My fellow supporters and petition signers, we need to take urgent action if we want to witness Easter fall on March 22nd before passing away!
The second-earliest date for Western Easter (March 23) is exceptionally rare too – for anyone born after March 2008, the closest Western Easter can ever get to this exceptional date is March 25 as the next time it is on March 23 is not until 2160 (much too late to be considered an ‘early’ Easter by my standards). For Orthodox Christians born after 2008, however, they get to witness “their” Easter fall on their second-earliest date (March 23rd Old Style) TWICE within the next 30 years (in 2037 and 2048 respectively – just 11 and 22 years from now)!
In fact, an Orthodox Christian born in 1982 will have already witnessed their Easter on both their latest and earliest dates by the time they are JUST 29 (still in their TWENTIES) whilst despite not being Catholic/Protestant simultaneously living through Western Easter on March 23 and April 24 in 2008 and 2011, respectively.
Of course they will not remember the 1983 occurrence due to infantile amnesia but they still would have lived through that specific date!
Seeing “Easter Sunday - April 5th” in shops and parks that host Easter events is not only a personal trigger due to my neurodiversity and desire to celebrate on March 22 2026, but also fails to acknowledge Orthodox Easter for the many Orthodox Christians living in my native United Kingdom. 2026 is already a difficult year for UK Orthodox Christians as there is no bank holiday so they must take an extra day of annual leave off. Only in years where Western/Orthodox Easter coincide or in years where Orthodox Easter falls during the UK’s Early May Bank Holiday do they get a day off.
In the upcoming 2027, because of the five-week gap between the two sets of Easter celebrations, Easter eggs will have long gone in my country before Orthodox Easter arrives – there are many existing petitions on this website demanding schools and institutions to recognise Coptic/Orthodox holidays!
As a man in his early-to-mid thirties, I have already lived through the less-widely-celebrated Orthodox Easter on April 4 2010 (March 22 2010 Old Style) but in my native UK, Western traditions are the dominant religion. I am not just addressing my desire to celebrate Easter on March 22 – I, the petitioner, am also arguing that my country is “not built” for minority groups like Orthodox Christians (i.e. with our bank holidays), so I demand any Orthodox Christian living in the UK to sign this petition now, this is for you too!