How ancient astronomical error affects Easter

[Still Waters]

Easter weekend brings a lot of things to mind — religion, family, food, bunnies and Easter eggs, to name a few. The moon usually isn't on that list, but it actually has a big influence over the date on which the holiday weekend falls.

In fact, an ancient misunderstanding of astronomy can make us wait up to a month to celebrate Easter, depending on the year.

For hundreds of years, churches have looked to the sky to determine when they should celebrate Easter, trying to align it with the Vernal, or Spring, equinox. The holiday is a time of renewal and rebirth for the Christian church, so celebrating around the dawn of Spring made sense.

http://www.cbc.ca/ha...aster-moon.html

[rashore]

Hehehe, I have always found this pretty darn funny. First Sunday after first full moon after the Spring Equinox.

[Ashotep]

March 31st is Easter this year. It use to be in April around the 8th.