When Is Easter 2017? Why Do the Dates Change Every Year?
While other major holidays throughout the year - Christmas, Valentine's day, New Year - all fall on the exact date every year, the date of the Easter Sunday celebration, in contrast, changes every year. This year, Easter Sunday falls on April 16 — next year, 2018, it will be on April 1. That's a shift of more than two weeks. So why does the Easter Sunday date vary every time?
Simply put, Easter Sunday is the first Sunday after the first full moon following the spring equinox. After that is when it gets somewhat complicated, however.
The spring equinox, also called the vernal equinox, is the moment when day and night last about the same time, 12 hours, on almost all parts of the world. The spring equinox comes about on March 20 and it has done so for several decades now, with just the exact time varying over the years. This event also marks the start of spring in most cultures, according to Wikipedia.
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Now, the spring equinox is a significant part of the Jewish tradition of Passover. The celebration is traditionally held on the Paschal full moon, which is the first full moon following the spring equinox. The term Paschal moon implies as much, with the word "Pascha" having been derived from an Aramaic word meaning "Passover."
The earliest believers in the church of Asia Minor have wanted to keep the observance of Easter correlated to the Jewish Passover. The death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ happened after the Passover, which was when the Last Supper more or less took place, given that the gospel by Luke mentioned the event as a Passover meal.
In A.D. 325, it has been decided that Easter will always be on the first Sunday after the Paschal full moon. That has been the standard that made the Easter Day the first Sunday after Passover, making it a moving holiday.
