HAPPY EASTER DAY 2011

EASTER

Easter (Old English: Ēostre; Greek: Πάσχα, Paskha; Aramaic and Hebrew: פֶּסחא‎ Pasḥa,) is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rosefrom the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Dayor Easter Sunday (also Resurrection Day or Resurrection Sunday). The chronology of his death and resurrection is variously interpreted to be between AD 26 and 36, traditionally 33.

Easter marks the end of Lent, a forty-day period of fasting, prayer, and penance. The last week of the Lent is called Holy Week, and it contains Good Friday, commemorating the crucifixion and death of Jesus. Easter is followed by fifty-day period called Eastertide or the Easter Season, ending with Pentecost Sunday.

Easter is a moveable feast, meaning it is not fixed in relation to the civil calendar. It occurs in March or April; the method for determining the date of Easter Sunday is complex, based onlunisolar calendar.

Easter is linked to the Jewish Passover by much of its symbolism, as well as by its position in the calendar. In many European languages, the words for "Easter" and "Passover" are etymologically related or homonymous.The term "Pascha", from the same root, is also used in English to refer to Easter.

Easter customs vary across the Christian world, but decorating Easter eggs is a common motif. In the Western world, customs such as egg hunting and Easter Bunny extend from the domain of church, and often have a secular character.

Date of Easter

Dates for Easter 1982–2022 In Gregorian dates

Year	Western	Eastern
1982	April 11	April 18
1983	April 3	May 8
1984	April 22
1985	April 7	April 14
1986	March 30	May 4
1987	April 19
1988	April 3	April 10
1989	March 26	April 30
1990	April 15
1991	March 31	April 7
1992	April 19	April 26
1993	April 11	April 18
1994	April 3	May 1
1995	April 16	April 23
1996	April 7	April 14
1997	March 30	April 27
1998	April 12	April 19
1999	April 4	April 11
2000	April 23	April 30
2001	April 15
2002	March 31	May 5
2003	April 20	April 27
2004	April 11
2005	March 27	May 1
2006	April 16	April 23
2007	April 8
2008	March 23	April 27
2009	April 12	April 19
2010	April 4
2011	April 24
2012	April 8	April 15
2013	March 31	May 5
2014	April 20
2015	April 5	April 12
2016	March 27	May 1
2017	April 16
2018	April 1	April 8
2019	April 21	April 28
2020	April 12	April 19
2021	April 4	May 2
2022	April 17	April 24

Easter and the holidays that are related to it are moveable feasts, in that they do not fall on a fixed date in theGregorian or Julian calendars (both of which follow the cycle of the sun and the seasons). Instead, the date for Easter is determined on a lunisolar calendar similar to the Hebrew calendar. The First Council of Nicaea (325) established the date of Easter as the first Sunday after the full moon (the Paschal Full Moon) following the northern hemisphere's vernal equinox.Ecclesiastically, the equinox is reckoned to be on March 21 (even though the equinox occurs, astronomically speaking, on March 20 in most years), and the "Full Moon" is not necessarily the astronomically correct date.

In Western Christianity, using the Gregorian calendar, Easter always falls on a Sunday between March 22 and April 25, inclusively. The following day, Easter Monday, is a legal holiday in many countries with predominantly Christian traditions.

Eastern Christianity bases its calculations on the Julian Calendar. Due to the 13 day difference between the calendars between 1900 and 2099, March 21 corresponds, during the 21st century, to the 3rd of April in theGregorian Calendar. Easter therefore varies between April 4 and May 8 on the Gregorian calendar (The Julian calendar is no longer used as the civil calendar of the countries where Eastern Christian traditions predominate). Among the Oriental Orthodox some churches have changed from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar and the date for Easter as for other fixed and moveable feasts is the same as in the Western church.

Table of dates of Easter 2001–2020 (In Gregorian dates)

Year	Astronomical full moon	Astronomical Easter (Sunday after full moon)	Gregorian Easter	Julian Easter	Jewish Passover
2001	April 8	April 15	April 15	April 15	April 8
2002	March 28	March 31	March 31	May 5	March 28
2003	April 16	April 20	April 20	April 27	April 17
2004	April 5	April 11	April 11	April 11	April 6
2005	March 25	March 27	March 27	May 1	April 24
2006	April 13	April 16	April 16	April 23	April 13
2007	April 2	April 8	April 8	April 8	April 3
2008	March 21	March 23	March 23	April 27	April 20
2009	April 9	April 12	April 12	April 19	April 9
2010	March 30	April 4	April 4	April 4	March 30
2011	April 18	April 24	April 24	April 24	April 19
2012	April 6	April 8	April 8	April 15	April 7
2013	March 27	March 31	March 31	May 5	March 26
2014	April 15	April 20	April 20	April 20	April 15
2015	April 4	April 5	April 5	April 12	April 4
2016	March 23	March 27	March 27	May 1	April 23
2017	April 11	April 16	April 16	April 16	April 11
2018	March 31	April 1	April 1	April 8	March 31
2019	March 21	March 24	April 21	April 28	April 20
2020	April 8	April 12	April 12	April 19	April 9