The greatest holiday of Christians is undoubtedly Easter (Bright Resurrection of Christ), which, along with the Nativity of Christ, is one of the most important - "twelve" - ​​holidays of Orthodoxy. "Holiday of Holidays" and "Celebration of Celebrations" - this is what the people call it. Easter is quite early this year and falls on April 8th.

Even among people far from religion, Easter is associated with a solemn service, procession and Easter cakes, as well as painted eggs and bell ringing. Volzhsky.ru decided to understand the true meaning of the holiday and prepared a special material about the history and traditions of Easter, about why every year it falls on different days what to do and what not to do on this day, as well as other related Orthodox holidays- Palm Sunday and Annunciation.

Easter: where did the holiday come from?

The roots of the word "Passover" go back to the history of the liberation of the Jewish people from Egyptian slavery. The holiday originated long before the birth of Christ, but its significance was already great for the Jewish people. In the Old Testament, it serves as a reminder of how the Almighty bypassed Jewish homes during the last of the "executions of the Egyptians", when the first-born of all the Egyptians perished: in Hebrew, "Pesach", or "Pasah" literally means "passed", "passed by" ...

Later, among Christians, the holiday acquired a slightly different interpretation: the transition from death to life, from earth to heaven. In this sense, Easter is strongly associated with the biblical resurrection of Christ, whose crucifixion happened after Jewish Passover, on Friday, later called "Passionate". This event adds new meaning, traditions and attributes to the meaning of the holiday. In other words, the word "Passover" still means both the Old Testament and the New Testament holidays.

Why does Easter always fall on different days?

Easter is the main rolling holiday of the church calendar. This means that it does not have a specific date, and each year is calculated according to the lunar calendar. So, since ancient times, the first Sunday after the full moon on the day was chosen for the holiday vernal equinox or immediately after it. Thus, Easter can fall on any day between April 4 and May 8. By the way, it is from the date of Easter that all other rolling holidays are calculated - Palm Sunday, Ascension of the Lord, Feast of the Holy Trinity (Pentecost).

This year, Easter is celebrated on April 8th as the vernal equinox is on March 21st and the first spring full moon fell on March 31st, 2018.

In accordance with the date of Easter, the beginning of the 40-day Lent this year fell on February 19, and the end - on April 7 and coincided with the Feast of the Annunciation. This holiday marks the day when the Virgin Mary received the good news: the Archangel Gabriel informed her of the Immaculate Conception and the birth of the Infant Christ.

Great Lent: what is allowed, what is not?

40 days before Easter, Orthodox believers begin to fast: the first day of fasting begins after Maslenitsa and Forgiveness Resurrection. At the same time, the most stringent two weeks of fasting are the first, when the believers are just beginning the path to repentance, and the last, when the cleansing of the soul is completed. On these days, believers do not eat animal products, and, in general, abstain from plentiful food. On some days of fasting, you cannot eat hot food and add vegetable oil to it, but on other days, for example, fish and even red wine are allowed. Exceptions and indulgences, according to church canons, are made for the elderly, children, pregnant women, the sick and travelers.

There is plenty of information on the Internet about the Lenten menu and how to observe church canons at the table these days. Note, however, that from year to year, the “church fathers” tirelessly repeat: it is much more important to observe spiritual fasting during this period. That is, to refrain from bad deeds, words, thoughts, quarrels, despondency and other sins. Fasting is a time of purification and internal improvement of the Orthodox, as well as an approach to the understanding of faith and God.

Palm Sunday: How Does It Relate to Easter?

Palm Sunday marks the Lord's entry into Jerusalem and is celebrated exactly one week before Easter. On this day, Jesus' disciples and believers accepted him as Savior and Messiah, greeting and acknowledging him as a type of God. Clothes were laid in front of him, expecting blessing and salvation from worldly suffering. The believers also walked in a solemn procession with palm branches in their hands. However, in Russia, the climate was cold, and palm trees did not grow, therefore, over time, the people were replaced by a willow, on which fluffy earrings bloom at that time. Hence the popular name of the holiday - Palm Sunday.

