April 8, 2007 Sunrise

The Easter Season

Easter falls on the first Sunday subsequent to the first full moon after the vernal equinox (March 21, the day when the sun’s ecliptic or apparent path in the sky crosses the equator, thus making days and nights of equal length). Thus, it can occur as early as March 22 and as late as April 25. (If the full moon after the equinox falls on Sunday, Easter follows a week later.)
 

In the Western Church, Easter has not fallen on the earliest of the 35 possible dates--March 22--since 1818, and will not do so again until 2285. It will, however, fall on March 23, just one day after its earliest possible date, this year in 2008. Easter last fell on the latest possible date, April 25 in 1943, and will next fall on that date in 2038. However, it will fall on April 24, just one day before this latest possible date, in 2011.

Like Christmas, Easter itself is a period of time rather than just a day. It is actually a seven-week season of the church year called Eastertide, the Great Fifty Days that begins at sundown the evening before Easter Sunday (the Easter Vigil) and lasts for six more Sundays until Pentecost Sunday (some traditions use the term Pentecost to include these Fifty Days between Easter and Pentecost Sunday). These seven Sundays are called the Sundays of Easter. While purple is the color of Lent and black, or no color, marks Good Friday, white and gold are the colors of Easter Sunday. White symbolizes the hope of the resurrection, as well as the purity and newness that comes from victory over sin and death.  The gold (or yellow) symbolizes the light of the world brought by the risen Christ that enlightens the world.

April 16, 2006 Sunrise

March 27, 2005 Sunrise

April 11, 2004 Sunrise