Early Easter

Elizabeth February 28th, 2008

I knew Easter felt early this year, but I didn’t know why until I found this explanation from Somebody Unfamous.

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Easter is always the 1st Sunday after the 1st full moon after the Spring Equinox, putting Easter on March 23 this year.
(the Spring Equinox occurs March 20)

This dating of Easter is based on the lunar calendar that Hebrew people used to identify Passover, which is why it moves around on our Roman calendar. Easter can actually be one day earlier (March 22) but that is pretty rare.

This year is the earliest Easter any of us will ever see the rest of our lives! Only the most elderly of our population have ever seen it this early (95 years old or above!). Moreover, none of us has ever, or will ever, see it a day earlier!

Here are the facts:

The next time Easter will be this early (March 23) will be the year 2228 (220 years from now). The last time it was this early was 1913 (so if you’re 95 or older, you are the only ones that were around for that!).

The next time it will be a day earlier, March 22, will be in the year 2285 (277 years from now). The last time it was on March 22 was 1818. Therefore, no one alive today has or will ever see it any earlier than this year!

I think trivia like this is taking up all the useful parts of my brain. Ah well. This was just a thinly-veiled excuse to post a picture of chocolate anyway…

(Did I mention that February is my chocolate-free month this year?)

4 Responses to “Early Easter”

  1. # Caitlinon 28 Feb 2008 at 12:53 pm

    Hi Elizabeth!! Glad you liked my caption for Jenny’s photo ;) Your blog is great, and I have been frequenting it since I found you through Jenny!
    Its funny you mention Easter being so early this year - I was just having this conversation with someone today…while I was buying chocolate! Hat’s off to you for going a month without eating it (I am totally inspired by your 101 list, and am seriously considering following suit, btw), but don’t be sad because I ate WAY too much after my purchase today and am completely regretting it. Off to the gym first thing in the morning as punishment!
    Cheers!

  2. # Elizabethon 28 Feb 2008 at 1:02 pm

    Hi Caitlin!

    I’m at the point where I am actually dreaming about chocolate. The other night I made this AMAZING peanut butter & chocolate slice in my dream, and as I dug into it I was FULLY aware that I was breaking my no-chocolate rule.

    It was one of those lucid dreams where you’re convinced you’re awake, and I DIDN’T CARE :)

    Anyway, let’s just say that it wasn’t exactly an accident that I happened to do this on the shortest month of the year! Stupid leap year, though…

  3. # Things that make you go hmmm | Dipping into the Blogpondon 29 Feb 2008 at 6:30 pm

    [...] lifetimes (it doesn’t happen again until 2228)! Elizabeth from Scarlet Words has all the full early Easter [...]

  4. # Bettyon 23 Mar 2008 at 1:57 pm

    Hi Elizabeth! I was just wondering if Easter has ever fallen on March 31st. If so, when and when will it occur again.

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