This year, Christians, Jews, and Muslims celebrate an unusually holy weekend, as major religious celebrations (Easter, Passover and Ramadan, respectively) overlap on the same weekend. Often Easter and Passover are observed concurrently. Having all three holidays occur at the same time happens about once every 30 years. The last time was 1991.
This year’s convergence occurs because unlike the Western Christian calendar, which is determined by the course of the sun and is widely used in the Western world, the Islamic calendar is aligned with the moon and the uncorrected lunar year.
A year in the solar calendar lasts 365 days usually. The Islamic lunar year, on the other hand, lasts only 354 days. Ramadan is the first day of the ninth month of the uncorrected lunar calendar and its beginning is determined by the sighting of the crescent moon. The observance of Ramadan migrates throughout the seasons over the course of several decades.
Ramadan: April 1 to May 1-2
Ramadan commemorates the revelation of the Quran to Muhammad, Islam’s founder and main prophet, and is meant as a time of reflection and prayer. Ramadan involves 30 days of fasting from dawn to sunset. The timing of the first day of Ramadan can be a fairly complicated matter.
Passover: April 15 -23
Passover celebrates the liberation of the Israelites from slavery in ancient Egypt under the leadership of the prophet Moses. The week-long holiday begins at sundown on the first day. It takes place on different dates, but usually falls in the mid-March to April timeframe.
Easter: April 17 or April 24
Western Christians use the Gregorian Calendar and celebrate Easter on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the spring equinox. There is even some variation within Christianity. Orthodox Christians who use the Julian Calendar celebrate Easter this year on April 24.
Clear as can be, right? Here are some references if you’d like to explore the timing of these holidays.
What’s the Difference Between Easter and Orthodox Easter?
Weekend marks rare intersection of Easter, Passover and Ramadan
When Does Ramadan Start? It’s Complicated.
Ramadan, Passover and Easter overlap this weekend: Here’s what to know
Mysterious Easter Island (Isla de Pasqua or Rapa Nui) on of the world’s most remote islands, got its name because it was first sighted by Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen, who encountered it on Easter Sunday April 5, 1722.
I arrived on Easter Island at Mataveri International Airport in 2019 but not on Easter.
Best wishes to all who observe these celebrations. Feel free to add corrections in the comments if anything is misstated in the post. Thanks for your time and attention.
Happy Easter❣
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Thanks! I hope you had a good one.
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Welcome 😊
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Waw
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Your post reminded me of something just now … back in 2017, we walked the Camino pilgrimage in Spain during Easter. And with so many Catholics in Spain, it was quite an experience. We had a big group of Spaniards walking with us during Easter weekend and they explained the whole tradition of being Catholic and celebrating Easter … it was such a privilege.
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You picked probably the best time to do the Camino! Singapore is multicultural and they all celebrate holidays of several religions which I think is cool.
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It’s definitely remarkable to have all three of these religious holidays at the same time. We had a nice holiday weekend. Hoping that everyone who reads this comment did as well. 💙
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I’m glad you enjoyed Easter. My Easter was peaceful. Thanks for visiting!
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That shot of the airport on Rapa Nui took me back to my own arrival there, super excited! Thanks for the memory 🙂
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Glad the photo reminded you of your trip!
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😊
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too bad there was such upheaval of these celebrations this year.. let’s hope for some renewal John! 💖💖
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We could certainly use a lot of renewal. I hope you had a good Easter. Take care Cindy! 💓🧡😊
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I wish I had these emoji😊
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💜 Christian Easter 🐣 ❤️ 😍 has its Origins and Roots in Paganism Festivities around Fertility; the followers of Bro Jesu hijacked The Pagan Festival to Celebrate 🍾 😀 😄 😉 👏🏾 👍🏾 🍾 The Crucifixion Death and Angelic Rolling of The Tomb Stone and 😳 👏🏾 😀 👌🏾 🤣 👍🏾 😳 Resurrection of Christ
…💛💚💙…
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Very interesting post! Thank’s for share, John.
Happy Easter full of blessings!
Keep well.
Elvira
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It is interesting how the date of these celebrations are determined. Take care. John
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Exactly it is, thank’s John.
Take car too.
Elvira
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Happy Easter! 🥚🐇🐾🙏
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Thank you Cindy. Best wishes to you too.
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It was the Gregorian reform that brought our current calendar precisely to prevent the Easter festival from wandering around throughout the year. Problem: First it was necessary to determine the year of Christ’s birth!
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That is very interesting. Thanks for sharing. Easter still wanders some though not like Ramadan. It seems very complicated.
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Hope you are having a good Easter John. Allan
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Thank you Allan. Easter has been as good as could be expected as I do taxes. I Hope your weekend and Easter are great!
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That reminds me…we still haven’t filed our taxes, but only because we owe ha! Happy Easter!
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I could use some free help🤣 With your background, taxes should be easy for you. 😉
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