I was surprised how early Easter Sunday is this year- March 23th in 2008- with good reason. The last time Easter was this early was in 1913 and the next time will be in 220 years- AD 2228.
The date of Easter Sunday is set by this formula:
The 1st Sunday after the 1st full moon after the Spring Equinox
This approximation-- a compromise made centuries ago-- was meant to unite Christians who were celebrating Easter on various dates. However, Eastern Churches adopted a different formula-- making Easter Sunday April 27th this year. The Eastern and Western observances do fall on the same day in some years-- for example, 2010 and 2011 both fall on the same Sunday.
Does Easter come even earlier than March 23?
Well, the last one was on March 22, 1818 and the next one will be on March 22, 2285-- So, stick around!
Could you imagine what it would have been like for the disciple Thomas at the time of the first Easter? Well, here's an interesting account of what it may have been like:
http://activated.org/magazine/articles.php?id=90.11.172
or you can look over or even download a pdf file of the March Easter edition of Activated Magazine here:
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