In Russia, on this day, parishioners prayed during Matins with a consecrated willow, and when they came home, they swallowed palm buds to protect themselves from illness and drive away ailments. Women baked nuts from dough and gave them for health to all household members, not excluding animals. The consecrated willow was taken care of until the first pasture of cattle, and then stuck it under the roof of the house. It was believed that this would keep the cattle intact and help her return home after a walk.

Holy week: "week of suffering"

The entire last week of fasting is called Passion Week, and translated from the Church Slavonic language means "a week of suffering." Each of her days has its own special meaning and history. At this time, according to the biblical scriptures, Christ began his path to destruction for all the sins of mankind and subsequent resurrection. Therefore, during Holy Week, Christians pray intensely, observe the strictest fast, and remember the last days of Christ's earthly life. Holy Week this year will begin on April 2 and end on April 7.

The priests recommend at this time to go to church, leaving all worldly affairs. It is the attendance of divine services and spiritual fasting during the Holy Week that is much more important than the "table" fast. Also at this time, it is advisable to commune at least twice: on Maundy Thursday and on Holy Easter.

Holy Week: strictly by day

Many Orthodox Christians do not have the opportunity to observe fasting for all 40 days, but they try to limit themselves to food at least during the last, Holy Week.

So, for example, on Monday food is taken only 2 times a day, limiting its volume and adhering to dry food. On this day, you can eat raw, boiled, pickled vegetables, bread, nuts, berries, dried fruits. Food should be prepared without vegetable oil. On Tuesday, you should also adhere to dry eating, but boiled porridge and dried fruit compote are allowed. Great Wednesday: only boiled and fresh vegetables, bread, light soups, cooked without vegetable oil and meat. Maundy Thursday suggests a slight indulgence: for example, vegetable oil, hot soups and salads. But Thursday is replaced by a complete refusal to eat on Good Friday, called "Passionate". For those who cannot completely stop eating food, it is recommended to stick to dry eating. On Holy Saturday, laymen should also adhere to dry food or even refuse to eat before midnight.

Bright Week: how long is Easter celebrated?

Many people mistakenly believe that Easter is celebrated for only one day. But, in fact, the celebration of Easter lasts 40 days (it is believed that this is how long the Lord stayed on earth after the resurrection). At this time, believers greet each other with the words "Christ is Risen!" and "Truly He is Risen!" and praise Christ.

Especially bright and joyful for the Orthodox is the first week after Easter - Easter (Bright) week. In 2018, Bright Week will be held from 9 to 15 April. The church canons say that it is celebrated "as one day": the whole week the night Easter service is completely repeated. How widely Easter is celebrated at this time is evidenced by the fact that during the entire Bright Week one cannot arbitrarily impose fasting on oneself - even for those who are preparing for communion. By the way, “orthodox” adherents of Orthodox dogmas consider any work during the whole Easter week to be a great sin.

Easter table

On the day of the Resurrection of Christ, special dishes are put on the table, which are prepared only once a year: Easter cake, real cottage cheese Easter, colored eggs... At the beginning of the Easter meal, it is customary to eat the food consecrated in the temple, and only then all other dishes.

An egg dyed red with onion peel was formerly called "krashenka", a painted one - "Easter egg", and wooden Easter eggs- "yaychata". At the same time, from time immemorial, Orthodox eggs were painted precisely in red, which signifies the atonement of human sins with Christ's blood. Other colors and patterns with which eggs are painted are not welcomed by strict church canons. For example, iron-on stickers with the image of the face of Christ, the Mother of God, images of temples and inscriptions, although they are widely represented on store shelves, ultimately go to the trash can, which is unacceptable.

