Easter 2025: Why The Date of Celebration Move Around Every Year
- Easter Monday will be celebrated in Nigeria this year on April 21, 2025—but unlike Christmas, its date changes annually
- Legit.ng reports that Easter is indeed a very important holiday for Christians, marking the resurrection of Jesus Christ
- The roaming of Easter raises a question among many people — why does Easter move every year?
CHECK OUT: Education is Your Right! Don’t Let Social Norms Hold You Back. Learn Online with LEGIT. Enroll Now!
Legit.ng journalist Ridwan Adeola Yusuf has over 9 years of experience covering religious affairs.
FCT, Abuja - Easter is always on the first Sunday after the first full moon that follows the spring equinox. But this full moon is an ecclesiastical full moon (ecclesiastical means ‘of the Church’), and so was not calculated in quite the same way modern astronomers would.
Legit.ng reports that Easter is the most significant day in the Christian calendar, as they celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ, marking the birth of eternal hope.
Source: Getty Images
Why Easter change dates
Why does Easter change every year? Legit.ng explains.
Find the stories that matter to you – faster. Use our new search tool: Click to search!
According to the New Testament, the crucifixion and subsequent resurrection of Christ happened around the time of the Jewish feast of passover. Back then, as stipulated by the Bible, passover was celebrated on the first full moon following the spring equinox (the day when both day and night are of approximate equal duration, which happens twice a year, in spring and autumn). Hence, Easter would also occur after the first full moon following the equinox, and since the day of the full moon was subject to change, Easter became a moveable feast.
In the 1,417 years from 1583 through 3000, it is most common for Easter to fall on April 16, with 61 instances. The least common dates are March 22 and 24, with nine instances apiece. The last time Easter Sunday fell on March 22 was in 1818, when the full moon fell on March 21. That would not happen again until 2285, according to 13 News Now.
Churches still rely on earlier calculations of the moon phases as well as its set definition of the spring equinox, which can place Easter on a date different from what is astronomically accurate.
Source: Getty Images
Easter has no pagan origin
The Christian Easter celebration is sometimes said to have pagan origins and use pagan symbolism such as eggs and rabbits, but historians generally do not think it has pagan links.
Ronald Hutton, a professor of history at the University of Bristol in the U.K., told Live Science:
"In the Germanic lands it may well have taken on attributes from a pagan spring festival, but we have very little evidence for that."
Hutton noted that the eighth-century Anglo-Saxon scholar Bede wrote that his ancestors had named the month of April after the pagan goddess Eostre; and some suppose this is the origin of the term Easter.
Read more on Easter 2025:
- Tinubu to return to Nigeria after Easter 2025
- Easter: Despite suspension, Fubara preaches reconciliation, support for Tinubu
Easter: UK shuts down offices in Nigeria
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that the United Kingdom (UK) Embassy in Nigeria announced that it would close its offices in observance of Good Friday 2025.
The UK Embassy's offices would not be open to visitors on Monday, April 21, Easter 2025 public holiday in Nigeria.
PAY ATTENTION: Сheck out news that is picked exactly for YOU ➡️ find the “Recommended for you” block on the home page and enjoy!
Source: Legit.ng
