Being two weeks ahead of everyone else (and in an almost non-existent minority) was tough and took its toll, so may I thank everyone who has signed my very unique campaign as you have all truly helped my through an awful April. As you can see in the diagram above, only the area in red is where my Lenten fast overlapped with the rest of Protestants/Catholics.
Although I decided to celebrate Easter on March 22nd as early as May last year upon coming across that infamous Reddit post and realising March 22nd 2026 would fall on a Sunday, it took a lot of preparation and I knew I would inevitably see a lot of signs in shops and parks with “Easter on the wrong date”! Creating this petition truly helped me through all the time I saw Shrove Tuesday, Mothering Sunday and Easter misaligned from my body’s internal liturgical clock - even shops like Screwfix listing “Easter opening hours” was difficult because it showed Easter on the wrong date!
My own experience of the lack of recognition for my personal March 22nd 2026 Easter celebration has given me firsthand experience of just how difficult it is for the Orthodox community living in Western countries (and how disorienting and “Alice in Wonderland-y” it must feel for them, which is a regular feeling in most years) due to the lack of inclusivity.
It doesn’t have to be this way though – quite simply retailers listing the Orthodox date in addition to the Western one and adjusting the Early May bank holiday to fall on Orthodox Easter Monday is all it takes to better accommodate the needs of this religious group residing here in the UK.
Although I envy Orthodox Christians because they get to experience extremely early Easter dates more frequently, at the same time I deeply sympathise with them due to the difficulties they face in countries like the UK which predominantly follow Western traditions and the complete lack of public holidays and I truly want to help these individuals.
As I have explicitly said in my previous updates, IT IS NOT the use of the Julian calendar or the large date gap in years like 2024, the REAL ISSUE is how Western society behaves in years like 2024 such as clearing out all seasonal items weeks before the Orthodox holiday even arrives and parks/venues halting Easter events which shows a COMPLETE LACK OF RESPECT towards the Orthodox community!
Although this obviously is the Easter petition, the lack of recognition also applies to Orthodox Christmas so despite the title of this campaign, it is certainly not just about changing the Western date!
1983 – the “cursed” calendrical anomaly year that was a nightmare!:
While 1983 was the most recent year the Orthodox community got to experience their latest possible Easter date, ironically it was an extremely difficult year for them in countries like the UK and it truly was an absolute nightmare because Orthodox Easter Monday fell the week after the early May bank holiday, meaning that they got no additional bank holiday for their celebration AND all retailers had cleared out seasonal stock!
This phenomenon inevitably occurs when either the Orthodox date is near its latest extreme or the Western date is near its earliest extreme, with 2008 being just as disastrous with Orthodox Easter Monday falling the week before the UK’s Early May bank holiday so this unfairly harms the mental health of these innocent people!
I fully support existing change.org petitions created by Orthodox students and parents of Orthodox students who needlessly struggle with missing school due to school holiday dates not aligning with their religious observances so as well as forcing policymakers to Move Easter to 22nd March within the next 30 years, we can make Britain (and other English speaking countries) a better place for the Orthodox population!
Aside from the UK as a whole, a substantial number of Orthodox Christians live here in London (a multicultural city) and there is even a Greek Orthodox Church near Kingston Hospital in my local borough so together, we can help these individuals and eliminate their struggles (even regular Easter Monday is not a public holiday in Scotland so Western Christians there need to use annual leave).
Albania is one of the few countries in the world that has recognises and has public holidays for both Western and Orthodox Easter, similarly Moldova is one of the few countries that has public holidays for both Christmas on December 25th and Orthodox Christmas.
Although 2020 (the year of COVID) had both boring Western and Orthodox Easter dates, one thing I find intriguing is that in 2020, Orthodox Easter fall on April 19th of the Gregorian calendar, yet the very next year (2021) it fell on April 19th of the Julian calendar (Gregorian May 2nd) effectively fall on the same date two years in a row on two different calendars and
ironically, in the 22nd Century (next century) the offset between the Julian and Gregorian will be exactly two weeks, meaning that Orthodox Christmas will be exactly two weeks after Gregorian Christmas (much like I was two weeks ahead of the world this year)!
Although this is my “Earliest Easter Campaign”, this petition acts as a head start to the many new Orthodox petitions and campaigns I am expecting and anticipating in 2027 which I am looking forward to signing!
I have made 2026 the Year of Three Easters, sharing my story has made me feel less isolated and has helped me document my struggle with neurodiversity - my real first name begins with the letter R.
I watched Percy Jackson and The Olympians: The Lightning Thief yesterday (April 18th) the Greek mythology themed film released in the year Greece celebrate Easter on its earliest possible date!
Another thing completely unrelated, I find Monday intriguing because it is the only day of the week that contains a month of the year “MondAY” within its name!