that the first full moon after the vernal equinox (March 21) occurs on different days, which is why the date of Easter is shifted.

IMPORTANT. Since the vernal equinox occurs on the night of March 21-22, Easter is celebrated no earlier than April 4 and no later than May 8.

Determining the date of Easter using the formula

This simple formula was proposed by Carl Gauss at the beginning of the 19th century:

1. The year (its number) in which you need to find out the date of the Great Day is divided by 19. Remainder = A

2. Divide the number of the year by 4 = B

3. Divide the number of the year by 7 = C

4. (19 * A + 15): 30 = number and remainder = D

5. (2 * B + 4 * C + 6 * D + 6) : 7 = number. Remainder = E

6. D + E<= 9, то Пасха будет в марте + 22 дня, если >, then in April: the resulting number is 9

Why is Easter celebrated on different days in different religions?

There have long been calls to celebrate Catholic and Orthodox Easter on the same day, because these churches calculate chronology according to different calendars (Orthodox - according to the Julian, and Catholics - according to the Gregorian).

In 2017 there is an exception, and we celebrate Easter on one day - April 16. Here's how things will be in 2018 and beyond.

Orthodox Easter 2017 - April 16
Catholic Easter 2017 - April 16

Orthodox Easter 2018 - April 8
Catholic Easter 2018 - April 1

Orthodox Easter 2019 - April 28
Catholic Easter 2019 - April 21

Orthodox Easter 2020 - April 19
Catholic Easter 2020 - April 12

Orthodox Easter 2021 - May 2
Catholic Easter 2021 - April 4

Orthodox Easter 2022 - April 24
Catholic Easter 2022 - April 17

Orthodox Easter 2023 - April 16
Catholic Easter 2023 - April 9

Orthodox Easter 2024 - May 5
Catholic Easter 2024 - March 31

Orthodox Easter 2025 - April 20
Catholic Easter 2025 - April 20

The reason for this difference goes back to the distant year 325, when the First Ecumenical Council established the rule for calculating the day of Easter: in Rome (Catholics) - the vernal equinox on March 18, in Alexandria (Orthodox) - March 21.

IMPORTANT. With the Jewish Passover (Pesach) everything is much simpler: it always, annually occurs on the 15th day of the month Nisan. This is the date of the exodus of the Jews from Egypt, and the beginning of the month in the lunar calendar of the Jews is the new moon, and the lunar month lasts 28 days.

The biggest holiday of Christians is undoubtedly Easter (the Holy Resurrection of Christ), which, along with the Nativity of Christ, is one of the most important – “twelve” – holidays of Orthodoxy. “Holiday of holidays” and “triumph of triumphs” - that’s what people call it. This year Easter is quite early and falls on April 8th.

Even among people who are far from religion, Easter is associated with a solemn service, a procession and Easter cakes, as well as colored eggs and the ringing of bells. Volzhsky.ru decided to understand the true meaning of the holiday and prepared a special material about the history and traditions of Easter, why it falls on different days every year, what you should and should not do on this day, as well as other related Orthodox holidays - Palm Sunday and Annunciation.

Easter: where did the holiday come from?

The roots of the word “Passover” itself go back to the history of the liberation of the Jewish people from Egyptian slavery. The holiday originated long before the birth of Christ, but its significance was already great for the Jewish people. In the Old Testament, it serves as a reminder of how the Almighty bypassed Jewish homes during the last of the “plagues of Egypt,” when the first-born of all Egyptians died: in Hebrew, “passover” or “passover” literally means “passed”, “passed by” .

Later, among Christians, the holiday acquired a slightly different interpretation: the transition from death to life, from earth to heaven. In this sense, Easter is firmly connected with the biblical resurrection of Christ, whose crucifixion occurred after the Jewish Passover, on Friday, later called “Passion”. This event adds new meaning, traditions and attributes to the meaning of the holiday. In other words, the word “Easter” still means both the Old Testament and the New Testament holidays.

Why does Easter always fall on different days?

