The People's vindicator. [volume] (Natchitoches, La.) 1874-1883, 1876-04-15
Easter Sunday.

As many have expressed surprise
that this feast should occur on the
10th, and not on the 9th of the pres
cnt month, We have concluded to
give some explanation of the matter,
which may not he without interest to
a majority Of our readers. Easter is
one of those movable frasts, regGla-
ted by the changes Of the moon, and
consequently must he as variable as
the moon itself, with this exception,
however, it must always he on Sun
day, and this Sunday must be the
first, after the first full moon after
the Vernal Equinox.
Now for the explanation, how, this
year it happens on the 10th, and not
on the 9th inst, AS the full moon was
on Saturday, the 9th, at f"rty-eisht
minutes past seven o'clock in the af-
tern0On, and according tn custom,
Easter should, therefore, have been
on the 9th, the first Sunday after the
first full moon of the Vcrnal Equinox.
The proper time for the celebration
of Easter has occasioncd no little
controversy, for We find in the first
years Of christianity the churches
divided upon the question, until the
Council Of Nice (:s25 A. d. which
fixed the time above stated, for its
celebration. 1t was Difference to an
cient custom, that led the ecclesiasti-
cal authorities to adhere to the meth
cd of determination by the moon,
and at the epoch Of the Council of
Nice, there was no Office oflongitnles
to determine the exact hour of the
full moon, that is to say, the precise
moment when the earth is between
the moon and the sun in straight
line, the line Of syzygies. at must
he 1ememberel' lsays Chambers En-
cyclopTdia,) THAT it is not the actu-
al moon in the heavens, nor even the
mean moon of Astronomers, that
regulates the time of Easter, but al,
altogether imaginary moon, whose
periods arc so contrivcd, that the new
(calendar) moon always follows the
real new moon, sometimes by two,
or even three days.) The effect Of
this is, that the l4th Of the calenda,
moon-which had, from the times OF
Moses, been considered full moon
for ecclesiastical purposes-falls gen.
orally on the 18th or 10th of the real
moon, and TINS, after the real full
moon, which is generally on the l4tl
or 18th day" In looking up the sub.
ject farther, we find the following
statement in French, paper, publish
ed by the authority of the Diocese Of
Nantes
"They have used an easy method
to facilitate matters, and sacrificed /:
little exactitude to simplicity, and
this method is still in use, because, il
gives results ordinarily exact. The
error besides, is without consequence
because it can only make difference
Of one day. This method gives t.
the lunar month thirty days, wher
truly it has but twenty nine days
twelve hours and forty eight minutes
This year the ecclesiastical count is il
disagreement several hours with as
tronomy, and these hours cause til,
full moon to fall on the 9th, instead
of the 9th, and following the law o
the Council of Nice they have bee,
forced to place Ia .fete de Payues, y,
Sunday the 10th April"
1t is therefore 4 we'll established
fact, that Tomorrow Sunday is t,
be Easter, with all Of its accompany
ing ceremonies; the young ladie
with new dresses, and the children
with dyed eggs, &C., which to them
forms a very important period o
their lives.