Easter Calculations

Everyone knows how the date for Easter is chosen, right? Well, probably not. It took me awhile to figure it out and, honestly, the complete computation for the actual date is really confusing if someone with a scientific mind were to try and explain it. Since I don’t understand it myself, we’ll go the easy way.

Easter falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox. The vernal equinox falls on March 20 or 21 every year in the Northern Hemisphere (which is the date that counts according to the church) and so the date for Easter is chosen by figuring out the next full moon (April 6th) and then placing Easter on the following Sunday, which is April 8th this year.

It might surprise you to know that Easter can ONLY fall on 35 different dates, from March 22 (if the full moon is the SAME day as the equinox AND the equinox happens to be a Saturday) to April 25th (if the full moon was the day before the equinox). Easter last fell on March 22 in 1818 and will not fall on that Sunday again until 2285. It fell on April 25th in 1943 and will not be that late again until 2038. The cycle of Easter repeats itself every 5,700,000 years and the most common date for Easter is April 19th. That would by why I remember my birthday falling on Good Friday several times, though I have NEVER had an Easter birthday. According to the calendar, my birthday will fall on Easter in 2022 for the first time since I’ve been alive (I’ll be 49), and then it will repeat again in 2033 and 2044.

Now if you REALLY want to get technical, the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox churches use a different calendar to figure out the date for Easter, so not only is Easter movable, but it moves in different patterns depending upon the sect of Christianity that you follow. Confused yet?

The Jewish holiday of Passover usually falls shortly before Easter. The rules governing the start of Passover are nearly as complex as those placing the date of Easter, so I won’t go into much detail. Because of those rules, in three out of every nineteen years, Passover falls nearly a month after Easter, instead of a few days prior. There is no rule requiring that Easter follow the start of Passover, it is simply the way the calendars work out most of the time.

Whether you celebrate Easter, Passover, another holiday, or none at all, I wish you a happy season as we welcome the spring, the warm weather, and the sight of the sun. Spring fever is contagious and I think we all have it – celebrate being able to go for a walk without your coat on if nothing else! Happy April!

Event Update: April 25 at 6:00, Meinders Library will be hosting Sheryl Peterson, an author and illustrator of some wonderful non-fiction books for younger readers. Sheryl has written several books on dinosaurs and others on fantastic places to be, including Minnesota and Machu Picchu! Come and join us for a great author-in-residence!

PAFL Update: Pipestone Area Friends of the Library is looking for members – anyone who is a friend to Meinders Library is welcome to join! The Friends group works hard to promote the library, raise money for projects, and organize their yearly book sale, in addition to the HUGE amount of support they provide throughout the year. Call for the date of their next meeting.

Book Club Reminder: Book club regularly meets on the fourth Thursday of each month. The next meeting is April 26th at 7:00 in the Meinders Library conference room and everyone is welcome!

If you have questions or have a book you’d like to reserve or renew, please don’t hesitate to give us a call at (507) 825-6714. The hours for Meinders Library are Monday through Thursday from 10 AM – 8 PM, and Friday and Saturday from 10 AM – 5 PM. Meinders Community Library is located at 1401 7th Street SW, on the south side of the high school.