It’s a full moon this weekend and an important one. It actually determined which day Easter would be this year.
Let me explain.
Easter is celebrated on the first Sunday following the full moon that occurs on or just after the spring equinox.
Spring began on March 20 and the first full moon on or after this date is this Sunday, March 28. The first Sunday following this full moon is next Sunday, April 4. So Easter falls this year on April 4, 2021.
Interesting, right?
There is a caveat, the Farmer’s Almanac says that long ago, the Christian Church decided to simplify the process of calculating Easter’s date by always observing the spring equinox on March 21, despite the fact that the equinox date changes some over time.
The Farmer’s Almanac says this discrepancy between the astronomical equinox date and the Church’s observed equinox date caused confusion in 2019, when the full moon and the astronomical equinox occurred on the same day—Wednesday, March 20.
According to the formula mentioned earlier, Easter would have been observed on Sunday, March 24. However, because the Church observes the equinox on March 21, the full moon technically did not occur “on or just after” the equinox. Thus, in 2019, Easter was held on Sunday, April 21, after the full Moon on Friday, April 19.
By the way, the March full moon is also known as the Worm Moon. Why? Legend says because earthworms appear in the warming soil of spring. Robins and other birds become more active bringing another sign of spring!
While this weekend’s moon is officially full at 2:48 p.m. it will appear full to the eye on both Saturday and Sunday.
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