Madam, – Could someone please explain the point in commemorating the “Easter” Rising of 1916 on Easter Sunday? The event, perhaps one of the most shaping in our nation’s history, while initially arranged for Easter Sunday, did not begin until Easter Monday 1916, and lasted another six days. None of these days were, notably, Easter Sunday.
In addition, Easter was late that spring, falling on April 23rd, so commemorating an event which began on April 24th on a haphazard date in March or April is simply ignorant.
While the early Christians based the date of the events they believed took place on Easter Sunday around pre-existing Pagan festivals dictated by the moon’s orbit, we know better now. We have a date for the Rising. Can we not commemorate it instead of allowing its actual date to be forgotten? In 2016, when no doubt there will be major events to mark the centenary of the Rising, Easter will fall on March 27th, almost an entire month before the 100th anniversary of the Rising.
Can we please have some perspective here? – Yours, etc,