One of the legends that explains the tradition of dyeing eggs for Easter is associated with Mary Magdalene. According to legend, she visited Rome and the emperor Tiberius with a sermon, presenting him with an ordinary chicken egg. But Tiberius did not believe in Mary's story about the Resurrection of Jesus and exclaimed: "It is as incredible as if the egg turned red!" And then, right in front of the emperor's eyes, the egg turned red. Since then, Orthodox Christians have painted Easter eggs, which symbolize the creation of a miracle.

By the way, many believers who observe Great Lent believe that on Easter it is worth “compensating” it with a plentiful feast. The priests say that they are waiting for this day not in order to indulge in sinful excesses, but to understand why they led a strict lifestyle for all 40 days. And the abrupt transition from abstinence to abundant food is dangerous from a medical point of view.

At the cemetery on Easter: to walk or not to walk?

The Orthodox "church fathers" from year to year strongly advise against going to the cemetery on Easter.

At the same time, Orthodox priests note that every year fewer and fewer people go to the cemetery on the eve of Easter. According to the clergy, the tradition of leaving food in the cemetery is a kind of relic of paganism. During the funeral, the ancient Slavs poured a large mound and arranged a memorial meal on it. The tradition was preserved even after several centuries, while the treats left on the graves were more often collected by the poor. Today, the church considers this an absolutely normal phenomenon: after all, sweets in the cemetery are left not dead, but alive - for commemoration. At the same time, to eat any mention - as well as arrange any feast - better at home, not in the graveyard.

Divine services in Volzhsky

On the night of Bright Sunday, solemn services are held in churches praising the feat of Christ, his martyrdom and subsequent resurrection. Believers go to churches to consecrate the main symbols of the holiday - Easter cake, symbolizing life and colored eggs, symbolizing rebirth, the beginning of a new life.

Festive Easter services will be held in all churches of the Volzhsky. Services will start at 11.00-11.30 on April 7. At the same time, Volzhans will be able to consecrate Easter cakes and eggs both after the Easter service and in advance. Consecration begins in churches on Saturday at 11:00 and continues almost throughout the day.

Easter fairs in Volzhsky

On the eve of Easter, from 5 to 7 April, exhibitions and sales of cakes will be organized in the city. Volzhans will be able to buy cakes from local producers at the following official addresses:

• Lenin Ave., 94 (territory in front of the market);
• st. Olomoucka, 31a (territory in front of the shopping center);
• st. Mira, 41 (area in front of the entrance to the clinic);
• st. Mira, 75а (territory in front of the shopping center "Prestige");
• st. Gorky, 25.

Easter is usually celebrated in the spring on one of the Sundays. Why, then, every year this great holiday can be celebrated in different time?

Jewish and Christian Easter

Originally a celebration Christian Easter was closely related to the date of the celebration of the Passover. It was celebrated not according to the solar calendar, but according to the Hebrew lunar calendar.

The essence of the Passover is that it is dedicated to the miraculous liberation of the Jews from the Egyptian bondage. This event took place in the middle of the 13th century BC. It is described in the second book of the Bible - Exodus.

The book says that the Lord warned the Israelites about the impending salvation and announced to them that next night every Egyptian family would lose their firstborn, since only such a punishment would force the Egyptians to free the Jews from slavery. And so that this punishment did not affect the Jews themselves, it was necessary to anoint the doors of their houses with the blood of a lamb (lamb) killed the day before. His blood will save the Jewish firstborn from death and free them from slavery. And so it happened. Since then, Easter has been celebrated every year, and an Easter lamb is slaughtered to commemorate this event.

This lamb is a type of Jesus Christ, who was the Savior of the world, crucified on the cross for the sins of mankind. The Gospel says: “Christ is the Lamb of God, Who takes away the sin of the world, His precious Blood, shed on Calvary, cleanses us from all sin. And his crucifixion directly on the day of the Jewish Passover is by no means accidental. "

This happened on the day of the full moon, after the vernal equinox, on the 14th of Nisan in the Hebrew calendar. And Jesus rose again on the third day after the crucifixion, which we call the resurrection. This is why the dates of the celebration of the Jewish and Christian Passover are so interconnected.