Easter is the main moving holiday of the church calendar. This means that it does not have a specific date, and every year is calculated according to the lunar calendar. Thus, since ancient times, the first Sunday after the full moon on the day of the vernal equinox or immediately after it was chosen for the holiday. Thus, Easter can fall on any day between April 4 and May 8. By the way, it is from the date of Easter that all other moving holidays are calculated - Palm Sunday, Ascension of the Lord, Feast of the Holy Trinity (Pentecost).

This year, Easter is celebrated on April 8, since the vernal equinox is March 21, and the first full moon of spring fell on March 31, 2018.

In accordance with the date of Easter, the beginning of the 40-day Great Lent this year fell on February 19, and the end on April 7 and coincided with the Feast of the Annunciation. This holiday marks the day when the Virgin Mary received the good news: Archangel Gabriel informed her of the immaculate conception and birth of the Divine Infant Christ.

Great Lent: what is possible, what is not?

40 days before Easter, Orthodox believers begin to fast: the first day of fasting begins after Maslenitsa and Forgiveness Sunday. Moreover, the strictest two weeks of fasting are the first, when believers are just beginning the path to repentance, and the last, when the purification of the soul is completed. On these days, believers do not eat animal products, and, in general, abstain from large meals. On some days of fasting you cannot eat hot food and add vegetable oil to it, but on others, for example, fish and even red wine are allowed. Exceptions and concessions, according to church canons, are made for the elderly, children, pregnant women, the sick and travelers.

There is plenty of information on the Internet about the Lenten menu and ways to observe church canons at the table these days. Let us note, however, that from year to year the “church fathers” tirelessly repeat: it is much more important to observe spiritual fasting during this period. That is, to refrain from bad deeds, words, thoughts, quarrels, despondency and other sins. Fasting is a time of purification and internal improvement of the Orthodox, as well as approaching the understanding of faith and God.

Palm Sunday: how is it related to Easter?

Palm Sunday marks the entry of the Lord into Jerusalem and is celebrated exactly one week before the celebration of Easter. On this day, Jesus' disciples and believers accepted him as Savior and Messiah, welcoming and recognizing him as a type of God. They laid clothes before him, expecting blessings and salvation from worldly suffering. Believers also walked in a solemn religious procession with palm branches in their hands. However, in Rus' the climate was cold, and palm trees did not grow, so over time, people replaced them with willow, on which fluffy catkins bloom at that time. Hence the popular name of the holiday - Palm Sunday.

In Rus', on this day, parishioners prayed during Matins with blessed willow and, upon arriving home, swallowed willow buds to protect themselves from illness and drive away illness. Women baked nuts from the dough and gave them to everyone in the household, including animals, for health. The consecrated willow was preserved until the first pasture of livestock, and then it was stuck under the roof of the house. It was believed that this would keep the cattle safe and help them return home regularly after walking.

Holy Week: "week of suffering"

The entire last week of Lent is called Holy Week, and translated from Church Slavonic means “week of suffering.” Each day has its own special meaning and history. At this time, according to the biblical scriptures, Christ began his path to death for all the sins of mankind and subsequent resurrection. Therefore, during Holy Week, Christians pray intensely, observe strict fasting, and remember the last days of Christ’s earthly life. This year's Holy Week will begin on April 2 and end on April 7.

Priests recommend going to church at this time, leaving all worldly affairs. It is attending services and spiritual fasting during Holy Week that is much more important than the “table” fast. Also at this time it is advisable to take communion at least twice: on Maundy Thursday and on Holy Easter.

Holy Week: strictly by day

Many Orthodox Christians do not have the opportunity to fast for all 40 days, but they try to limit themselves in food at least in the last, Holy Week.

So, for example, on Monday, food is taken only 2 times a day, limiting its volume and adhering to dry eating. On this day you can eat raw, boiled, pickled vegetables, bread, nuts, berries, dried fruits. Food should be prepared without vegetable oil. On Tuesday you should also stick to dry eating, but boiled porridge and dried fruit compote are allowed. Great Wednesday: only boiled and fresh vegetables, bread, light soups prepared without vegetable oil and meat. Maundy Thursday involves a small indulgence: for example, vegetable oil, hot soups and salads. But Thursday gives way to a complete refusal to eat on Good Friday, called “Holy Friday.” Those who cannot completely give up eating food are recommended to adhere to dry eating. On Holy Saturday, the laity should also adhere to dry eating or refuse to eat at all until midnight.

