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Easter itself changes each year depending on the phases of the moon. I suppose you could be really picky and ask why this is, and why it's not a set date - but I don't know that! What I do know is that Easter Sunday is the first Sunday following the first full moon after the Spring Equinox - the Paschal Full Moon The Paschal Full Moon may occur from March 21st through to April 18th and is determined from tables. It may differ from the date of actual full moon by up to two days. If you want to know more about the Paschal Moon phase and how it's calculated, then have a read of these pages - but they're a little complicated! For a slightly less complicated overview (and more future Easter dates) then have a look here. It's got a nice algorithm as to how Easter day can be calculated in the past and the future. Easter will always fall somewhere between March 22nd and April 25th each year. Easter Sunday is a Christian festival and is the day that Christ was reborn. And it's from Easter that all the following other days / events below are determined!
Good Friday Good Friday is the Friday two days before Easter Sunday. This was the day that Christ was crucified on a cross. It's traditional to eat hot cross buns on Good Friday (God's Friday). The pastry cross on top of the bun symbolises of the cross that Jesus was killed on. Maundy Thursday ... is the day before Good Friday, and is the day that is remembered for the Last Supper. The name is from the Latin word 'Maundatum' meaning "Command" and recalls Jesus's last words at the Last Supper about new commandments. Palm Sunday The Sunday before Easter (yes, we're going backwards here - confusing isn't it?) is known as Palm Sunday. It marks the end of Lent and celebrates Jesus's arrival in Jerusalem for the Jewish festival of Passover. Crowds of people lined the streets to greet his arrival waving palm branches to welcome him. Palm Sunday is the beginning of Holy Week, the last week of Lent. Mothering Sunday It is the fourth Sunday of Lent - the middle Sunday of the fasting period and began as a religious festival where people used to visit 'Mother Churches' but it now a time when children pay respect to their mothers. In America, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand, "Mothers Day" is celebrated on the second of May and is not linked to Easter at all. Be aware as well that "Father's Day" is an American marketing invention, a bit like Clinton Card's here in the UK invented "Grandparent's Day" in October, as it was a lull in the card-buying season. I find that Father's Day and Grandparents Day make a mockery of Mothering Sunday. There's an excellent episode of The Simpsons called 'Trash of the Titans', where the opening scene is of some marketing execs for a card and gift shops company who create a 'Love Day' in August merely to boost sales - I found that very funny. (I later discovered that there is indeed a really naff holiday called "Sweetest Day" in some states in the USA, which falls on the third Saturday in October - and was created by candy makers purely to try and get people to buy sweets/candy for their loved ones in their family! Read the wikipedia article about it here.) And so, finally! Onto ... Lent Lent is the forty days before Easter, but without including the Sundays. Therefore including the Sundays it is forty seven days before Easter Sunday. Lent is the time when Christians remember the forty days that Jesus spent in the desert without any food. People remember this nowadays by trying to give up during this period (Chocolate and Smoking are two popular choices!) Shrove Tuesday (Pancake day)
There's a great Delia Smith recipe for making gorgeous pancakes here. Ash Wednesday This has nothing to do with the band Ash. Just thought I should make that initially clear. However, it is the first day of Lent (the day after Shrove Tuesday) and it's known as Ash Wednesday as people used to rub Ashes on their foreheads to show God they were sorry for any wrong doing in the past year. Christians in church today still have ashes put on their foreheads in special church services held on the morning of Ash Wednesday. Bank Holidays Bank Holidays have been in use in Britain since 1871, when Banks used to close for the day, and so no trading could be done. In England now, there are six Bank Holidays during the year: New Years day (1st January, except when new years day is at the weekend, then the Monday becomes the bank holiday), Easter Monday (depending on when Easter is - see above!), May Day (not necessarily May 1st), the last Monday in May, the last Monday in August and Boxing Day (December 26th). Good Friday and Christmas Day are technically known as 'Common Law' holidays and not Bank Holidays. In Scotland, they also have January 2nd as a Bank Holiday, and in Northern Ireland they have St.Patricks Days (end of March) as a Bank Holiday, plus another public holiday around the time of the Battle of the Boyne (12th July). Want to know when all these important dates are for the next few years? Course you do! England only
Christmas is of course on the 25th December, Boxing Day on the 26th. Quarter Days Quarter days are the four days that mark the beginning of each quarter of the year. They are traditionally regarded as settling days for certain debts that are payable in quarterly installments, such as farm rents and leasehold payments. In England, Wales, and Ireland, the quarter days are four religious festival days that fall about three months apart. They are:
Finally, check out the excellent webpages at: http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/customs/ for more information on other dates, customs and festivals including Christmas, Advent, Harvest, Halloween, Remembrance Day, Whitsun, Fireworks night / Guy Fawkes. :: Obsessions
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Shrove
Tuesday (Pancake Day) is the day immediately before Lent starts.
It is directly connected to the date that Easter falls on. Shrove comes
from the word 'Shrive' which means to confess. Pancakes are eaten on this
day because they contain fat, butter and eggs which are forbidden during
Lent. 