During the first three centuries of Christian history, there were two dates for the celebration of Easter at once. Some celebrated it on the 14th of Nisan, together with the Jews, as a symbol of the memory of Christ's crucifixion and his death, while others, who turned out to be the majority, on the very first Sunday after the 14th of Nisan, as a symbol Christ's resurrection from the dead.

The final decision on the date of the celebration of Easter was made in 325 at the first Ecumenical Council. It was decided: "... to celebrate Passover, after Jewish Passover, on the first Sunday after the full moon, which will be on the very day of the vernal equinox or immediately after it, but not earlier than the vernal equinox."

Julian and Gregorian calendar

Thus, starting in AD 325, Christians around the world began to celebrate Easter and other Christian holidays on the same day.

However, after the split of the Christian Church in 1054, the so-called Roman Catholic Church appeared. At first, the calendar of holidays remained the same, but then in 1582 Pope Gregory the 13th introduced the Gregorian calendar, which means a new chronology. This calendar was considered more accurate from the point of view of astronomy, because now it is adopted in most countries of the world.

And the Russian Orthodox Church to this day uses the old Julian calendar (which is still popularly called the Orthodox), since Jesus Christ lived at the time when the Julian calendar was in force.

Based on this calendar, the Passover described in the Gospel, in chronology, goes immediately after the Jewish Passover. In the Gregorian calendar, it is believed that Catholic Easter can not only coincide with the Jewish one, but also be somewhat earlier than it.

Thus, at times Orthodox Easter coincides with the Catholic, and sometimes there is a fairly large discrepancy in numbers.

It is also worth noting that the Gregorian calendar is certainly more accurate, but for centuries the blessed fire in Bethlehem has descended on the day of Easter according to the Julian (Orthodox) calendar.

Few Christians know why Easter is on different days. To understand this issue, you need to remember the history of the holiday and the basis for calculating its date. Statistics show that even experts on this topic cannot summarize its essence in a nutshell, there are so many important events intertwined here.

The great resurrection is one of the most important Christian holidays, which is revered by millions of believers, which is why it is so important to at least theoretically know why Easter is at different times. Indeed, in the modern world, one does not have to bother with this. Church calendars are issued indicating the dates of all holidays, and the Internet also comes to the rescue, in which there are ready-made formulas (you just need to put the year for the calculation or find the appropriate topic).

How is the holy day calculated?

The day of the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ falls on a new date every year. It is calculated using special formulas, some of which are variable values. To calculate the date of Christ's day using one of them, you need to know:

Spring date when day equals night
The date of the full moon following the equinox
Day of the week on which Bright Sunday is celebrated

Having looked through many calculations used by scientists, any desire to try to calculate the date of the holiday disappears, as they are complex and require certain knowledge, both in mathematics and astronomy. Why is the Easter date changing?

Determining a Date Using a Formula

Enough simple formula, proposed by Karl Gauss in the early 19th century, contains only mathematical calculations. He did not give an explanation of this calculation, but it can be used to determine the time of the holiday in any year.

Actions:

1. The year (or rather its number) in which you need to find out the date of the Great Day is divided by 19. Remainder = A
2. Number of year divided by 4 = B
3. Divide the number of the year by 7 = C
4. (19 * A + 15): 30 = number and remainder = D
5. (2 * B + 4 * C + 6 * D + 6): 7 = number. Remainder = E
6. D + E<= 9, то Пасха будет в марте + 22 дня, если >, then in April: the resulting number is 9

Calculation example for 2014:

1. 2014: 19 = 106, remainder = 0
2. 2014: 4 = 603 ost 2
3. 2014: 7 = 287 ost 5
4. (19 * 0 + 15): 30 = 0.5 remainder 15
5. (2 * 2 + 4 * 5 + 6 * 15 + 6): 7 = 17 remainder 1
6. 15 + 1 = 16 is greater than 9, which means Feast of Christ will be in April 16-9 = 7, style adjustment +13 days, which means April 20.