Bright Week: how long is Easter celebrated?

Many people mistakenly believe that Easter is celebrated for only one day. But, in fact, the celebration of Easter lasts 40 days (it is believed that this is how long the Lord stayed on earth after the resurrection). At this time, believers greet each other with the words “Christ is Risen!” and “Truly he is risen!” and praise Christ.

The first week after Easter - Easter (Bright) Week - is especially bright and joyful for Orthodox Christians. In 2018, Bright Week will take place from April 9 to April 15. The church canons say that it is celebrated “as one day”: the nightly Easter service is completely repeated throughout the week. How widely Easter is celebrated at this time is evidenced by the fact that during the entire Bright Week one cannot voluntarily impose fasting on oneself - even for those who are preparing for communion. By the way, “orthodox” adherents of Orthodox dogmas consider any work during the entire Easter week to be a great sin.

Easter table

On the day of the Resurrection of Christ, special dishes are placed on the table, which are prepared only once a year: Easter cake, real Easter cottage cheese, painted eggs. At the beginning of the Easter meal, it is customary to eat food consecrated in the temple, and only then all other dishes.

An egg painted red with onion skins used to be called “krashenka”, a painted one – “pysanka”, and wooden Easter eggs – “yaychata”. At the same time, from time immemorial, Orthodox eggs were painted red, signifying the atonement of human sins with the blood of Christ. Other colors and patterns used to decorate eggs are not welcomed by strict church canons. For example, thermal stickers with the image of the face of Christ, the Virgin Mary, images of temples and inscriptions, although widely represented on store shelves, ultimately end up in the trash, which is unacceptable.

One of the legends that explains the tradition of dyeing eggs for Easter is associated with Mary Magdalene. According to legend, she visited Rome and Emperor Tiberius to preach, giving him an ordinary chicken egg. But Tiberius did not believe Mary’s story about the Resurrection of Jesus and exclaimed: “This is as incredible as if the egg turned red!” And then, right before the emperor’s eyes, the egg turned red. Since then, Orthodox Christians have painted Easter eggs, which symbolize the creation of a miracle.

By the way, many believers who observe Great Lent believe that on Easter it is worth “compensating” for it with a rich feast. The priests say that they are waiting for this day not in order to indulge in sinful excess, but in order to understand why they led a strict lifestyle for all 40 days. And a sharp transition from abstinence to abundant food is dangerous from a medical point of view.

To the cemetery on Easter: to go or not to go?

From year to year, the Orthodox “fathers of the church” strongly discourage going to the cemetery on Easter.

At the same time, Orthodox priests note that every year fewer and fewer people go to the cemetery on Easter Eve. According to the clergy, the tradition of leaving treats in the cemetery is, in a way, a relic of paganism. During the funeral process, the ancient Slavs built a large mound and held a funeral meal on it. The tradition survived several centuries later, while the treats left on the graves were more often collected by the poor. Today the church considers this an absolutely normal phenomenon: after all, sweets in the cemetery are left not for the dead, but for the living - for memorial purposes. At the same time, it is better to eat any kind of food - as well as to organize any feast - at home, and not in a cemetery.

Divine services in Volzhsky

On the night of Easter Sunday, churches hold solemn services glorifying the feat of Christ, his martyrdom and subsequent resurrection. Believers go to churches to bless the main symbols of the holiday - Easter cake, symbolizing life, and colored eggs, symbolizing rebirth, the beginning of a new life.

Festive Easter services will be held in all Volzhsky churches. Services will begin at 11.00-11.30 on April 7. At the same time, Volga residents will be able to bless Easter cakes and eggs both after the Easter service and in advance. Consecration begins in churches on Saturday from 11.00 am and continues almost throughout the day.

