Easter for many, but not all, Christians

Bronislaus Kush wrote a very interesting and informative piece, Split in churches rises with Easter, about the differences between the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. Most notable today is that the western churches, including the Roman Catholic and Protestant denominations, are observing Easter today. The eastern churches use a different calendar and different method for calculating the date of this movable feast; they will observe Easter in about five weeks.

There are also many profound differences between the east and west, divisions that stretch back through more than three-quarters of the Christian era. This includes the primacy of the bishop of Rome, the role of the national churches, and many details in the Mass itself.

Because most American Christians are affiliated with the western churches, today is our day for sunrise services, chocolate rabbits, and Peeps.

[Update: Here's some more info about how the Easter date is calculated (for the western churches) from God Plays Dice: Easter's early this year. Deal with it.

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Along the lines of the questions regarding the historical churches, I have a couple of questions that I hope some reader might be able to answer:

• Why do many Protestant churches (Anglican/Episcopal and Methodist notably) refer to various saints who were elevated before the Reformation?
• Have the Anglicans, or other churches, for that matter, elevated any new saints?