Resurrection after full moon

The Orthodox Church uses a calculation that was adopted in the third century. Easter is celebrated according to the rules of the Alexandrian Easter after the spring equinox (March 21 old style and April 3 new style) on the first Sunday after the full moon.

A bit of history

Many years have passed since Jesus Christ was crucified for the sins of men and was resurrected. Since that time, Christ's Day has been annually celebrated on the fourteenth day of the first month of spring. According to the ancient lunar calendar, this event falls on the first day of the week, that is, Sunday. Before the conquest by Babylon, this month was called Avib, and after the captivity - Nisan. The modern calendar has a clearly established framework for celebrating the resurrection of the Lord: this day can be between April 4 and May 8 according to the new style (March 22 and April 25 according to the old style).

The thing is that there was no single chronology before. One of the most ancient peoples - the Israelites, kept track of time according to the lunar calendar, the Egyptians and Romans - according to the solar calendar.

Moon calendar: main parameters

12 months
Number of days in a month 29 or 30
Number of days in a year 354

Solar calendar: main parameters

12 months
Number of days in a month 30
Number of days in a year 365

It can be seen that the difference in days between the calendars was 11 days. To smooth out the discrepancy, the Jews added an additional month - the thirteenth (Ve-Hadar) every few years. This happened in the year that is considered a leap year in the modern calendar. Some peoples believed that there were only 10 months (304 days) in a year, and the year began in March, and then the remaining January and February were added.

The implementation of two significant reforms has simplified the process of monitoring the passing days:

1. Reform of Caesar - Julian calendar

The Roman emperor Gaius Julius Caesar decided to streamline chronology on his territory. Thus, the new Julian calendar contained 365 days a year, and in the leap calendar - 366. But, despite this, the lunar calendar did not cease to exist and was conducted in parallel.

The reform was finally consolidated for the entire Christian world in 325 at a council of bishops. It was then that the months of July and August were named in honor of the emperors. The Julian calendar is used in the Orthodox Church.

2. The foundation of the Gregorian calendar

Nature has its own laws. The Julian chronology turned out to be imperfect: the vernal equinox was approaching, and on the calendar it was only March 11. Again, there was a need for reform. Pope Gregory XIII in 1582 founded the Gregorian calendar, according to which the year consisted of 365 days.

It is interesting:

The inhabitants of Rome and Egypt, who were guided by the solar calendar, had a different number of days in a year: 355 and 354.

The new time calculation in Russia began to be used only 336 years after the reform. The Orthodox Church opposed to accept it, uprisings broke out, blood was shed.

The difference between the new and old styles is now 13 days. The initial difference of 10 days increased by one day in each century.

First comes the Jewish Resurrection, then Catholic and Orthodox. Why this happens and why Easter cakes are baked for Easter can be found out by looking into history.

Often the dates overlap: the Jewish can coincide with the Catholic, and the Catholic with the Orthodox. Jewish and Orthodox never intersect.

In Israel, the week starts on Sunday - this is the first working day. Saturday is a day off and Friday is usually a short day.

During the existence of Alexandria, the day of Easter was calculated by the acting bishop and reported to Rome so that the celebration would take place on the same day. But gradually this tradition disappeared.

There was a time when Christians did not fool themselves with calculating the date of the Lord's Resurrection and the question of why Easter is a rolling holiday. They celebrated the holiday a week after the Jewish Passover.

Being a great "why", I try to be interested in everything in the world: it is nice to know something that others do not suspect or do not think about. I got carried away by the Orthodox theme, even visited the church several times in order to delve deeper into the essence. After talking with Father Nicholas, I found the answer to one burning question: why is Easter every year on different days, and I will be happy to share the information with you.

