Happy Easter

Easter is one of the oldest known festivals and holidays celebrated in history, the origin of the feast dates back to the Ancient Egyptians late Third Dynasty (ca. 2700 BC).

It was celebrated on the spring solstice day symbolizing the triumph of life, the beginning of creation and the beginning of the harvest season. Like most Ancient Egyptian feasts, the festival was linked to astronomy and nature; the Ancient Egyptians determined the exact date each year by measuring the sun's alignment with the Great Pyramid in Giza.

The Jews in Ancient Egypt led by Prophet Moses (Peace be Upon Him) chose the Easter festival day to begin their escape from Egypt to the promised land; the event took place ca. 1300 BC according to standard biblical chronology. This event is commemorated in the Book of Exodus in the Old Testament and is today one of the most important celebrated festivals in the Jewish calendar.

In the Torah, Passover begins on the 15th of Nissan (March/April). It was called Pascha in the ancient languages of Latin and Greek which derives from the Hebrew word Pesach, a word for which many interpretations are found. The word Passover is the English literal translation first appearing in William Tyndale's English translation of the Bible and later appearing in King James Version as well.

And finally, Easter Sunday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus Christ (Peace be Upon Him) which is the second most important Christian Feast after Christmas; the week before is called the Holly Week which begins by Palm Sunday commemorating Jesus triumphant entry in Jerusalem. Easter Sunday marks the end of the Great Fast or the Holy Lent (seven weeks or 55 days) period of fasting, prayer and penance.

Hence, Easter was celebrated in Ancient Egypt as a feast of life, Passover marking the Exodus of the Jewish people and Easter Sunday marking the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The present Egyptian name "Sham El Nessim" has its roots in old Egyptian/Coptic language and was originally pronounced Tshom (gardens) Ni Sime (meadows). Following the domination of Arabic language, the name changed to Sham El Nessim (meaning smelling the breeze).

Resurrection occurred on Sunday, however since that day is the last day of The Great Fast, Sham El Nessim in Egypt and many eastern countries is celebrated on the following Monday; today the feast is a public holiday in Egypt celebrated by all Egyptians regardless of faith making it the oldest known feast in continuity in the world.

Now, why is there a date difference in celebrating Easter between Western Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches?

In 1582 The Julian Calendar was replaced by The Gregorian Calendar, this change created the difference observed today between the Eastern and Western Churches calendars.

The first Ancient Egyptian solar calendar was introduced 4236 BC based on 365 days which was adjusted to 365¼ at a later stage; Julius Caesar admired the benefits of the Egyptian Calendar and applied it within the Roman Empire 47 BC, hence the name The Julian Calendar.

Pope Gregory XIII (1502-1585) noticed that the spring solstice occurred on March 11th instead of 21st. The Italian physicist Aloysius Lilius from Naples investigated the matter to discover that one year is actually a tiny fraction shorter than 365 ¼ days (actually 365.2425 days), the accumulation of this fraction over the years resulted in a backlog of 10 days.

To bring the spring solstice back to March 21st, the backlog should be eliminated and to avoid recurrence one day should be added every 100 years except for the years divisible by 400; Hence The Gregorian Calendar was adopted on February 1582, and applied as of October 4th,1582 which was followed by October 15th and the 10 days backlog eliminated; France was the first country to follow making the adjustment on December 9th which was followed by December 20th.

In Switzerland the transition was not as smooth; by 1584 most of the Catholic cantons and municipalities were already following the Gregorian Calendar however it took over two centuries to bring the remaining Protestant cantons in line, the last of which being Avers (Graubünden) on January 7, 1812 becoming the last municipality in Central and Western Europe to follow the Gregorian Calendar.

The Alexandria Orthodox Church and many Eastern Churches are still following the Julian Calendar, but Egypt as a country switched to the Gregorian Calendar for civil use in 1875; Turkey followed in 1926 with the fall of the Othoman Empire.

Back to Easter date issue; the First Council of Nicaea (325) ruled that resurrection date should be meeting the following conditions:

to be after the spring solstice (Exodus was on the night of the Ancient Egyptian Easter Feast).
to be after the first full moon (Jewish Calendar is a luni-solar calendar; the 15th of Nissan is a full moon).
to be a Sunday (Resurrection occurred on a Sunday).

(i.e. the first Sunday after the first full moon after the spring solstice).

This was back in 325 when spring solstice was on March 20/21st; by the time of Pope Gregory XIII (late 16th century), spring solstice was 10 days earlier and hence the Gregorian Calendar was introduced with its 10 days correction (today 13 days adding one day per century since 1582 except for the year 2000).

This correction was found to be placing Easter sometimes before Passover which is in contradiction to the fact that resurrection occurred after Passover as per the New Testament.

Consequently, Eastern Churches refused to follow the Gregorian calendar and maintained the Julian calendar which assumes spring solstice on April 3rd, and is still in full compliance with all of Council of Nicaea terms placing Easter on any Sunday between April 4th and May 8th.

On the other hand, with spring solstice on March 21st, the Gregorian calendar is also still in full compliance with all of Council of Nicaea terms placing Easter on any Sunday between March 22nd and April 25th, with the major flaw that Easter may fall before Passover; Easter date for Western Churches may coincide with Eastern Churches or be as mush as five weeks apart but never after Eastern Churches.

The above difference is also observed for Christmas which is celebrated on January 7th by Eastern Orthodox Churches.

Happy Easter Frohe Ostern Joyeux Pâques

Yehia Shalash

April 2018