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The Date of EasterThe precise date of Easter has often been a matter for contention. Easter and the holidays that are related to it are moveable feasts, in that they do not fall on a fixed date in the Gregorian or Julian calendars (which follow the motion of the Sun and the seasons). Originally, the timing of Easter was determined by the time of the Jewish Passover, which in turn was related to the March Equinox. At the First Council of Nicaea in 325 it was decided that Easter would be celebrated on the same Sunday throughout the Church. Easter is observed on the Sunday after the first full moon on or after the March equinox. It was difficult to accurately calculate the equinox, so March 21 was chosen as the 'liturgical' equinox for the purposes of calculating the date of easter. Since western churches now use the Gregorian calendar to calculate the date and Eastern Orthodox churches the original Julian calendar, their dates are not usually aligned in the present day. At a summit in Aleppo, Syria, in 1997, the World Council of Churches proposed a reform in the calculation of Easter which would have replaced an equation-based method of calculating Easter with direct astronomical observation of the equinox; this would have side-stepped the calendar issue and eliminated the difference in date between the Eastern and Western churches. The reform was proposed for implementation starting in 2001, but it was not ultimately adopted by any member body. The dates of Easter & Passover 2005 - 2010The table below gives the date of the first full moon after the 'Ecclesiastical March Equinox', March 21, and the dates of the Jewish Passover and Eastern and Western Easter for the years 2005 - 2010.
Dates of Western Easter and Related Dates 2005 - 2010
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