Some of you might remember encyclopedias. They were huge heavy sets of books that held all knowledge in alphabetical order, or at least I felt they did since ours was called “The Book of Knowledge.”
I felt compelled to read the entire encyclopedia as a kid. Yes, I know now that encyclopedias are not the holders of all knowledge, but I’m not complaining about my ACT scores either. My folks were happy to save that tuition money.
Easter could happen, the encyclopedia said, between March 22 and April 25.
The date we celebrate Easter is determined by a complicated formula that has to do with the date of Passover.
To simplify the formula, it is basically the Sunday following the first full moon after the spring equinox. That calculation, however, is complicated by changes in the calendar over history.
The Western Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church often select different dates to celebrate, which further complicates things.
As a kid I wanted to know when I would get to celebrate my birthday on Easter and was a bit disappointed to find out it would not happen until I was old.
So this is the year, 2011, and Easter is finally on April 24. I guess this means I am officially old; at least I am in the eyes of that kid who looked this up years ago.
This is the only time my birthday will fall on Easter in my lifetime. The last time Easter was on April 24 was in 1859.
April 24 is one of the most rare dates for Easter within the possible dates, and this year the Western and Eastern churches will celebrate on the same day, which is pretty cool.
Easter is a big holiday in our family. We will watch the sunrise, and sing some wonderful hymns, and have a nice dinner together, and then we will have birthday cake.
I just cannot decide which will be more appropriate this year, Easter Bunny chocolate or carrot cake.
Since Easter will not be on April 24 again until 2095, I think I should have both.
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