Does Easter feel like it came early this year?
It sure felt that way to us as we tucked into our hot cross buns this morning!
There are some interesting distribution quirks in the timing of Easter Sunday each year, with annual shifts in the calendar date due to the difference in the duration of the Moon’s orbit around the Earth and the duration of the Earth’s orbit around the Sun. We’ve pulled together an animation that shows the calendar date of Easter Sunday in Australia for each year between 2000 and 2050.
Easter may feel earlier this year because it’s the earliest Easter Sunday we have had since 2016, with only three instances of an earlier Easter since 2000. Easter Sunday in 2024 also falls nine days earlier than we experienced in 2023 and 17 days earlier than in 2022. However, Easter Sunday this year (31 March) occurs on the most frequent date since 2000, occurring three times in the last 25 years (as shown in the red bar in the animation). So, while Easter may feel early this year, it is actually right on time!
Looking forward to the next 25 years, it is 5 April that will enjoy its time in the sun, with three instances of Easter Sunday set to fall on 5 April before 2050 (as shown in the blue bar in the animation).
As for 31 March? Unfortunately, we won’t be seeing another one of those until 2086…so we better make this one count! 🐇