What’s the deal with Easter?  One year it is in March; the next it is in April.  What gives?  Well, here is the story…

The date Easter Sunday falls on seems to be a hybrid between our calendar and a Jewish calendar, which was based on phases of the moon.

By this calendar, Easter falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon, after the vernal (spring) equinox.

It sounds complicated, but it’s not.  The vernal equinox is on March 21.  You find the first full moon after that date.  And Easter is on the following Sunday!  What about a year when the full moon IS on a Sunday (like it was this year)?  Then it is on the following Sunday.

That means Easter can land anywhere between March 22nd to April 25 (making this year one of the latest possible).

I guess an interesting question would be why the celebrate Easter this way but Christmas is always on Dec. 25, but that’s a different post!