What is Catholic Easter Sunday?
Catholic Easter Sunday is the Western date of the feast of the resurrection of Jesus, as celebrated by Catholic and Protestant churches. In Albania and in Bosnia and Herzegovina it is recognised as a holiday for the Catholic community, alongside Orthodox Easter Sunday, which is observed on the Orthodox date, so the two Easters appear separately in the calendar of each country. The Catholic community in Albania is concentrated in the north of the country, around Shkodër, and the Easter services there are among the most visited of the year. In Bosnia and Herzegovina the Catholic community is mainly Croat and lives chiefly in the south and in central regions.
In Catholic communities the celebration follows the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday evening, with the lighting of the paschal candle and, in many parishes, the baptism of new members, and then a festive Mass on Sunday. Typical customs include a family lunch, blessed foods in some regions, decorated eggs and small gifts and sweets for children. The Easter season continues for fifty days, until Pentecost, and the Sundays of that season are celebrated as part of the same festival. It is a joyful day after the restraint of Lent, which is why the Easter Sunday liturgy features bells and songs that are held back during Holy Week.
Why it is observed
The Western Easter calculation is the one introduced by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582 as part of the Gregorian reform. It kept the older rule that Easter is the first Sunday after the first full moon of spring, a rule traditionally linked to the Council of Nicaea in AD 325, but it corrected the drift that the Julian calendar had accumulated against the seasons by dropping ten days. Catholic communities in Albania and Bosnia, who historically looked to Rome rather than to Constantinople, follow the Western date, which is why it differs from the date used by their Orthodox neighbours in most years.
How the date is set
Catholic Easter Sunday is the first Sunday after the first full moon on or after 21 March, calculated on the Gregorian calendar with the church's tables, so it falls between 22 March and 25 April.
How it is observed
In Albania and in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the holidays of the main religious communities are recognised in the public calendar, so Catholic Easter Sunday may mean closed churches-only services in some areas and a day off for members of the Catholic community in others. Because it falls on a Sunday, the practical effect is limited. Pay, substitute days and employer arrangements depend on national law and the contract. Because the Easter Sunday falls on a weekend day, the main effect is on shop opening hours and on public services. Check local rules.
Albania