Why is Easter so Early This Year
Why is Easter so early this year? ( From Catholic Southampton ) In this section The Paschal Full Moon In early Christianity, there were major controversies about the date for celebrating Easter. Some said it should coincide with the Jewish Passover, which begins on the 14th day of the month Nisan (the Jewish New Year is in September, and Nisan is properly the seventh month of the Jewish year, but according to the Torah is regarded as in first place). However others said that Easter should always be celebrated on a Sunday, the 'first and greatest day'. 14 Nisan, can fall on any day of the week: in 2008 it corresponds to Sat April 19. To clear up this mess, a decision was taken at the famous Council of Nicea in the year 325. That Council was also famous for producing the Creed which we recite every Sunday. This was not widely accepted until it was described and defended by St Bede in 725. The simple definition of Easter is that it is the first Sunday after the full Moon that occu