Why Easter has different dates?

Like obliczyć Easter?

How do you determine Easter?

How do you calculate Easter?

Setting the date for Easter. Why Easter is świętem ruchomym? Dlaczego Easter have different dates? How do you determine Easter?

As we already know Easter w kalendarzu jest świętem ruchomym. Zostało to ustalone w trakcie trwania pierwszego soboru nicejskiego, który odbył się w 325 roku. Wtedy to ustalono, że dzień Wielkanocy będzie obchodzony w pierwszą Sunday after the first spring full moon. The very model for setting this date at the First Council came from the principles of translating a specific date in the religious Hebrew calendar (the date 14 nisan - nisan is the name of the month), into the solar calendar, the Julian calendar. The date 14 nisan represents the beginning of the Passover festival in the Hebrew calendar.

It therefore follows that Easter jest świętem ruchomy. Sam dzień Wielkanocy może wypaść najwcześniej 22 marca, a najpóźniej 25 kwietnia. Również inne święta w tym okresie, powiązane ze świętami Wielkanocnymi są ruchome. Corpus Christi, Pentecost (specifically 50 days after Easter), Ascension of the Lord, the whole Paschal Triduum (Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday, Sunday), Ash Wednesday whether w końcu okres Wielkiego postu. Pewne zmiany nastąpiły po wprowadzeniu kalendarza gregoriańskiego. Nie objęły jednak one wiary prawosławnej, która nadal obchodzi święta w zgodzie z kalendarzem juliańskim.

W historii Kościoła następowały próby ujednolicenia Wielkanocy i wyznaczenia jej konkretnej daty.

Próba taka nastąpiła za czasów Piusa X. Projekt was bliski przyjęcia, na co zgodziła się większość biskupów, jednak ostatecznie, po protestach oskarżających próby zmniejszenia znaczenia zmartwychwstania Pańskiego, zmiany te odrzucono.

Do tej pory istnieją środowiska postulujące za zmianą dat obchodzenia Wielkanocy. Mowa tutaj o wyborze zawsze drugiej niedzieli kwietnia, co dawałoby daty od 8 do 14 kwietnia albo wyborze niedziel pomiędzy Świętem Epiphany a Ash Wednesday, which would also coincide with the dates 8-14 (except in leap years, when it would be April 7-13). Church as much as possible allows the possibility of changing the date.

 

CALCULATIONS

How do you calculate Easter in a given year?

When setting the date of Easter, it is important to keep in mind the basic rule that states Easter always falls on the first Sunday after the first spring full moon occurring after March 21. Thus it falls between March 22 and April 25. The method of calculating the specific day of Easter was given by the German mathematician C.F. Gauss. The table given below is used in this case:

Years
 
A
 
B
 
Exceptions (year)
 
I kind of
 
II kind
 
33-1582
 
15
 
6
 
no
 
no
 
1583-1699
 
22
 
2
 
1609
 
no
 
1700-1799
 
23
 
3
 
no
 
no
 
1800-1899
 
23
 
4
 
no
 
no
 
1900-2099
 
24
 
5
 
1981, 2076
 
1954, 2049
 
2100-2199
 
24
 
6
 
2133
 
2106
 
2200-2299
 
25
 
0
 
2201, 2296
 
no
 
2300-2399
 
26
 
1
 
no
 
no
 
2400-2499
 
25
 
1
 
2448
 
no
 
2500-2599
 
26
 
2
 
no
 
no
 
2600-2699
 
27
 
3
 
2668
 
no
 
2700-2899
 
27
 
4
 
2725, 2820
 
no
 
2900-2999
 
28
 
5
 
no
 
no

 

We use 6 steps for the calculation:

  1. divide the number of the year by 19 and then find the remainder a
  2. divide the number of the year by 4 and then find the remainder b
  3. divide the number of the year by 7 and then find the remainder c
  4. the remainder determined as a, multiply by 19, add the number A to the product, divide the sum by 30 and determine the remainder d
  5. Sum of products of 2b + 4c +6d + B divide by 7 and determine the remainder e
  6. Sum of the residuals e + d add to date March 22

This is how we get the date of Easter.

If the date is above March 31, it must be converted to the corresponding day in April. If the sum (d+e)>10 then we are sure that it is April. In the opposite case it is March.

Exceptions to the Calculation of Easter Dates

In some cases there are also exceptions (first type exception, second type exception)

Z wyjątkiem pierwszego rodzaju mamy do czynienia, gdy d=29, a e=6 and according to the calculations Easter przypadałaby na 26 kwietnia. W takim wypadku obchodzi się ją tydzień wcześniej czyli 19 kwietnia (np. 1609 r. i 1981 r.).

Exceptions of the second kind occur when d=28 a e=6, and dividing 11A + 11 by 30 gives a remainder less than 19. In that case Easter falls on April 5, and is celebrated on March 29 (1807 and 1954).

All exceptions that occur up to the year 2999 are listed in the table above.

EXAMPLE:

Obliczmy datę Wielkanocy for roku 2008;

  • Step 1: 2008:19=105, remainder a=13
  • Step 2: 2008:4=502, remainder b=0
  • Step 3: 2008:7=286, remainder c=6
  • Step 4: (19+a+A):30 or (19+13+24):30=271:30=9, remainder d=1
  • Step 5: (2xb + 4xc + 6xd + B):7 i.e. (2×0 + 4×6 + 6×1 + 5):7=5, remainder 0
  • Step 6: d+e+22 or 1+0+22=23

We got the final result equal to 23. This means that the Easter holiday date for 2008 is March 23, 2008. (for the Gregorian calendar).

In the case of the Julian calendar, the calculations look identical but for A we substitute A=15 and for B we substitute B=6).

There is yet one method of calculating the date of Easter. It is the Meeus/Jones/Butcher method. It is simpler in that it does not require the numbers A and B, and there are no exceptions. The method proceeds as follows:

  1. First we divide the number of the year by 19 and determine the remainder a.
  2. Divide the number of years by 100, round the result down (cut off the fractional part) and we get the number b.
  3. We divide the number of years by 100 and get the remainder c.
  4. We calculate: b : 4 and the result is rounded down and we get the number d.
  5. We calculate: b : 4 and determine the remainder e.
  6. We calculate: (b + 8) : 25 and the result is rounded down and we get the number f.
  7. We calculate: (b - f + 1) : 3 and the result is rounded down and we get the number g.
  8. We calculate: (19 × a + b - d - g + 15) : 30 and determine the remainder h.
  9. We calculate: c : 4 and the result is rounded down and we get the number i.
  10. We calculate: c : 4 and determine the remainder k.
  11. We calculate: (32 + 2 × e + 2 × i - h - k) : 7 and we get the remainder l.
  12. We perform an action (a + 11 × h + 22 × l) : 451 and the result is rounded down and we get the number m.
  13. We perform the action: (h + l - 7 × m + 114) : 31 and we get the remainder p.
  14. The result is x = p + 1 (it is Easter day)
  15. Month = Rounding down division (h + l - 7 × m + 114) by 31.

For simplicity, there is a conversion between the Gregorian and Julian calendars. For the years 1900-2100, we simply add the number 13 to the dates on the Julian calendar and get the date for the Gregorian calendar.