Early Easter has some parishes changing their plans
The lingering cold and snow of one of the harshest winters in memory collides Sunday with one of the earliest Easters ever.
Not since 1913 has Easter arrived this early, and it won't return on this date for more than 200 years. Next year it arrives April 12.
Whether the prayers of shivering Christians or the secular world's observance of this rite of spring with brunch and bunnies brings warmer weather is yet to be seen.
What is clear is the weather that accompanies the early date this year -- and it's unseasonably cold at that -- has already played havoc with plans.
St. Joseph Catholic Church in Elgin held its Good Friday Passion March inside the school's gymnasium for the first time ever, and many other churches started Palm Sunday observances indoors, rather than with an outside procession.
The majority of local Easter egg hunts were held so early they coincided with an unusually cold St. Patrick's Day. Outdoor events were canceled or moved indoors in the face of soggy fields and clumps of ice and snow.
So, what's the rush with Easter this year?
In a way, you can blame the full moon.
"Easter is always the first Sunday after the paschal moon, or the first full moon after spring arrives," said Martin Forward, religious author and executive director of the Wackerlin Center for Faith and Action at Aurora University.
According to Forward, the formula dates to the time of Christ, who was placed on the cross before the weekend of the Jewish observance of Passover.
"The Christians used the lunar calendar at first, the same calendar that determined Passover," he said. "But early church leaders decided to distinguish themselves from the Jews, so they went to the Julian and then to the Gregorian calendar. There was a bit of religious one-upmanship there."
The Jews still use the lunar calendar, which is why Passover and Easter are sometimes weeks apart, although the timing is connected by history.
Lunar, Gregorian or Julian, it's bound to be cold.
Hearty souls at Hosanna! Lutheran Church in St. Charles are still planning to hold their sunrise service outdoors Sunday. But many churches, well-acquainted with the likelihood of cold weather even in April, have held their Easter services indoors for years.
The venue is not that important, according to the Rev. David Foxgrover of the Congregational Church of Batavia.
"It can be really befuddling to have Ash Wednesday just a month after Epiphany (Jan. 6)," he said. "We had just celebrated Christ's birth and we began to think about his temptation. It can throw us off-kilter. But Easter is not about spring; it's about the death and resurrection of Christ. This is unique. Spring comes every year."
The Rev. Steven Good of the Sugar Grove United Methodist Church will use the early date to point out religious symbolism.
Earlier in the week, he said he had hoped to go ahead with the church's annual prairie burn this morning, but he had to postpone it to April 5.
The church burns part of the field it owns on Harter Road off Route 47 to promote the thriving of native species. The burn must occur before the plants become too green.
"Although we had to postpone the burn, I am using the event to point out the symbolism," Good said.
"The image of the burning prairie is connected to the imagery of the Christian faith. Life emerges from death into life again through Christ's death and resurrection. This is a promise for all creation."