We have now arrived at our third and final Easter date of the year, Greek (Orthodox) Easter and I have well surpassed the 120 signatures target I was hoping for after adjusting my signature targets, with 200 signatures now on the horizon.
I wish a happy Easter to the millions of Orthodox Christians across the globe and here in the UK!
The date gap is NOT the issue, its the lack of recognition for Orthodox holidays in Western nations!:
Contrary to what many people believe, the five week gap between Catholic/Protestant and Orthodox Easter itself in years such as 2024 is not the issue, its the lack of recognition for Orthodox and Coptic holidays in countries that predominantly follow Western traditions such as the UK, the Republic of Ireland, the USA, Canada, South Africa, New Zealand and Australia that is the real problem.
Greek Orthodox churches exist in these countries but the lack of official recognition for believers following these practices is exacerbated in years where there is a four or five week gap between the two sets of celebrations and must be looked into, as its in these years where UK and US shops stop selling holiday treats like Easter eggs, hot cross buns and parks/outdoor venues stop hosting Easter events such as Easter trails and egg hunts.
Although I envy Orthodox Christians in their “ability” to see extremely early (or late) Easter dates, at the same time they are unfairly disadvantaged in countries where Western traditions dominate such as here in the UK, so we need to keep Easter eggs and hot cross buns in UK shops until May 2027!
Again, although the primary goal of this campaign is to urge policymakers to move Easter to March 22nd in the near future, this is a multi-cause campaign to better accommodate the Orthodox community in Western countries (who rarely ever get time off for their celebrations) and to help neurotypical people understand just how difficult certain fixations can be for neurodivergent individuals (such as my calendar fixation and wanting to see a March 22nd Easter) so moving the date is only one part of the campaign.
Date trivia:
Back to my obsession with dates, some years have “boring and uninteresting” dates for both Western and Orthodox Easter without any extremes or “exact middle” dates, my list of “boring” years from 1990 until 2025 are as follows:
There were quite a lot of boring years in the 90s!
1990 itself
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
Boring years in the Noughties, 2010s and 2020s!
2001
2004
2006
2009
2015
2017
2020 (despite the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown Easter)!
2022
2023
Yes, 2020 had an uninteresting Western (April 12th) and Orthodox (April 19th/April 6th O.S) DESPITE the interesting scenario this Easter had during the COVID lockdowns and as of 2026, 2028 is the next “boring” year for both Western and Orthodox Easter traditions despite both falling on the same day that year.
All those years listed above have no Easter date within a week of the earliest or latest boundaries for both traditions, the only mid-range date that is interesting is April 8th as that’s the exact middle date for Western Easter and April 21st for Orthodox Easter.
2007 and 2041 are mirror images of each other - in both years the dates align but they are polar opposites as in 2007, the exact middle date occurs for Western Easter (with Orthodox Easter on its fifth-earliest date) and in 2041 the reverse happens with Orthodox Easter in its exact middle date and Western Easter on its fifth-latest date.
My list of “mirror image” years are as follows:
2010 and 2038 for the earliest Orthodox and latest Western dates
2011 and 2037 for the second-earliest Orthodox and second-latest Western dates
2007 and 2041 for the middle Western and Orthodox dates
“Lateness” is relative to the church you follow:
Most people agree that “Easter” was very late in 2011 but that’s only true for Western followers, for Orthodox followers that Easter date was a FULL FORTNIGHT earlier that its latest possible date despite both groups attending church services and celebrating at literally the same time!
Easter was also “not early” for Orthodox followers in 2008 and even the Orthodox Easter dates in 1818 and 2285 are relatively late!
In fact, the same Orthodox Easter date (April 24th) for 2011 occurred more recently in 2022 and will happen again in 2033, just seven years from now so the Gregorian date of “April 24th” is actually a very different experience for both denominations despite celebrating on the same day!
Because Orthodox Easter frequently falls on these “late dates” like April 24th or 25th, Orthodox Christians in Australia may benefit from the national holiday of ANZAC Day.
- · Norway is the Land of the Midnight Sun
- · The USA is the New World
- · Iceland is the Land of Fire and Ice
- · Australia is the Land Down Under
- · Japan is the Land of the Rising sun and……..
- · Greece is the Land of the Extreme Easter Dates!
Ironically, the movie Percy Jackson and The Olympians: The Lightning Thief, a comedy film based on Greek mythology also came out around the time of Orthodox Easter on its earliest possible date in 2010 and the UK’s Equality Act came into force that very year!
In 2027, I will revert to celebrating Easter at the same time as everybody else and while the “28th March” date WON’T BE A PERSONAL TRIGGER due to my neurodiversity and I will be seeing the “right date” advertised, it will unfairly fail to acknowledge the Orthodox minority living in countries like the UK, The Republic or Ireland and so forth.
This poignant and beautiful campaign has truly saved my life and has been a way to get my very unique story about celebrating Easter on March 22nd 2026 heard worldwide so I have felt less alone and alienated in my personal celebration throughout a very difficult 2026, so creating this petition has been an achievement on its own!
Despite preparation with my very costly Christmas shopping, my whole surroundings being completely out of whack from my personal internal liturgical calendar has felt like Alice in Wonderland, disorientating, like jet lag and has taken its toll - thank you all for supporting and helping me during my Easter ordeal and awful April!
I watched Alice in Wonderland (2010) on April 5th and the animated film the day before having deliberately chosen the 2010 film to watch on April 5th because it came out during that important Orthodox Easter!