The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-03-28
PULPIT AND PEW
PULPIT AND ]! PEW
HOW TO FIND EASTER
Rule by Which the Date Of the Feast
Is Determined Is Com
plicated.
An Easter Table and How to Use It
General Rule Briefly
Stated.

10 flnd the ddLe OF LASER sunday each
year is rather a fascinating process.
brated in different years on different Sun
days. The date of Easter is not deter
mined IN q llaphazard manner.
It: is possible to construct table for
the purpose. The churchman, Of course,
would refer to the prayer book, where can
be found rules and tables for the deter
mirlation of the date for every year. past
or future. The rule In force among all
Christian nations Is this:
Easter day is always the first Sunday
following the fun moon which happens
upon or next after the twenty-five of
March; and II full moon happens upon a
Sunday, Easter day is the Sunday after
ficult, is that the moon referred to: in
the rule Is the calendar moon, which, al
though on the average much the same as
the true moon in the heavens, vet at any
particular time may differ from 1t by one
or even two days: The reason for adopt
ing this average moon In place OF the
true moon, was that otherwise full moon
parts of the world, and hence Easter
would not be universally observed on the
| same day. Hs E%
Since the moon which governs Easter
day is a fictitious one some Of it's phases
must be learned before a table can be In
vented. ~
|. Ecclesiastical authorities once hit upon
q clever arrangement, whereby the luna
tions of the calendar moon were made to
/ agree very nearly with those OF the true
moon. This was done by using a, well
4 known law discovered by Melton, an Athe-
MAN, who lived in the fifth century before
Christ. He had made known that the
moon completes 235 revolutions Cor luna
tions) in nineteen years. This was the
groundwork for the ecclesiastical calen-
dar. Every period Of nineteen years was
made to consist of 235 moons or months;
some years had twelve, other thirteen
months. The beginning Of very month
in this calendar was called new moon; and
| the fourteenth day was full moon. The
supposed to begin with Jan. J., B. c., fol
on that day there was actually a new
moon. 1t must be observed that, in cor.
responding years Of different cycles, the
dates Of new moon (and of full NOON will
be the same So, in order to discover OF
what days of the month in any year full
fmoon will fall, it is necessary only to fine
what number that year is in the Metonit
cycle. This is known as the Golden Mum
|ber-so- called because in the old calen
dars it was printed in gold. Since B. G
is the first year Of the first cycle, L AID
Is the second year, and its golden mum
|ber is 2; 5 A.. D. is the sixth year, ant
i us "SOlUeu IluI1lDeF Is o, IL "A. =. IS Iii
4 first year of the second cycle, and its gOl
den number is i. The general rule MIA.
be enunciated thus:i$ To the number Q
the year in the Christian era add J. ant
divide by 10, the remainder will be TIL
required golden number for the year: Con
!: slider, for instance, the present year 1904
divided by 10, leaves rema inder 4, which
4 the reader may find sgiven in the alnar1a
as the golden Humber. .,."' ss-a = q: 800
II we 5tabulate the dates Of, full moo
for all the years of one Metonic cycle. "
can see at a glance the date Of full moor
for any year after finding it's golden mum
ber.2 TO illustrate the method Of usin
: the Easter table, we will determine ith
date Of Easter for the year. 1947. Th
golden number found by dividing 1948 b.
zE19) is TO- In. the second column OF tn
; golden numbers 10 is placed opposite t
April s, which is, therefore, the. date Q
full MOON. Now, from a perpetual, calen
dar, we find that April s, 1947, is a satur
day. Hence. in the year 1947 Easter wi
be celebrated on Sunday, the 9Th OF, Apri
The Easter table, prepared by F. I
Sawyer of Mitchell, Ont, is as follows::