We usually celebrate Easter in mid-April, but this year, the bells are ringing much earlier than expected!
Most holidays are celebrated on the same date or day, such as Christmas on December 25, Ascension which always takes place on a Thursday, or St. Patrick’s Day, which falls on March 17 each year. For Easter, the dates change from one year to the next. If we are used to gathering as a family in mid-April, the Easter celebration will take place a little earlier than expected in 2024. In fact, the commemoration of the resurrection of Christ took place on Sunday April 17, 2022 and Sunday 9 April 2023. But this year, it is on Sunday March 31 that we get together as a family. Easter Monday will take place the next day, April 1st. But why are Easter bells ringing so early in 2024?
To do this, we must go back to the year 325, to the time when the Council of Nicaea made it possible to set the official date of Easter, namely the first Sunday after the full moon following the spring equinox. A way of harmonizing the dates of the different religious festivals and of making the resurrection of Christ coincide with the return of the spring season when nature is reborn. This year, spring therefore begins on Wednesday March 20 and the full moon takes place on Monday March 25, 2024. Consequently, Easter takes place on the following Sunday: March 31. Next year, we will celebrate Easter like most other years in April, on Sunday April 20, 2025.
The date of Easter therefore depends on the moon and the Gregorian calendar. But among the Orthodox, it’s a different story, since the date is set this time according to the Julian calendar. This year, they are celebrating Easter much later, on Sunday May 5, 2024.
Apart from the date which differs from one year to another or according to the different calendars, the customs remain the same. Children can’t wait to taste delicious chocolates collected during traditional egg hunts and families come together around a meal of Easter lamb and chocolate desserts.