I’ve the day off today, and if the weather cooperates, we plan on taking our 15 month old son and our recently turned 5 year old nephew to the Fort Worth Zoo today. I’ll let you know how we fare. Has anyone seen the news about all the wildfires in North Texas? I hope we can still go. Yesterday, the sky turned gray and a burnt smell permeated the air.
Switching topics, have you ever wondered why Easter falls on different calendar dates? I knew it had to do with the moons, but I wasn’t entirely certain exactly why. Here’s an excerpt from Wiki (feel free to skip the next 2 paragraphs if such useless trivia bores you):
Good Friday is the Friday before Easter, which is calculated differently in Eastern Christianity and Western Christianity (see Computus for details). Easter falls on the first Sunday following the Paschal Full Moon, the full moon on or after 21 March, taken to be the date of the vernal equinox. The Western calculation uses the Gregorian calendar, while the Eastern calculation uses the Julian calendar, whose 21 March now corresponds to the Gregorian calendar's 3 April. The calculations for identifying the date of the full moon also differ. See Easter Dating Method (Astronomical Society of South Australia).
Because Easter in Western Christianity can fall between March 22 and April 25 on the Gregorian calendar, Good Friday can fall between March 20 and April 23, inclusive. In Eastern Christianity, Easter can fall between March 22 and April 25 on Julian Calendar (thus between April 4 and May 8 in terms of the Gregorian calendar, during the period 1900 and 2099), so Good Friday can fall between March 20 and April 23, inclusive (or between April 2 and May 6 in terms of the Gregorian calendar). (See Easter.)
Quite a mouthful, huh? Anyway, I am thankful to be off work today and to have some time to reflect on the sacrifice made on mankind’s behalf so long ago on this day. Enjoy your Easter weekend!
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I love when holidays vary and there's a reason why.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, we can smell the smoke here in Austin! It's hazy and smells like a fireplace everywhere.
Have fun at the zoo!
I hope the weather cooperates for you! Have fun!
ReplyDeleteInteresting about the Easter dates. I've always wondered that too.
Christy
I'm glad to see that someone still remembers why we celebrate Easter. That bunny certainly has cornered a big part of the day... Hope you and the fam had fun at the zoo.
ReplyDeleteHow interesting. I never did know why Easter changed dates.
ReplyDeleteI'm back ... Alas, I've been on a bit of a blogging slump / holiday.
ReplyDeleteWe did make it to the zoo where we enjoyed phenomenal weather, low crowds, and active animals - a delightful time. Actually, I'd say it was the best zoo trip I've ever had.
And, I should also add that despite a thunderstorm on Sunday morning, we had a wonderful Easter.