Christmas decorations have all been put away and we've swept up any remaining pine needles. Just in time, since Lent, the preparation time for Easter, starts two weeks from today.

Wait! What?

Yes, Lent begins for Eastern Catholics on Monday, February 4; and Ash Wednesday for Roman Catholics is February 6. That is because Easter of 2008 falls on March 23; the 2nd earliest date that Easter can be. There will not be another Easter on this date until the year 2160. Wow!

Since inquisitive ACS students want to know the whole story:

Easter is set on the first Sunday after the first full moon of spring. So the earliest date Easter can be is March 22. For that to happen, March 21st, the first day of spring, has to be a Saturday with a full moon that night. The last time that happened was in the year 1818 and it will not happen again until the year 2285.

Do you think that we'll have a snowstorm this Easter? That hasn't happened in New Jersey since March 29, 1970. Ask your parents or grandparents if they remember that one!