The rules for Easter

The ecclesiastical rules for the date for Easter for those using the Gregorian calendar are:

• Easter falls on the first Sunday following the first ecclesiastical full moon that occurs on or after the day of the vernal equinox;
• this particular ecclesiastical full moon is the 14th day of a tabular lunation (new moon); and
• the vernal equinox is fixed as March 21.

As a result, this year it fell on April 16th. Next year it will be the 8th. In '08 it'll be March 23, in '09 April 12. But regardless of which particular Sunday it falls, somehow the Easter bunny is able to figure it out. What I can't figure out is the relationship between the Easter Bunny and the Easter Eggs. Given all the eggs shouldn't it be an Easter Chicken that sneeks in and hides them? I tried this theory out on Amelia and she put her little four-year-old hand on her hip like a veteran teen, flicked her hair back and said "Nooooo Daddy. It is NOT an Easter Chicken. It's and Easter BUNNY."

No fooling her. The bunny came. He (she?) hid the eggs, dutifully ate the carrots and lettuce that was left out (so much healthier than Santa!) and as an added bonus tossed a bunch of plastic eggs filled with healthy snacks or jelly beans all around the lawn. To delight Iain several of the plastic spheres were not eggs but balls: basket, soccer and base.

It was a beautiful day with the first buds budding and the Magnolias in full bloom.