Palm Sunday & Passover

[ceebeegee]

I've been having some troubling, vivid dreams the last couple of nights.

Went to Mass this morning. It's that Holy Week thing again--since I missed Palm Sunday (Bad Clara!), I'm making up for it. Went Monday as well; am checking out the schedule for tomorrow and Friday, because I simply cannot sit through another 3+ hour Easter Vigil.

I thought that Passover and Holy Week were always the same week, but someone at work said that Passover is in two weeks. Hmm. That is odd--I wonder how our church decided when Easter is? I know it has something to do with the moons, but after all, the Last Supper was a seder.

Comments

[wonderpanther.livejournal.com]

I may be wrong here because I do not know the Christian half of things but I will venture an educated guess.

The Jewish calendar is a lunar calendar. Unlike the lunar calendar used in Islam, we have a leap month and leap days in order to keep the year in some sort of congruence with the seasons. The same system is not used in Islam so Ramadan (sp?) can fall during any season. I would venture a guess that the Christian religion also accomodates the lunar calendar in some way to hit holidays in accordance with seasons.

[ceebeegee.livejournal.com]

For the most part, the Christian (liturgical) calendar is solar--Christmas is always December 25, Epiphany is always January 6, etc. This probably has something to do with the Roman Empire's big thing about solar calendars--the Roman empire's gradual acceptance/adoption of Xtianity had a lot to do with its success in spreading in the first couple of centuries after Christ's death. The big (only?) exception is Easter and its attendant holy days (Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, all of those are keyed to Easter). Easter is therefore what they call a moveable feast--as I said, I thought it had something to do with the lunar calendar but I just assumed it was also keyed to Passover. Hello, Christ was a Jew and and I said, the Last Supper (which is on Maundy Thursday (tomorrow), the day before Good Friday and three days before Easter) was a seder.

I knew Islam used a lunar calendar but I thought they corrected after awhile--doesn't Ramadan have like a two-month window? I thought it was always around the end of the year.

[tenner.livejournal.com]

The Christian calendar is solar, primarily due to the fact that Julius Caesar decided that it should be so back in 46 BC. Since all modern Christian denominations are derived from the "original" Roman Catholic church, it stuck.

Easter is defined as the first Sunday after the first full moon after March 22. I think. I didn't Google this, so I'm not 100% sure, but it's something like that.

[tenner.livejournal.com]

Unlike the lunar calendar used in Islam, we have a leap month and leap days in order to keep the year in some sort of congruence with the seasons.

And this is the 13th month right now, right?

I kind of almost pay attention during bar mitzvae.

[jayspec.livejournal.com]

The first night of Passover this year is actually April 23rd. Paula and I are going Florida that weekend to celebrate with my family.

[ceebeegee.livejournal.com]

Okay, so my Jewish co-worker is clearly on crack.

How long does Passover last?

[wonderpanther.livejournal.com]

Eight days. It ends May 1 at night.

[wonderpanther.livejournal.com]

It is only seven days in Israel.

[planga.livejournal.com]

Part of deciding when to celebrate Easter also has to do with supplanting Pagan holidays. Back in the day, the equinox and the general rebirth of the world was celebrated by giving thanks to the Goddess Eoster.

Pretty much any holiday that involves trees, elves, or woodland creatures comes from an ancient religion mostly forgotten now.