We are now well into April. The fourth month of the year and the time when spring starts to feel real. I’ve always thought of April as a new beginning, a fresh start. A time to be excited for warmer weather and more sunshine. A time to plan the garden and watch the tulips emerge. I feel like we are coming out of a slumber and feeling refreshed.
My birthday falls in April and I’ve learned that is very rare. Only two April birth dates made their way into the top 200 most popular birthdays (April 4th at 144th and April 11th at 189th), while 11 landed below 300. I guess that means June and July aren’t busy baby-making months.
As I was sitting down to write this week’s column, I thought about what else is happening this month. A quick Google search led me to an interesting article that claims scientists have determined the exact date Jesus died.
Geologists say Jesus, as described in the New Testament, was most likely crucified on Friday, April 3, in the year 33. The latest investigation, reported in International Geology Review, focused on earthquake activity at the Dead Sea, located 13 miles from Jerusalem.
The Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 27, mentions that an earthquake coincided with the crucifixion. Whether you believe that or not, or even in Jesus, it is an interesting investigation.
And a unique way to determine something, analyzing earthquake activity from thousands of years ago. It begs the question, if Easter will ever change, if there will be a fixed date.
Currently, the date is determined by the first Sunday after the first full moon following the spring equinox, resulting in a date that falls between March 22nd and April 25th.
Who came up with the idea? Apparently, it has been done this way since the year 325. It is hard to comprehend a year with only three digits. But I suppose lunar calendars played a more important role back then.
Easter this year was almost as late as possibly can be, on April 20. I also learned that in British Columbia, Easter Sunday and Easter Monday are not statutory holidays. However, federally regulated employees are entitled to paid time off for both Good Friday and Easter Monday.
And in the private sector, most employees only have Good Friday as a day off, with Easter Monday being a regular working day in many provinces.
Statutory holidays should be the same across the country. There is all this talk in the news lately about inter-provincial trade barriers. I think having the whole country on the same calendar would be a good place to start.
Marisca Bakker is a reporter with The Interior News in Smithers.
