If Easter seems later this year, it is. According to ancient tradition, Easter cannot be celebrated until we have the first full moon after the vernal equinox.
Christians around the world celebrate the resurrection of Jesus after his death on the cross during Easter. Jesus’s victory over death two thousand years ago is a symbol of victory over sin with a promise of eternal life.
Some might notice Orthodox Easter on the calendar. It coincides every few years with the date of Easter in the Western world. Since Orthodox Easter remains based on the old Julian calendar, the two dates for Easter can be up to four weeks apart. In the United States and Western Europe, the Gregorian calendar has been used for centuries.
The ancient complex formula for dating Easter was established many centuries ago. Based on the first full moon after Passover, Orthodox Easter almost always comes later. Since faiths from Western Europe based Easter on the first full moon after the vernal equinox, sometimes the two Easter dates coincide.
Cooked lamb, representing Jesus as the Lamb of God, is a main Easter food. Greek Orthodox Christians fast until after midnight. Then, they begin Easter morning with a feast including roasted lamb as the main course. Chicken is used in places where lamb is not common.
Historically, eggs represent new life. They are a popular symbol at Easter celebrations around the world.
Easter eggs are an important part of the Orthodox Easter tradition and are colored red to represent the blood of Jesus. These red, boiled eggs are often baked into a braided loaf of bread. The bread is served as part of the Easter feast.
At Greek Orthodox Easter parties, friends might play a game with hard-boiled eggs. They wrap their eggs against one another’s heads. The person with the last uncracked egg is the winner and is assumed to have good luck.
Worldwide Earth Day comes during the week after Easter this year. It is celebrated on April 22. According to Earthday.org, almost 200 countries around the globe participate. Earth Day, with its focus on our Earth’s environment, inspires activities worldwide.
Earth Day Network estimates that one billion people participate in Earth Day happenings each year. This makes it the largest worldwide event.
Each year’s Earth Day theme is a spin-off of the first Earth Day, which was April 22, 1970. The Earth Day 2025 Campaign is “Our Power, Our Planet.” The understanding is that everyone can make positive changes for the good of the planet.
The purpose of Earth Day is to promote environmental awareness. Maybe our local sidewalks and roadways will stay cleaner with less tossed trash.
Earth Day promotes the better use of resources and the development of water projects. Farmers with improved water resources put increased quality and quantity of food on our tables and on tables throughout the world.
A fun way to celebrate Earth Day is to find the NASA Worldview website and see images captured as satellites pass over various locations. The web-based application is for interactive global browsing.
If possible, take the easy tutorial and learn to access the same thirty-year historical data scientists use. It is especially interesting to explore wildfires or volcanic eruptions.
Several causes piggyback on the Earth Day theme. In some areas Earth Day is extended for a week. Many enthusiasts promote “Every day is Earth Day” with an emphasis on taking special care of our environment daily.
Joining NASA for Earth Day is something everyone with the internet can do locally. “Shop” the world for information without spending an extra penny.
Participate in this year’s Earth Day celebration. Discover more about the world while acting locally.
(Janet Miller is a freelance writer specializing in family faith. She offers Family Prayers and Activities: Weekly Guides on compact disc for families to explore the Bible jmiller@dospalos.org).
