Why is Easter on a Different Date Each Year? a Look at Easter & Passover

According to Wikipedia, Easter is considered "the most important annual religious feast in the Christian liturgical year" because it establishes Jesus as the Son of God. However, while we celebrate Christmas on the same date every year, Easter Day is not associated with a fixed calendar date. In fact, Easter can occur anywhere between March 22 and April 25. There are some historic and Biblical events which help us pinpoint the resurrection of Jesus, though.

Easter & Passover

As pointed out in Why Is Easter Celebrated On A Different Date Each Year? it is important to remember that the death and resurrection of Jesus were closely tied to the celebrations and traditions surrounding the Jewish Passover. This is important not only because it helps pinpoint the timing of Jesus resurrection, but also because the Jewish holiday calendar is based on solar and lunar cycles, causing Jewish feast days to change from year to year.

The Last Supper & the Festival of Unleavened Bread

The Bible tells us that Jesus' resurrection occurred after Passover because Matthew 26:17-30; Mark 14:12-25; and Luke 22:7-20 state that on the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread or Passover, Jesus sent two of his disciples ahead with instructions on where to prepare the Passover meal. That Passover meal became the Last Supper when Jesus prepared himself and his disciples for his death in the upper room.

Jesus' Crucifixion & the day of Preparation of the Passover

In John 19:14 we learn "It was the day of Preparation of the Passover; it was about noon" when Jesus was sentenced to be crucified. John 19:31 tells us "Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jewish leaders did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down." From this we learn Jesus was crucified on the day of Preparation and on a Friday (the day before the Sabbath) which has become our Good Friday.

Jesus' Resurrection on the First Day of the Week

Jesus told his disciples he would rise on the third day, and John 20:1 teaches that "Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance." This tells us Christ rose from the grave on Sunday, the first day of the week and the third day from his crucifixion. A direct relationship between the date of Passover to Easter is provided as well as the tradition of celebrating Easter on the first day of the week. This is why it is redundant to say "Easter Sunday," because Easter is always celebrated on a Sunday just like Good Friday always falls on a Friday.

Easter Falls on a Sunday Between March 22 and April 25 Each Year

Although Easter is theologically more tied to the Hebrew calendar than to the Gregorian Calendar, the date of Easter was established by the First Council of Nicaea (325) as the first Sunday after the Paschal/Passover full moon following the vernal equinox. The "full moon" is not necessarily the astronomically correct date. This causes the dates of Easter and Good Friday in the Western church to fall on a Sunday between March 22 and April 25 each year and is why Easter Day falls on a different date every year.

Also see:

Easter Acrostic

Wonder - an Easter Poem

For Easter: Faint Ray of Daylight - an Easter Poem

The Best of Easter on Bukisa: Easter Articles, Poems, Crafts and More