What do we know about the Bright Resurrection of Christ, besides the fact that this is the name of Easter, which is always celebrated on Sunday, but on different dates? Easter is considered one of the main passing events of the Orthodox calendar, at the same time tied to the incredibly complex lunar-solar calculus adopted among the Jewish people.

Easter: Date Conversion Over the Centuries

The modern reckoning of time strictly limits the scope of the possible celebration of the rolling Easter: in Orthodoxy 4.04 - 8.05 according to the new style and according to the old 22.03 - 25.04 (with a difference of 13 days between the Julian and Gregorian styles) for Roman Catholics, Jews and most Protestants.

The Passover of the Jews in modern times is held on the day of the first full moon after the equinox. It is noteworthy that the date is determined according to the Julian calendar .. Christians celebrate the Resurrection of the Lord on the day after the Jews (however, if March 21 turned out to be Sunday, and even with a full moon, Easter should be scheduled for March 28).

As a rule, the day of the first full moon falls on the interval from 21.03 to 18.04. However, if the full moon, Sunday and the date of April 18 coincide, Christians will have to celebrate the holiday only a week later, on the 25th, since the biblical chronology and church rules require the celebration of the Jewish Passover before the Resurrection of Christ.

As for me, all this is very confused, however, the rules are established by the Church, and it is not for me to judge them.

Easter date: how to calculate

After listening to the slightly confused story of the priest, I came to the conclusion that determining the date of Orthodox Easter is a very difficult task, I did not try it myself, but I will now tell the theory.

The alternation of the dates of the Bright Resurrection of Christ is associated with the difficult moments of agreeing dating according to solar and lunar calendars, therefore, the interval from 4.04 to 8.05 is subject to a number of laws.

The minimum number of years for which Easter takes all possible temporal positions is 532. This array is called the Great Indication, after which the date and month of Easter will alternate, so to speak, "on the roll," in the same order, so if you have there is a fully calculated Paschalia, it will not be difficult to follow the progress of further changes.

For those who are too lazy to calculate such a huge layer of dates, I suggest using the formula of Karl Gauss, derived in the 19th century. What and how to do is shown in the figure.

Easter is considered one of the most important holidays for all believing Christians. On the eve, true believers maintain a strict Great Lent, which ends with the bright day of Christ's Resurrection. But, as you know, every year the Resurrection of the Savior is celebrated in a different way. Why is the date of Easter constantly changing, and how is each subsequent date of the great holiday calculated?

Why Easter is celebrated on different days every year

Easter has no annual exact date.

There are two types of religious festivals in Christian churches:

1. Permanent, which are celebrated on the same day;
2. Movable, the date of which is different every year.

The most important mobile holiday in Christianity is Easter. Many other rolling religious festivals are calculated based on which day is Great Sunday this year. It depends on this when, for example, the following Orthodox holidays will be celebrated:

• Ascension of the Lord;
• Days of Pentecost;
• Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem, and others.

The date of Easter is determined by complex calculations, but you do not need to do them yourself - it is already noted in the church calendar when all believing Christians will celebrate the great day of the Holy Resurrection.

Jewish Passover

In ancient times, the Christian Holy Sunday was directly associated with the celebration Jewish Passover.

The meaning of the Jewish Passover is different from the Christian one and is to celebrate the freedom of the Jews. The events took place in the XIII century BC. You can read about this in the Old Testament, Book of Exodus. It tells in detail about the time when the Egyptians oppressed the Jewish people, mocking them in every possible way. The Lord heard the fervent prayers of the Jews and sent Moses to help them, who was supposed to persuade the Egyptian Pharaoh to free the Jewish people. But Pharaoh refused, after which the Lord unleashed heavenly punishment on the Egyptians. The Lord said that all firstborn boys must die. But the Jews were ordered to paint marks on their homes with the blood of lambs. All the children of the Egyptians were dead, and the Jewish boys survived. After this execution, Pharaoh freed the Jewish people from slavery, and the Jews followed Moses to the holy land. Since then, every year Jews celebrate the liberation from Egypt on this day. In memory of those events, a lamb is slaughtered, national dishes are prepared. The lamb (lamb) symbolizes Jesus Christ, who became the savior of mankind, being crucified for the sins of everyone living on earth.

