Easter will be celebrated on the same day for Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox churches in the United States and Europe, an unusual alignment.
The Easter dates for Western Christianity (USA, Roman Catholic, Protestant, Anglican) and Eastern Orthodoxy (Europe, Greek, Russian, Orthodox) normally do not coincide.
In 2015, they diverge again, as Western churches will celebrates on April 5 while Eastern churches will celebrate on April 12.
The reason for the difference in dates is because Western Christianity follows the Gregorian Calendar while Eastern Orthodoxy follows the Julian Calendar.
Since both Gregorian and Julian calenders are lunar calenders, the date of Easter Sunday changes each year. Easter Sunday will vary between March 22 and April 25 for Western Christianity, and April 4 and May 8 for Eastern Orthodoxy.
Easter is a religious holiday that honors the date when Jesus rose from the dead.
Because it’s on a Sunday, there’s no question of whether it’s an official holiday or not.
With Good Friday, for example, on the other hand, it’s not a federal holiday but some states have made it an official holiday and schools are off as part of spring break.
*Easter bunny via Shutterstock
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