Coronavirus: "Lockdown to be extended to end of April, Easter to be moved" reports

[Paphos Life]

The strict measures to stop the spread of coronavirus will be extended until the end of April while Easter church services may be held over until May, media reports said on Monday.The reports emerged following the meeting on Monday of the special ministerial committee dealing with the coronavirus which is chaired by President Nicos Anastasiades....

Read the article and chat about it below...

[Anarita John]

Easter is moveable. In the Western churches Easter Sunday is the first Sunday, after the first full moon, after the first day of spring. Therefore, Easter Sunday is on a different day each year. Seems sensible to move it till May.

[Dominic]

Easter moves every year.

The Christian holiday of Easter celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Bible says Jesus died on a Friday but rose again on the third day, a Sunday.

Those who agree that this is literally true acknowledge that the exact date of the death and resurrection are unknown. Of course, those who follow the Christian religion and also believe in the literal birth of Jesus don't know the specific date either. So why is it that Christmas, the celebration of Jesus' birth, is a fixed date on our calendar, but Easter seems to hop around the spring calendar like ... well, like an Easter bunny?

In the Bible, the birth of Jesus didn't occur around any specific Jewish holiday. His resurrection, however, occurred around the Jewish celebration of Passover. In the early centuries following Jesus' death, some Christians would celebrate his resurrection on Passover; some would celebrate a week later.

It wasn't until 325 that the Council of Nicaea took up the debate about the proper date to celebrate Easter. The council was convened by the Roman Emperor Constantine to settle issues that were dividing the church, the most important being the divinity of Christ. The Nicene Crede, a statement of faith still widely accepted and recited by Christians, came out of that council.

What the council didn't accomplish, however, was to create a fixed date for Easter. Instead, they came up with a way to determine a date for Easter each year that has confused many people since.

According to Time and Date, the council decided that Easter would be the first Sunday after the first full moon (modernly known as the Paschal Full Moon) after the vernal equinox — the day in the first half of the year when both day and night are exactly 12 hours long. On our modern calendar, it's the official first day of spring, which can fall on March 19, 20 or 21.

Easter can never happen before the vernal equinox, but it can happen on almost any Sunday after it up until April 25. This year, Easter will fall on April 21, 2019. If that seems much later than usual, there's a reason for that. In the last 365 years, the date for Easter has only been later than April 21 about 14 times, according to WLKY.

The only time Easter isn't on the Sunday after the full moon is when it would fall on the same day as the Jewish celebration of Passover. In that situation, Easter is celebrated the following Sunday.

https://www.mnn.com/lifestyle/arts-cult ... ar-so-much

[trevnhil]

So how is it that Easter can be a different date in the UK and Cyprus ?? We all see the same moon..

[Mark]

Very sensible move by the Government

[WHL]

I for one have been impressed by the way, this government has handled the crises,

[trevnhil]

The final decision has not been decided yet according to the report

"According to the CyBC, the committee’s decision will only be officially announced after a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, but other media reports said it was likely the government will extend the duration of the present lockdown.

The cabinet will also discuss with the church potentially moving Easter celebrations to sometime towards the end of May, as an extension on the lockdown would encompass the current date for Easter on April 19."

[LouiseCastricum]

So how is it that Easter can be a different date in the UK and Cyprus ?? We all see the same moon..

They talk about the Easter celebrations, not the actual Easter date.

[Kili01]

Wait and see seems the best option!

Dee