Easter fairs in Volzhsky

On the eve of Easter, from April 5 to 7, exhibitions and sales of Easter cakes will be organized in the city. Volga residents will be able to purchase Easter cakes from local producers at the following official addresses:

• Lenin Ave., 94 (area in front of the market);
• st. Olomoutskaya, 31a (area in front of the shopping center);
• st. Mira, 41 (area in front of the clinic entrance);
• st. Mira, 75a (area in front of the Prestige shopping center);
• st. Gorky, 25.

The question “why is Easter at a different time every year?” sooner or later every Christian asks himself. Some people attribute this to established church traditions and stop racking their brains in vain, while for others their natural curiosity gives them no rest. What's the matter? Why did Easter fall into the category of moving holidays, since Christ was resurrected on a specific day? Let's try to figure it out.

How is the date of the Holy Day calculated?

To answer why Easter falls at different times, either at the beginning of April, or at the end, or even in May, we will first have to turn to history. And secondly, look through several calendars: Jewish, Julian, Gregorian... The main thing is not to get confused!

When determining the date of the most important holiday in the Christian world, the Church focuses on three points.

1. Spring equinox.

It is with him, and not from March 1, as the dry official calendars interpret, that spring comes to the world, and nature awakens from hibernation and seems to rise from under the snow. It is logical that Easter, the holiday of the Resurrection and Renewal of life, was decided to be celebrated after this date, and not before, while the earth was frozen.

The jubilation of awakened nature emphasizes the joyful mood of the holiday

2. The first full moon after the equinox.

And this is a reference to the solar-lunar Jewish calendar, which, by the way, is still in use in Israel. In it, the phases of the Moon are clearly tied to certain dates and do not have the habit of “swimming” along the calendar grid, as happens with us. That is why, both now and 2000 years ago, the Jewish Passover - a holiday in honor of liberation from Egyptian captivity - began on the 14th day of the month of Nisan and always coincided with the full moon. Since Christ was crucified during this holiday and resurrected three days later, the Church tries not to disrupt the historical course of events: first the full moon, then the Resurrection.

The Jewish Passover - Passover - lasts seven days, like the Easter week of Christians.

3. Day of the week.

According to tradition, the bright holiday should fall on Sunday. If the first full moon after the equinox coincides with Sunday, the solemn date is postponed another week.

This is why Easter is celebrated at different times, because full moons do not have a firmly designated place in the calendar that we use, and therefore all the dates associated with them are regularly shifted in one direction or another.

The most important religious issues were decided at the councils

This calculation procedure was established by the Council of Nicaea in 325 in order to clarify the issue of the date of Easter celebration (some, in the old fashioned way, celebrated it on the day of the crucifixion of Christ, as a memory of the Savior’s sacrifice). And in the 4th-8th centuries, the Eternal Paschal appeared, a method for calculating the required dates, covering a period of as much as 532 years. The Orthodox Church still uses it to this day. Although, I must admit, these calculations are not entirely flawless...

Two Churches, two calendars

This state of affairs continued until the split of the united Christian Church into Orthodox and Catholic in 1054 and more than 500 years after. However, over time it became clear that the Julian calendar adopted at the Council of Nicea was not consistent with real astronomical data. Every 128 years, he “lost” 24 hours, falling behind the readings of the heavenly bodies. By 1500, the error was already 13 days. Almost two weeks!

Having decided to restore order in the chronology, in 1582 Pope Gregory the 13th introduced a new calendar, called the Lilian calendar after Aloysus Lilius, adviser to the head of the Roman church. The name did not catch on - today we know the calendar as the Gregorian - but the new system turned out to be in demand.

Is the exact date so important? After all, the meaning of the holiday is more important!

The Orthodox Church decided not to change traditions, remaining faithful to the old calendar approved by the Council of Nicaea. And Christians all over the world now have reason to ask two questions: why is Easter always at different times and why does the date of its celebration not coincide among adherents of two faiths who worship the same God?

Note that both methods of chronology have advantages and disadvantages. Thus, the Gregorian calendar does not have significant discrepancies with the data of astronomers. But Easter, according to his calculations, often coincides with a Jewish holiday or precedes it. And this already contradicts logic: the Resurrection cannot be before the Crucifixion.

