Celebrating the Annunciation and Incarnation

 

CALCULATIONS

Our Current Calendar

The New Proposed Plan

 

Our Current Calendar

The solemnity of the Annunciation is not always celebrated on March 25.  It is counted as a Marian Solemnity and is outranked by the Christological Feasts of Lent and Easter.  Therefore, the Annunciation is NEVER celebrated on a Sunday.

Thanks to the Holy Spirit (and not to mention the strong pastoral influence of Pope Victor I)  Easter is always celebrated on a Sunday.  Easter Sunday always falls between the dates March 22 and April 25 inclusive.

The Sundays of Lent and all 14 days of Holy Week and Easter Week are considered Christological feasts. These Christological feasts of Lent and Easter outrank the Marian feast of the Annunciation.  And so, when March 25 falls on one of those days in our current calendar the Annunciation gets moved forward to the next available day, which is always a weekday.  In 2007 it was moved to March 26.  In 2005 it was moved to April 4. In 2018 AD the Annunciation will be moved to April 9.  (See Calendar for 2005 AD or 2018 AD) 

http://www.easterbrooks.com/cgi-bin/Cathcal.cgi?2005

Our current calendar moves the Solemnity of the Annunciation from the March 25th date 34% of the time.  26% of the time it is moved six to fifteen days ahead to the eighth day after Easter, and on some occasions as late as April 9. 

March 25 will fall on a Sunday when Easter falls on one of the following dates which are multiples of seven days after March 25:

March -25
April  -1
April  -8
April -15
April -22


 

Relevant Christological Feasts
When Easter falls on the date in the first column --   March 25 falls on the following Christological Feast in 2nd column and consequently the Annunciation is pushed forward.


Easter
Dates
that Move
Annunciation-  March 25 Falls on the following Christological Feast

March  22   -   Easter. Wednesday
March  23   -   E. Tuesday
March  24   -   E. Monday
March  25   -   Easter
March  26   -   Holy Saturday
March  27   -   Good Friday
March  28   -   Holy Thursday
March  29   -   Wednesday of Holy Week
March  30   -   Tuesday of Holy Week
March   31  -   Monday of Holy Week
April       1  -    Passion (Palm) Sunday
April      8   -    Fifth Sunday of Lent
April     15  -    Fourth Sunday of Lent
April     22  -    Third Sunday of Lent


 

 Red Chart

In the first column is a list of all of the possible calendar dates for Easter and this is followed by the years in which Easter falls on that date:

1875 through 2124 AD
All
Possible
Easter
Dates - Listing of Years during which that Easter Date occurs.....................
3/22    none
3/23    1913 2008 
3/24    1940 
3/25    1883 1894 1951 2035 2046 2103 
3/26    1967 1978 1989 2062 2073 2084 2119 
3/27    1910 1921 1932 2005 2016 
3/28    1875 1880 1937 1948 2027 2032 2100 
3/29    1891 1959 1964 1970 2043 2054 2065 2111 2116 2122 
3/30    1902 1975 1986 1997 2059 2070 2081 2092 
3/31    1907 1918 1929 1991 2002 2013 2024 2086 2097 
4/1     1877 1888 1923 1934 1945 1956 2018 2029 2040 2108 
4/2     1893 1899 1961 1972 2051 2056 2113 2124 
4/3     1904 1983 1988 1994 2067 2078 2089 
4/4     1915 1920 1926 1999 2010 2021 2083 2094 
4/5     1885 1896 1931 1942 1953 2015 2026 2037 2048 2105 
4/6     1890 1947 1958 1969 1980 2042 2053 2064 2110 2121 
4/7     1901 1912 1985 1996 2075 2080 
4/8     1917 1928 2007 2012 2091 
4/9     1882 1939 1944 1950 2023 2034 2045 2102 
4/10    1887 1898 1955 1966 1977 2039 2050 2061 2072 2107 2118 
4/11    1909 1971 1982 1993 2004 2066 2077 2088 2123 
4/12    1903 1914 1925 1936 1998 2009 2020 2093 2099 
4/13    1879 1884 1941 1952 2031 2036 2104 
4/14    1895 1963 1968 1974 2047 2058 2069 2115 2120 
4/15    1900 1906 1979 1990 2001 2063 2074 2085 2096 
4/16    1876 1911 1922 1933 1995 2006 2017 2028 2090 
4/17    1881 1892 1927 1938 1949 1960 2022 2033 2044 2101 2112 
4/18    1897 1954 1965 1976 2049 2055 2060 2106 2117 
4/19    1908 1981 1987 1992 2071 2076 2082 
4/20    1919 1924 1930 2003 2014 2025 2087 2098 
4/21    1878 1889 1935 1946 1957 2019 2030 2041 2052 2109 
4/22    1962 1973 1984 2057 2068 2114 
4/23    1905 1916 2000 2079 
4/24    2011 2095 
4/25    1886 1943 2038 

