Happy Orthodox Easter! Butterflies have long been associated with resurrection, due to the wonders of complete metamorphosis from caterpillar to adult butterfly. This year the Orthodox churches celebrate Easter one week later than the "Western" or "Catholic" churches. Here is one explanation for the different dates every year:
"The formula for Easter? 'The first Sunday after the first full moon on or
after the vernal equinox' is identical for both Western and Orthodox
Easters, but the churches base the dates on different calendars: Western
churches use the Gregorian calendar, the standard calendar for much of the world, and Orthodox churches use the older, Julian calendar."
"That much is straightforward. But actually calculating these dates involves a bewildering array of ecclesiastical moons and paschal full moons, the astronomical equinox, and the fixed equinox, and that's in addition to the two different calendar systems."
As a result, the dates for Easter frequently either coincide or differ by 7 days, but every few years the Orthodox celebration is five weeks later.
No comments:
Post a Comment