Easter

The date of Easter is not fixed to a civil calendar. Did you know that it’s tied to the full Moon and the vernal equinox?

• Christian churches that follow the Gregorian calendar celebrate Easter on the first Sunday after the paschal full Moon on or just after the vernal equinox. For simplicity, the equinox is considered March 21. The paschal full Moon always falls on the 14th day of a lunar month; because ancient calculations did not take into account certain lunar motions, this date may be slightly off from the astronomical full Moon date.
• Eastern Orthodox churches follow the Julian calendar. Due to these different methods of calculation, the Eastern and Western churches often celebrate the feast on different days.
• In Western churches, Easter can never occur before March 22 or after April 25. In Eastern churches, Easter can occur between April 4 and May 8 (using Gregorian calendar dates).

Easter Dates for 2010–14

Year	Western/Gregorian	Eastern/Julian
2010	April 4	April 4
2011	April 24	April 24
2012	April 8	April 15
2013	March 31	May 5
2014	April 20	April 20

What is the Golden Number?

It’s a number in the 19-year cycle of the Moon, used for determining the date of Easter. (The Moon repeats the dates of its phases approximately every 19 years.) Add 1 to any given year and divide the result by 19; the remainder is the Golden Number. If there is no remainder, the Golden Number is 19.
 

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