 

From the chart above we can list the years on which March 25th falls on a Christological Feast.  When Easter falls on April 8, 15, or 22 the Annunciation is moved one day forward. This happens 8% of the time.  When the Annunciation falls on the other Christological Feasts, and this happens when Easter falls between March 22nd and April 1st, the Annunciation is moved to the 8th day after Easter.  This happens during 65 of the listed 250 years or 26% of the time.  The total number of times the Annunciation is moved during the 250 year span is 85 times or 34% of the time.

 

Easter
falls
on this
Date         On these Years

3/23    1913 2008 
3/24    1940 
3/25    1883 1894 1951 2035 2046 2103 
3/26    1967 1978 1989 2062 2073 2084 2119 
3/27    1910 1921 1932 2005 2016 
3/28    1875 1880 1937 1948 2027 2032 2100 
3/29    1891 1959 1964 1970 2043 2054 2065 2111 2116 2122 
3/30    1902 1975 1986 1997 2059 2070 2081 2092 
3/31    1907 1918 1929 1991 2002 2013 2024 2086 2097 
4/1     1877 1888 1923 1934 1945 1956 2018 2029 2040 2108 
 
4/8     1917 1928 2007 2012 2091 
4/15    1900 1906 1979 1990 2001 2063 2074 2085 2096 
4/22    1962 1973 1984 2057 2068 2114 

 

 

The New Proposed Plan

Under the new plan the celebration of the Annunciation, Incarnation would ALWAYS fall on a Sunday.  It would fall and remain on March 25th  when that date falls on a Sunday during Lent.  This happens when Easter falls on April 8th, 15th, or 22nd.  This happens 20 times during the 250 year span in the chart above,  or 8% of the time. 

When Easter falls between April 5th and April 25th (the last possible day in the calendar) the Annunciation celebration would be moved three days or less to the nearest Sunday, that is between March 22nd and March 28th.

When Easter falls on April the 4th or earlier then the Annunciation would be moved forward to the Sunday after Easter with Divine Mercy Sunday being pushed one week ahead.
Or consider the Alternate Plan

Note that in most dioceses in the USA the celebration of the Ascension Thursday which was moved to a Sunday celebration now never falls on the 40th day after Easter.  And, under the current calendar the celebration of the Annunciation, Incarnation  NEVER falls on a Sunday and so most Catholics don’t participate in the celebration of this Solemnity.


This list of years in which Easter will fall on these dates can be verified at

Sources :

Frequency of Easter Sundays

https://www.staff.science.uu.nl/~gent0113/easter/easter_text2b.htm

http://tlarsen2.tripod.com/thomaslarsen/easterdates.html#Index

http://tlarsen2.tripod.com/images2/easterdates.jpg

http://www.gmarts.org/index.php?go=413

http://www.smart.net/~mmontes/freq3.html#LBD

http://www.assa.org.au/edm.html#List20

http://users.sa.chariot.net.au/~gmarts/eastcalc.htm

http://www.defendingthebride.com/time/mar10.html#red