Passover Ends Before Orthodox Easter Begins

You probably ate all those Peeps and chocolate eggs, but did you know that for some people, Easter will arrive this Sunday, April 15?

For billions of Christians, Easter was just celebrated, but for millions of people around the world, Easter – a non-biblical word, or as it called in the Eastern church, Pascha – is quickly approaching in North and South America, Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

It's because the Eastern and Western churches use a different calendar to figure out what day Easter should fall on.

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The Eastern Orthodox Church uses the older calendar, known as the Julian calendar, that was designed by Roman emperor Julius Caesar in 45 B.C., basing a year on the time it takes the sun to go around the Earth.

The Western churches use the Gregorian calendar that was created by Pope Gregory in 1582 to fix some of the glitches in the Julian calendar, as astronomy became more accurate and precise. Great Britain changed to the Gregorian calendar in 1752.

Jewish people all over the world are celebrating the festival of Passover. It is one of the most important dates in the Jewish calendar and 2023's festival falls from April 5-13.

At Passover, Jewish people remember a story from a very long time ago. They celebrate with family and special food is eaten to remember the beautiful story and history. You can read about the story in the Book of Exodus, Chapter 12 in the Hebrew Bible called the Torah.

Orthodox Pascha always falls after the Jewish celebration of Passover, because according to the New Testament, the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ took place after he entered Jerusalem to celebrate Passover.

The exact date must be correct for the most important event in the Christian calendar. Pascha takes place following the first full moon after Passover, never before Passover.

To all, may the peace and joy of the Pascha season be with you and your loved ones.