Fixing Easter

Northern Advocate, 23 March 1937, Page 2

Fixing Easter

The “Mathematical” Moon In early times all countries did not keep Easter on the same dates. The churches of Asia Minor celebrated it on the same day as the Jews kept their Passover, while the churches of the West, remembering that Jesus rose on a Sunday, kept Easter on the Sunday following the Passover day. Various attempts to reconcile these two practices failed, and then the Council of Nicaea passed a decree that everywhere the great feast should be observed upon the same day, that day to be the Sunday following the Jewish Passover. To prevent further disputes four rules were laid down for the fixing of the date. It was decided that March 21 should bo regarded as the Spring Equinox — the time in Spring when day and night are equal; that the full Moon on that date, or the next after that date should be taken for the full Moon of the Passover Month; that the Sunday following full Moon should be Easter Day: and that if the full Moon happened on a Sunday, Easter should be the Sunday after. ‘ This plan has been observed ever since, and by it. the date of Easter is fixed. In carrying out the arrangements for the fixing of Easter various difficulties have arisen during the centuries owing to the fact that the Moons do not correspond exactly with the calendar. A series, or cycle, of 19 years has therefore been taken and numbered from 1 to 19 the numbers being known as Golden Numbers. Then to each of these years has also been given a number which is the age reckoned in days of the Moon at the beginning of the year. The numbers in this second series are known as Spade, and from the Golden Number and Epaet the Full Moon for deciding the date of Easter in any year may be worked out. It is curious that in arranging the

date of Easter according to rule, the Spring Equinox is a calculated date and not the actual Spring Equinox; the ’noon referred to is not the actual Moon shining in the sky, hut a mathematically calculated moon; and full moon does not mean a complete circular moon but a supposed full moon according to ' certain averages over a course of years. All this is due to the imperfections of the calendar which never corresponds exactly with the real movements of the Sun and the Moon. By means of the Golden Number and the Epact, which can always be found set forth in any good almanac, a clever boy or girl can work out the date of Easter for any year. The earliest date on which Easter Sunday can fall is March 22, but this will not occur until the year 2285, and the latest possible date is April 25 which will next fall in 1943. The reason 19 years are taken to form a cycle for reckoning the Golden Numbers is that after 19 years on a given day of the month the Moon is approximately in the same position in the sky as it was 19 years before so that 19 forms a complete series.