This year Easter falls on March 23. Could it ever be earlier? Technically, yes. It can fall on March 22. That is quite rare. The last time it did was the year 1818, when James Monroe was President of the US.
Think you can stick around for the next time Easter falls on March 22. Good luck trying. The next year it is that early is the year 2285. March 23 happens a little more frequently.
The last time Easter was on March 23 was in 1913. If you're 95 years old or older you were around then. The next time it comes March 23 will be 220 years from now, in 2228.
What's the deal? The celestial spheres, that's the deal. Easter is fixed to come the first Sunday after the first full moon after the spring equinox, which is March 20 or 21. How do I know all this? I read it in the Christian Century. I figured out myself the Monroe thing.
Easter can come anytime in your subjective heart you want. But I like the objective reality of the system we have had for centuries. It also makes it harder for secular societies to co-opt it and make it fit in the commercial flow of things. Oh, those daffodils are not from this year. I had to use a late March, 2007, photo, taken behind my barn.
Easter is a response to universe-wide reality. Hallelujah!
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