The Julian or Orthodox calendar does not suffer from such incidents, but loses to the Gregorian calendar in punctuality. Alas, you can’t discount 13 “lost” days! On the other hand, the blessed fire of Bethlehem descends to earth before Orthodox Easter and through the prayers of the Orthodox Patriarch. So, these calculations are not so wrong?

Let the holiday bring joy to everyone, regardless of calendars!

Video: Church calendar

Why is Easter at a different time every time and how is this explained historically? A small explanation from the Glas television company.

03/04/2017 22:26:57 Mikhail

It's still unclear. Jesus Christ was executed on a certain specific day, on the third day He was resurrected also on a certain specific day. And this day is celebrated on different days. And what do calendars have to do with it?

07.03.2017 8:15:43 Priest Vasily Kutsenko

The fact is that in the early Christian era there were two different traditions of celebrating Easter. The first tradition is Asia Minor. According to this tradition, Passover was celebrated on the 14th of Abiv (Nisan) (as well as the Jewish Passover). The second tradition is Roman. Roman Christians celebrated Easter on the first Sunday after the 14th of Abib (Nisan). If the Christians who followed the first tradition were mostly from Judaism, then the Christians of Rome were converted from paganism and the connection with Jewish traditions was not so important for them. The question arises - which of these traditions is more correct? The answer is both equally. Because both of them were sanctified by apostolic authority and were of the earliest origin.

Subsequently, a dispute arose between the Christian communities of Rome and Asia Minor about the date of Easter, but no consensus was reached. Then this issue was raised at the First Ecumenical Council in Nicaea in 325. The fathers of the council decided to celebrate Easter on the same day for all Christians according to the Roman (and Alexandrian) tradition.

03/08/2017 10:40:20 Mikhail

In the “Lives of the Saints” on February 23 (March 8 n.s.) there is this: “.. Regarding the differences between the Asia Minor and Western churches in the understanding and celebration of Easter, the bishops of Smyrna and Rome did not agree to each deviate from their local custom, i.e. St. Polycarp recognized the correct celebration of Easter by Eastern Christians on the 14th day of the Jewish month of Nisan and its dedication to the remembrance of the last supper of the Lord with the disciples and the sacrament of the Eucharist established at it, and Anicetas recognized, on the contrary, the correct understanding of Easter, established in the West, as the annual feast of the Resurrection Christ and its celebration on the first Sunday after the spring full moon." Why didn’t they listen to the direct disciple of the apostles, but followed someone else’s lead?

09.03.2017 23:10:57 Priest Vasily Kutsenko

I will just once again briefly note the main aspects of the problem:

1. In the Gospel there is no exact date of the death of the Lord Jesus Christ, there is only a reference to the Jewish Passover: In two days there [should] be the [feast of] Passover and unleavened bread. And the chief priests and scribes sought how to take Him by cunning and kill Him.(Mark 14:1); On the first day of unleavened bread, when they slaughtered the Passover lamb, His disciples said to Him, “Where do you want to eat the Passover?” we'll go and cook(Mark 14, 12); and when evening had already come, because it was Friday, that is, [the day] before Saturday, Joseph from Arimathea, a famous member of the council, came(Mark 15, 42-43); After the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene and Mary of James and Salome bought spices to go and anoint Him. And very early, on the first [day] of the week, they come to the tomb, at sunrise(Mark 16:1-2).

2. The date of the Jewish Passover - 14 Nisan (Aviv) was calculated using the lunar calendar. But the question arises - 1) how accurate was this calendar? and 2) can we say with complete confidence that the 14th of Nisan (Aviv), celebrated by Asian Christians in the 2nd century. (it was at this time that a dispute arose about the date of the holiday) fell during the same period of the year as during the earthly life of Christ (here it must be taken into account that Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed, and the tradition of calculating the date of Easter could have been lost)?

3. Both Rome and the Asian churches insisted on the apostolic origin of their tradition (one should not forget that Rome is the city of the apostles Peter and Paul).

