| "This is the disciple who is bearing witness to these things, and who has written these things; and we know that his testimony is true." John 21:24 |
| "The Aiken Standard" February 28, 2008 “Unusually Early Easter” Suzanne R. Stone Staff Writer |
If you haven’t gotten your Easter bonnet with the frills upon it yet, now’s the time. Easter Sunday falls uncommonly early this year.
This year’s Easter Sunday will be March 23, the first time it has fallen on that date since 1913 and the last time it will be on the 23rd until
2228. The earliest that Easter Sunday can fall is March 22 of any given year, and the latest it can occur is April 25. Coincidentally, this year’
s Easter Week also coincides with the weekend of the Aiken Spring Steeplechase, with the March 21 Mad Hatters Ball falling on Good Friday
and the Steeplechase taking place on March 22, the eve of Easter Sunday.
“Next year Holy Week is the same week as Masters week, and that happens much more commonly,” said Dr. Fred Andrea III of First Baptist
Church of Aiken. “When Masters week and Easter coincide, it puts more demands on people’s attention and time. I wouldn’t anticipate a
problem this Easter Sunday, since the Steeplechase will be over by then.”
The date of Easter Sunday is determined by a formula: the first Sunday after the first full moon to follow the Spring Equinox, also known as
the Paschal Full Moon. Because the date of the Spring Equinox varies from year to year, so does the date of Easter Sunday. The formula
was developed by the early Church as an answer to the “Easter Controversy,” according to Father Jeff Kirby of St. Mary Help of Christians
Catholic Church.
“The ‘Easter Controversy’ was the debate over how to blend the Jewish observance of Passover and the Christian observance of the
Resurrection. In Christian theology we call the Resurrection ‘The New Passover,’ so the early Church wanted to connect the two but also
show that this was something new. It was resolved with this formula because the date of the Spring Equinox also determines the date of
Passover, and it was a real source of peace when it was finally resolved,” he said.
Kirby noted that while the Eastern Orthodox Church also uses the Paschal Full Moon formula, it obtains its date from the Julian calendar
rather than the more familiar Gregorian calendar. The Eastern Orthodox Church’s Lenten season begins on March 10, and Easter Sunday
falls on April 27, a week after Passover. The Jewish feast of Passover begins at sunset on Saturday, March 19, and continues all day
Sunday, March 20.
“The way the liturgical calendar works, the Christmas season doesn’t come to a complete stop until Feb. 2, the feast of the presentation of
Jesus in the temple. We ended the Christmas season on Feb. 2 and had Ash Wednesday to begin Lent on Feb. 6,” Kirby said.
“This year is unique in that Christmas and Easter are as close together as anyone alive will be able to remember. In the Church’s teachings,
Christ’s life is one mystery, so this is a unique opportunity to teach how closely related those two events in Christ’s life were – that he was
born to that he might die for us,” he said. “You don’t get that opportunity very often.”
Andrea observed that Christian sects have many ways of observing the events of Easter week. Some observe Good Friday with a tenebrae
service, a candlelit service in which readings on the life of Christ are punctuated by the extinguishing of candles, concluding in total darkness
to symbolize the loss of Christ’s light from the world.
Other services are designed to emphasize the 14 stations of the cross; First Baptist will display a series of paintings by Nigerian artist Bruce
Onobrakpeya depicting the stations of the cross, given to the church last year, during Holy Week. Some churches also do a Saturday night
Easter Vigil, awaiting the arrival of Easter Sunday, and/or a sunrise service.
“Every Christian church observes Easter Sunday, but not all of them do all or most or, in some cases, any observes of Holy Week,” Andrea
said.
“Because we follow the liturgical calendar, our members are on top of it, but I can imagine churches that don’t have a Lent season’s
members might be caught off guard by the early Easter,” said Kirby.
Contact Suzanne Stone at sstone@aikenstandard.com.
This year’s Easter Sunday will be March 23, the first time it has fallen on that date since 1913 and the last time it will be on the 23rd until
2228. The earliest that Easter Sunday can fall is March 22 of any given year, and the latest it can occur is April 25. Coincidentally, this year’
s Easter Week also coincides with the weekend of the Aiken Spring Steeplechase, with the March 21 Mad Hatters Ball falling on Good Friday
and the Steeplechase taking place on March 22, the eve of Easter Sunday.
“Next year Holy Week is the same week as Masters week, and that happens much more commonly,” said Dr. Fred Andrea III of First Baptist
Church of Aiken. “When Masters week and Easter coincide, it puts more demands on people’s attention and time. I wouldn’t anticipate a
problem this Easter Sunday, since the Steeplechase will be over by then.”
The date of Easter Sunday is determined by a formula: the first Sunday after the first full moon to follow the Spring Equinox, also known as
the Paschal Full Moon. Because the date of the Spring Equinox varies from year to year, so does the date of Easter Sunday. The formula
was developed by the early Church as an answer to the “Easter Controversy,” according to Father Jeff Kirby of St. Mary Help of Christians
Catholic Church.
“The ‘Easter Controversy’ was the debate over how to blend the Jewish observance of Passover and the Christian observance of the
Resurrection. In Christian theology we call the Resurrection ‘The New Passover,’ so the early Church wanted to connect the two but also
show that this was something new. It was resolved with this formula because the date of the Spring Equinox also determines the date of
Passover, and it was a real source of peace when it was finally resolved,” he said.
Kirby noted that while the Eastern Orthodox Church also uses the Paschal Full Moon formula, it obtains its date from the Julian calendar
rather than the more familiar Gregorian calendar. The Eastern Orthodox Church’s Lenten season begins on March 10, and Easter Sunday
falls on April 27, a week after Passover. The Jewish feast of Passover begins at sunset on Saturday, March 19, and continues all day
Sunday, March 20.
“The way the liturgical calendar works, the Christmas season doesn’t come to a complete stop until Feb. 2, the feast of the presentation of
Jesus in the temple. We ended the Christmas season on Feb. 2 and had Ash Wednesday to begin Lent on Feb. 6,” Kirby said.
“This year is unique in that Christmas and Easter are as close together as anyone alive will be able to remember. In the Church’s teachings,
Christ’s life is one mystery, so this is a unique opportunity to teach how closely related those two events in Christ’s life were – that he was
born to that he might die for us,” he said. “You don’t get that opportunity very often.”
Andrea observed that Christian sects have many ways of observing the events of Easter week. Some observe Good Friday with a tenebrae
service, a candlelit service in which readings on the life of Christ are punctuated by the extinguishing of candles, concluding in total darkness
to symbolize the loss of Christ’s light from the world.
Other services are designed to emphasize the 14 stations of the cross; First Baptist will display a series of paintings by Nigerian artist Bruce
Onobrakpeya depicting the stations of the cross, given to the church last year, during Holy Week. Some churches also do a Saturday night
Easter Vigil, awaiting the arrival of Easter Sunday, and/or a sunrise service.
“Every Christian church observes Easter Sunday, but not all of them do all or most or, in some cases, any observes of Holy Week,” Andrea
said.
“Because we follow the liturgical calendar, our members are on top of it, but I can imagine churches that don’t have a Lent season’s
members might be caught off guard by the early Easter,” said Kirby.
Contact Suzanne Stone at sstone@aikenstandard.com.
