For Catholic faithfuls, Holy Week is a big deal as this is marked by deep religious traditions remembering the Lord’s passion. Yet, unlike fixed secular holidays such as Christmas, Holy Week’s dates vary each year, so, this often confuses some people when they will prepare themselves for this observance.
According to Catholic News Agency, the reason is tied to Easter Sunday, which moves around too. The Catholic Church figures out when Easter is based on old traditions, and the moon and sun’s movements.
Easter is intertwined with the Jewish Passover, which commemorates the escape of the Jews from Egyptian’s slavery. Also, Jesus had His last supper during the Passover, so the Church wants the celebration of Easter to line up with it.
Additionally, in the past, the Jewish tradition required celebrating on the 15th of Nisan, starting with the first spring new moon according to the Mosaic Law.
With this, early Christians had different dates for Easter. But in 325, the First Council of Nicea set a rule: Easter falls on the first Sunday after the full moon following the spring equinox. And based on our calendar, Easter can be as early as March 22 or as late as April 25.
This also means that the day of Easter, and therefore the dates of Holy Week, shift around every year as this reinforces a theological significance.
Even so, Catholics stay dedicated to the tradition especially here in the Philippines. Holy Week became a religious culture for Filipinos even though the dates changed, proving that faith is greater than the numbers on the calendar.
So, even if Holy Week moves around, the spirit of it remains strong, bringing people closer in their beliefs.
Thumbnail photo by Greg Rosenke on Unsplash