4. The difference in tradition testified to the different understanding and emphasis of various aspects of the celebration of Easter in different Christian communities. But I repeat once again that both of these traditions were correct. But historically it was the Roman and Alexandrian ones that became generally accepted. According to these traditions, Christian Easter should always be celebrated on Sunday.

03/10/2017 17:28:00 Mikhail

1. "In the Gospel there is no exact date of the death of the Lord Jesus Christ." I dare to note that in the Gospel there is no exact date for both Christmas and the Transfiguration. Let me remind you once again: “St. Polycarp recognized that it was correct for Eastern Christians to celebrate Easter on the 14th day of the Jewish month of Nisan and to devote it to the memory of the last supper of the Lord with the disciples and the sacrament of the Eucharist established on it.”

2. "The inhabitants of the planet have been accustomed to believe since childhood that the Savior died on Friday and was resurrected, respectively, on Sunday. However, only two Romanian astronomers thought about the fact that the exact date of Jesus’ death is still not known. They took a closer look at these issues.

For a long time, scientists at the National Observatory of Romania, Liviu Mircea and Tiberiu Oproiu, studied the Bible. It was she who was the source of the main premises. The New Testament states that Jesus died on the day after the first night of the full moon, after the vernal equinox. The Bible also tells us that a solar eclipse occurred during the crucifixion of Christ.

Based on this information, the help of calculated astrological programs was used. The movement of the planets between 26 and 35 AD shows that during these years the full moon occurred on the day after the spring equinox only twice. The first time was on Friday 7 April in 30 AD, and the second time was on 3 April 33 AD. It is easy to choose between these two dates, since the solar eclipse occurred in 33.

The resulting result can well be called a sensational discovery. If you believe the New Testament and the calculations of astronomers, then Jesus Christ died on Friday, April 3, at approximately three o'clock in the afternoon, and rose again on April 5, at four o'clock in the afternoon."

3. Rome, of course, is the city of the apostles Peter and Paul. But this did not prevent him from becoming what he is now.

4.How can two such different traditions be correct? And yet it is not clear why Christmas, Transfiguration, Epiphany are certain constant days, as it should be according to logic. And the Crucifixion and Resurrection are transitory, although these were also definite and specific days?

10.03.2017 18:54:38 Priest Vasily Kutsenko

Mikhail, once again I recommend that you familiarize yourself with the work of V.V. Bolotova. He explains in great detail why exactly the difference arose in the traditions of Roman and Asian Christians, and what meaning both church communities put into the Easter holiday.

I will answer in more detail only your question about how two different traditions can be simultaneously correct: it should be taken into account that in the early Christian period such diversity could well have existed, now it may seem strange to us, but in those centuries it was the norm. For example, now the Orthodox Church celebrates only three liturgies - St. Basil the Great, St. John Chrysostom and the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts. Now this is the norm. But in ancient times, the church community celebrated its Eucharistic celebration. And this was also the norm.

Regarding the movable and non-movable holidays, the dates of the holidays arose far from the apostolic period, and throughout history we can observe how the dates of certain holidays could vary, both in the East and in the West. For example, for quite a long time Christmas and Epiphany were one holiday, the continuation of which was Candlemas. Some Christian communities celebrated the Annunciation on the eve of the Nativity of Christ. The history of the Feast of the Transfiguration is also quite complex and interesting.

Ancient Christians emphasized the symbolic side of the event rather than insisting on historical accuracy. After all, even the tradition of Asian Christians to celebrate Easter on the 14th of Nisan (Aviv) is not historically accurate. Nisan 14 is the first day of the Jewish Passover, and judging by the Gospels, Christ did not die and resurrect on the Passover day itself. But the ancient Christians saw important symbolism here - the Old Testament Easter is replaced by the New Testament, God, who freed Israel from slavery, now frees the entire human race. I repeat once again that all this is described in great detail by V.V. Bolotova.

