Why Does Easter Move

You are here: Holiday Central » Easter » Why Does Easter Move

 

Easter, unlike Christmas is a movable holiday. Easter falls on the first Sunday after the first paschal moon after March 20. There are some differences between a full moon and an paschal moon. Generally these two fall on the same day, but not 100% of the time. When pope Gregory the XIII standardized the calendar in 1582 the primary reason was to get Easter back in synchronization with the calendar (10 days in October had to be entirely skipped). According to Butchers algorithm Easter can fall between March 22nd and April 25. Butchers algorithm has been simplified with the paschal moon table. You can see the formula used to calculate what day Easter is.

Easter List