The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1919-01-09
Why Easter May Come as Early a
March % or as Late as April 25.

Lent begins this year three weeks
later than last year, being OF course,
based on the date OF Easter, which
81, 1918. Very few people can tell
why Lent varies from year to year
and why Easter may come as early
i as March % or as late as April Is.
1t is something of an anomaly from
the religious point of view that the
anniversary of Christ's death may
fall on any one of the thirty-hve
birth is always the same. 1t is no
less of an anomaly astronomically,
for there seems no reason why, haV-
ing adopted the solar year as the
basis of our calculations, we should
cling to the lunar system merely for
the establishment of one date;
1t is mytery why, when the date
of Christ's birth was fixed as De-
cember rs, some dates in April were
not at the same time settled upon as
those of his death and resurrection:
That would have been logical and
would have banished from the cal
endar a lunar cycle that has long
been abandoned by all civilized peo-
pies.
rational date for Easter if Christ
was crucified on the 14th day Of
March by the Jewish reckoning as
tronomers ought to be able to calcu-
late on what date this fell. ! They
say that in all probability it fell on
April Z of the year 30 Of the Chris
tian era. Why then not fix Easter
once and for all as the first Sunday
after April z?
It is to the Council of Mecca that
we owe the perpendicular of our an
achromistic method of reckoning
Easter. The council decreed that it
should be the first Sunday after the
first full moon that occurs after. the
yernal equinox, which varies from
March 70 to March q. Pope Greg
REFORM the Julian calendar, which
had been in use ever since Julius
Caesar in 46 B. c., had purchased
that a year should consist of 1865
days, every fourth year having 366.
This Julian calendar was reform OF
a still more ancient system based up
on the motions Of the moon, which
lands. In Rome it had originated
with Romulus, who established a
year of ten months, having alternate
~ thirty-one and thirty days, making
3O4 days in all Numa Pomilus adj
ded the months of January and Feb
ruary and in the year 452 B. c. the
Decemyirs placed them where they
now stand.
When Pope Greford undertook to
reform the Julian calendar it had by
that time become incorrect by ten
days. The revolution of the earth
around the sun was not yet fully I'M
derstood. SO instead of making a
change that would be thoroughly
scientific the present form of year
was adopted, the Julian calendar be-
ing modified by calling October 5,
1882, October Is, 1882, and by max
ing all terminal years Of centuries
1900, 1900, 1900, etc, come on
years of 365 days, except when the
year was multiple Of 400, as 1900,
1000, etc, which should be leap
years.
In those days they were So qb afcuT
never occurred to the reformers of
the calendar that a day might. come
when the moveability should be in
convenient. They knew so little
about the relations between the sun
and the earth that they did not want
to renounce the lunar year entirely
and SO upset the order of feasts that
had been from time immemorlal
moon.
Though the Gregorian calendar
was issued in 1882 prejudice against
anything that came from Rome was
SO strong in England that it was not
adopted there until by an act OF
parliament passed in 1851, Septem-
Der 3, 1852, was reckoned as Septem-
Der IA and New Years day was set
back from March % to January /,
beginning with 1853.
To fix one definite date for Easter
would require decree from the
Pope. The whole Roman Catholic
world and all Roman Catholics else
where would at once adopt it and
there is little doubt but that Protes-
tant churches would follow AS it is
purely a religious feast that is all
that would be necessary.
In Russia and Greece the Julian
calendar is still in use so their dates
are now thirteen days different from
ours.