03/11/2017 13:05:05 Mikhail

Yes, I understand why there was a difference in traditions, in calendars, in full moons and equinoxes. It is not clear to me why people began to become attached to these full moons and equinoxes, when an event occurred that could not be ignored: a three-hour eclipse of the sun? Dionysius the Areopagite noticed and it is known when he noticed and when he lived. It was a specific day. And there was never again a three-hour solar eclipse. And it couldn’t be all over the world. Why wasn’t this day taken as a basis? That's what I don't understand.

04/07/2019 17:12:47 sapajja

Who told you, Konstantin, that you can tell fortunes on the Annunciation? And heresy, by the way, is a distortion of Christian teaching - that is, something that arises in the mainstream of theology. And fortune telling is simply demonic, incompatible with church Christian life, either on the Annunciation or on any other day.

04/07/2019 21:17:21 Leo

Yes, Konstantin, this is a gross superstition! Sin remains sin even on especially revered days. This superstition was invented in order to desecrate the holiday with fortune telling and other unholy things. Sin is always sin and virtue is always virtue. It’s impossible to say that today is the Annunciation and I won’t wash the floor, they say, it’s impossible, but on the other hand, I will spend this day not in prayer, but in idleness, or worse, in drunkenness. These prohibitions on household chores are conditional; they were established by the Church so that hard-working peasants would be freed from their work in order to be able to participate in long holiday services, and this is for the salvation of the soul!

Being a great “why” student, I try to be interested in everything in the world: it’s nice to know something that others don’t suspect or don’t think about. I became interested in Orthodox themes, even visited the church several times to delve deeper into the essence. After talking with Father Nikolai, I found the answer to one burning question: why Easter is on different days every year, and I will be happy to share the information with you.

What do we know about the Holy Resurrection of Christ, except that this is the name of Easter, the celebration of which always falls on Sunday, but on different dates? Easter is considered one of the main moving events of the Orthodox calendar, at the same time tied to the incredibly complex lunisolar calculation accepted among the Jewish people.

Easter: Date Conversion Through the Centuries

Modern calculation of time strictly limits the scope of the possible celebration of the moving Easter: in Orthodoxy 4.04 - 8.05 according to the new style and according to the old 22.03 - 25.04 (with a difference of 13 days between the Julian and Gregorian styles) for Roman Catholics, Jews and most Protestants.

The Passover of the Jews in modern times is held on the day of the first full moon after the equinox. It is noteworthy that the date is determined according to the Julian calendar. Christians celebrate the Resurrection of the Lord on the day after the Jews (however, if March 21 turned out to be a Sunday, and even with a full moon, Easter should be set for March 28).

As a rule, the day of the first full moon falls between March 21 and April 18. However, if the full moon, Sunday and the date of April 18 coincide, Christians will have to celebrate the holiday only a week later - on the 25th, since biblical chronology and church rules require the Jewish Passover to be held before the Resurrection of Christ.

As for me, all this is very confusing, but the rules are established by the Church, and it’s not for me to judge them.

Easter date: how to calculate

After listening to the priest’s slightly confusing story, I came to the conclusion that determining the date of Orthodox Easter is a very difficult task. I didn’t try it myself, but I’ll tell you the theory now.

The alternation of dates for the Holy Resurrection of Christ is associated with difficult issues of coordinating dating according to the solar and lunar calendars, therefore the period from 4.04 to 8.05 is subject to a number of laws.

The minimum number of years for which Easter takes all possible time positions is 532. This array is called the Great Indiction, after which the date and month of Easter will alternate, so to speak, “on the thumb,” in the same order, so if at your disposal There is a fully calculated Easter, it will not be difficult to follow the progress of further changes.

For those who are too lazy to calculate such a huge layer of dates, I suggest using the formula of Carl Gauss, derived in the 19th century. What and how to do is shown in the figure.

In addition, I am sharing a little cheat sheet for those who want to be aware of the Easter dates for the next few years.

I hope that now you, like me, will know the answer to the question “Why is Easter on different days?”, and share your knowledge with your loved ones.

Tell your fortune for today using the “Card of the Day” Tarot layout!

For correct fortune telling: focus on the subconscious and don’t think about anything for at least 1-2 minutes.

When you are ready, draw a card: