One thing that has always perplexed me is the movable date of Easter

[rurallib]

Was raised catholic and never could understand why the date of the VERY CENTRAL belief of christianity was movable.

I know the reason of christianity usurping pagan holidays and all that.

What I could never understand was that if this holiday was so important why did the church(es) not establish one set date to be -as it were - the holiest day of the year? If it only happened once it had to happen only on one date, not one of six Sundays based on the cycle of the moon.

Makes me think maybe it never really happened.

[PJMcK]

1. Here's the answer to your question

But first, it never really happened.

Now Easter is always the first Sunday following the first full moon after the Spring equinox, meaning that it will always fall between March 22 and April 25.

Easter Sunday always falls on the next full moon after the Spring Equinox.

Here's the link to the article:

https://www.express.co.uk/life-style/life/923072/Easter-2018-when-is-Easter-2018-what-date-why-Easter-change-every-year

[rurallib]

2. yeah I know that - my question is more why the church

would never nail down ONE SPECIFIC day for what was supposed to be the greatest miracle of all.

When I was younger and still hitting the pew, this lack of a date shouted out to me that "THIS IS A BS STORY" - we made it up. If we didn't we'd know the date and it would be the same date every year.

One of the things that bugged me as a kid - couldn't believe that they were so sloppy as to let their big day be a floating holiday.

Actually is the first Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox.

[Tanuki]

3. It's pegged to the timing of Passover instead of a specific western calender date.

As you surely recall, the Last Supper was a Passover meal.

[rurallib]

5. yes, but the actual Last Supper supposedly only happened once

and had to be a specific date.

I don't know why this has always bugged me.
Back in my working days, my partner was a real Jesus freak. He get all a-twitter about Easter coming. I would always pop his bubble by asking him why it wasn't the same date as last year.

[SCantiGOP]

9. But Last Supper was on Passover

Timing of Easter is tied to Passover.
Been like that since it started.

[Sentath]

11. Yeah, but it didn't happen on our calendar.

And the translation between calendars is tricky math. They needed a celebration date that could be translated across lots of countries, cultures, languages, etc.

Not that I disagree with your conclusion.

[muriel_volestrangler]

19. Passover starts on a fixed date in the Hebrew calendar

The 15th day of the month of Nisan: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passover

Because the Hebrew calendar was lunisolar - ie months were reckoned as cycles of the moon, and an extra month was inserted when needed to keep this in rough track with the seasonal year (standardised at 7 months in a 19 year cycle), this varies a bit compared to the vernal equinox, which is what our calendar tries to keep as 'fixed' as possible. Then on top of that, Easter is celebrated on a Sunday, so it's the Sunday after what the calculations produce.

[Laffy Kat]

4. And the Greek Orthodox church uses a different calendar altogether.

It usually falls on a different day than the other Christian denominations.

[rurallib]

6. I didn't want to even throw that one in......

[defacto7]

7. If it were up to me...

I'd make it April 31st.

[Cartoonist]

8. Weekend

You can't pick a specific date because it falls on different days each year. The whole "Good Friday" and "Easter Sunday" show must go on.

[SCantiGOP]

10. At least Good Friday

Gives us a 3-day weekend.

[Brainstormy]

12. BUT IF IT DIDN'T MOVE . . .

It wouldn't land on April Fool's Day this year, and my Meet-up Group wouldn't have those little extra giggles on the Saturday night before when we throw our annual Zombie Jesus Party.

[mountain grammy]

13. Agree. If they can nail down the birthday

Why not the death day?

[rurallib]

14. that is the perfect concise way to put it

[edhopper]

15. Because like most Xian holidays

it is just usurps a pagan seasonal festival.
This one is the Spring Festival, like Xmas is the Winter one.

[Freelancer]

16. It all dates back to Pope Ziggy the Capricious (Kidding) -nt

[A HERETIC I AM]

17. Because the calendar year is not a perfect circle

Meaning it has 365 days and not 360. I've always looked at is as if it was a circle hung on a peg. The point of the circle touching the peg is basically December 25th. But since it isn't perfectly round, you could hang that circle on any day of the year, including Easter Sunday, but then all the rest of the religious holidays would vary year to year because almost all of them are tied to a celestial event.

December 25th is the day at which the sun begins rising and setting further south on the horizon, when viewed from north of the equator.

[Iggo]

18. Sunday has something to do with it.

[The Genealogist]

20. One group in ancient times DID have a set date

They celebrated it on the 14th of Nisan following the Jewish calendar. The group is referred to as the Quartodecimians ("fourteenthers&quot .
So Easter could be on a Monday, or a Thursday, or any old day of the week.

Of course they were considered heretics for this EGREGIOUS belief. Celebrating it on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox just sounds so much more Christ-like, n'est-ce pas?

[rurallib]

21. that is interesting that at least one group would follow a set date.