In the first hundred years of Christianity, believers celebrated Holy Sunday twice:

1. The first half celebrated Nisan 14 according to the Hebrew calendar, together with the Jews. This day was a symbol of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his death.
2. The second half, which turned out to be the majority, celebrated after Nisan 14 on the first Sunday, and this day symbolized the joy that Jesus Christ was resurrected.

In 325, the first Ecumenical Council decreed a unified calculation of Easter and announced how the date of Great Easter was determined. It should be celebrated after the date of Jewish Passover, on Sunday, the first after the first spring full moon. The full moon should be either on the date of the vernal equinox, or immediately after it, but not earlier.

Why Easter is celebrated at different times

The calculation of the date of Great Easter by the Catholic and Orthodox denominations is done in different ways. The Catholic Church calculates the day of the holiday according to the Gregorian calendar, and Orthodox Church- according to the Julian calendar. At first, Christianity lived according to the common Julian calendar, but in the XII century, Pope Gregory XIII introduced new calendar- Gregorian. Since 1582, a new chronology began, which is much more accurate in astronomical indicators than the Julian calendar.

Gradually, the Catholic and Protestant churches began to switch to the Gregorian calendar. The Orthodox Church still uses the Julian calendar, because it is believed that Jesus Christ lived and preached the teachings of God in those days when the chronology was carried out according to the Julian calendar.

On a note! The Julian calendar used by the Orthodox Church has a second name - Orthodox.

How is Orthodox Easter calculated? Calculating the holiday according to the Julian calendar, the Orthodox day of the Resurrection of Christ comes after the Jewish Sunday. If we use the Gregorian calendar, it turns out that Great Sunday for Catholics may coincide with Jewish Sunday, or the Catholic holiday may be a little earlier.

This is why Easter is celebrated at a different time every year. It can be celebrated much later than Catholic, or the dates of the holiday can be close.

Although the Gregorian calendar is considered more accurate, but for a long time in Bethlehem, the blessed fire descends on the Holy Feast on the date exactly according to the Julian calendar.

The blessed fire descends precisely on the day of Easter

How to calculate the date of Great Easter

Since the date Bright Sunday is tied to the day of the vernal equinox, first they determine on what date it falls. Next, you should calculate when the first full moon occurs after the vernal equinox. The great day will be celebrated on the first Sunday following the calculated full moon. What determines when the next Easter date will be? Many factors are taken into account when calculating the day of Great Sunday. What determines the date of Great Easter:

• Moon calendar;
• Solar calendar;
• Easter must be celebrated on Sunday.

On a note! How to determine the day of Great Easter if the first full moon falls on Sunday? In this case, the great feast is postponed a week later, on the following Sunday.

But it is not necessary to calculate the date of Bright Sunday yourself. There are special church calendars with marked days when all religious holidays should be celebrated.

There is another method for calculating the date of the next Easter - mathematical. It was discovered by the German mathematician Gauss in the 19th century. He explained how Easter Day is mathematically determined.

But, regardless of the date of the great holiday, this big holiday for all believers. Long before the designated date of celebration Happy Easter Christians begin to prepare for the coming of Sunday. First of all, they keep Great Lent, which ends with the feast of the Resurrection of the Savior. The last week before Great Sunday is the most responsible and difficult one. Each day of the pre-Easter week has an important, special meaning. On Sunday, Christians around the world go to churches for festive worship.

In 2018, Catholics celebrate the great holiday on April 1st. The date of Orthodox Easter will come in a week - April 8.