What does a full moon on Easter mean?

Paschal full moon
Paschal full moon. The paschal full moon is the ecclesiastical full moon of the northern spring and is used in the determination of the date of Easter. The name “paschal” is derived from “Pascha”, a transliteration of the Aramaic word meaning Passover.

What is the significance of the Paschal Full Moon?

The word Paschal means “Passover” in Greek (a transliteration of the Hebrew word pesach). This Moon is significant because it is used to determine what date Easter will fall on each year. This is why Easter is a movable holiday, occurring anywhere from late March to late April.

What is the difference between Orthodox and regular Easter?

Easter as it’s commonly celebrated in the United States falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon of the spring equinox, while Orthodox Easter is celebrated on the Sunday after the first full moon after Passover.

When is the Paschal Full Moon in March?

This year, the March equinox occurs on Saturday, March 20. The first full Moon to occur after that date is March’s full Worm Moon, on Sunday, March 28. This makes March’s full Moon the Paschal Full Moon as well. Therefore, Easter will be observed on the first Sunday after March 28: Sunday, April 4!

Why is the Easter moon called the Paschal moon?

Also called the Egg Moon, this Moon sometimes occurs in March and sometimes in April. The word Paschal means “Passover” in Greek (a transliteration of the Hebrew word pesach ). This Moon is significant because it is used to determine what date Easter will fall on each year.

When to celebrate Pascha in the Orthodox Church?

According to the traditional formula for the date of Pascha (the Paschalion ), we should celebrate it on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the spring equinox. There are three main legends that circulate in the Orthodox world to explain why this is:

Why was March 21 chosen for the paschal table?

March 21 (O.S.Julian) was the date used by the Alexandrians for determining the EFM used in their Paschal tables because it was near the actual date of the vernal equinox in the late 3rd and early 4th century A.D., when Paschal tables were first being compiled.