Easter: Why is it so early this year?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/0/21953451

30 March 2013 Last updated at 01:38


Thanks to rules set many centuries ago, Easter egg time is never later than 25 April

Every year we are faced with the same question: will Easter be early or late? When can we expect Easter eggs to appear on supermarket shelves? Earlier and earlier, it would seem.


Although the imagery of Easter may remain the same - luscious chocolate eggs, fragrant hot cross buns and newborn chicks - Easter itself is a moveable celebration, and can fall anywhere between 22 March and 25 April.

But the date in which the faithful celebrate Christ's resurrection has been surrounded in controversy from early Christian times.

Lutz Doering, a reader in New Testament and an expert in calendars and festivals from the University of Durham, confirms: "According to the New Testament, Jesus rose from the dead on a Sunday. However, it is unclear on what day or date the earliest Christians celebrated Easter."

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