Calendars

[Chuck Britton <britton@ODIE.NCSSM.EDU>]

The 'Official' rules for determining both Easter and Passover have varied
with time. Since the vernal equinox occurs at one instant throughout the
world, it occurs on TWO different days, depending on which side of the
International Date Line you are on. The same goes for the EXACT moment of
Moon phases. Muslim 'New Moons' are determined quite pragmatically by the
first sighting of the faintest sliver of moon as seen from the
'appropriate' mosque. Luckily there are very few cloudy evenings in the
desert to interfer with this important work.

I know that the Jewish reckoning and the Christian reckoning has changed at
least once each. The 'correct' Jewish location is probably Jerusalem and
the most common Christian location is probably Rome, but the Orthodox folks
may have used Constantinopal, (or parhaps still do?)

If the Full Moon which follows the vernal equinox occurs while 'midnight'
is between Rome and Jerusalem, then the days of Passover and Easter are
quite separated.

I find a lot of interesting analytical tidbits hidden within this
calendrical culture.

By the way, the Jewish Lunar calendar adds a 'Leap Year' when necessary to
keep the equinox 'fixed' within the year, but the Muslim Lunar calendar
ALWAYS consists of thirteen lunar months with no 'corrections' so the
seasons progress through the year. Ramadan, which was celebrated in the
spring twenty years ago, now occurs during our winter.

At 2:42 PM -0500 11/19/98, David Bowman wrote:
> According to the gospels the crucifixion of
> Jesus occurred during the time of the Jewish Passover.  The Pascal lambs
> were butchered for the seder and that meal was eaten during the middle of
> the month of Nisan.  The Jewish calendar is a lunar calendar with the month
> boundaries occurring on the new moons.  Thus mid-month is a full moon.
> Solar eclipses cannot occur during a full moon.  (Lunar eclipses can only
> occur during full moons and solar eclipses can only occur during new
> moons.)
>
> As I recall, Easter is dated as the Sunday following the Pascal full moon
> which is (I think) the first full moon following the vernal equinox.
>
>
> David Bowman
> dbowman@georgetowncollege.edu


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Chuck Britton                                   Education is what is left when
britton@odie.ncssm.edu                          you have forgotten everything
North Carolina School of Science & Math         you learned in school.
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