Easter Date Question

Ok, I was raised Catholic, but now follow the Protestant denomination of the United Church of Christ (not that that matters, I just thought I would put it in here). Why do we always celebrate the birth of Christ on Dec 25 and yet, the day we celebrate his ressurection (Easter) changes from year to year? Surely if we know the day he was born, we know the day he ressurected. I'm curious as to why Easter is not on the same day every year. Can anyone help me with this question? Thank you Ed

Well Ed, actually the date of Dec 25 was selected to represent the date of Christ's birth by the Catholic Church, to include the pagans for a sort of "social calender recoginition". So unfortunately we do not have an exact date for either the birth or death/ressurection. Hope this helps. Keep asking the good questions, I learned something too. BTW, I didn't know this. I had to ask my husband, who is in seminary. Sally

Actually the 25th of december was not the date Christ was born. Some modern scholars believe he was born closer to easter time (march or april). "So why do we celebrate his birth in December? The tradition for December 25th is actually quite ancient. Hippolytus, in the second century A.D., argued that this was Christ's birthday. Meanwhile, in the eastern Church, January 6th was the date followed. But in the fourth century, John Chrysostom argued that December 25th was the correct date and from that day till now, the Church in the East, as well as the West, has observed the 25th of December as the official date of Christ's birth. Now, of course, we can't be absolutely certain of the day of Christ's birth. At least, not this side of heaven. But an early winter date seems as reasonable a guess as any. And December 25th has been the frontrunner for eighteen centuries. Without more evidence, there seems no good reason to change the celebration date now. We can blame the ancient church for a large part of our uncertainty. You see, they did not celebrate Christ's birth. At all. To them, it was insignificant. They were far more concerned with his death . . . and resurrection. But modern man has turned that around. A baby lying in a manger is harmless, non-threatening. But a man dying on a cross--a man who claims to be God--that man is a threat! He demands our allegiance! We cannot ignore him. We must either accept him or reject him. He leaves us no middle ground." -- Copied from Bible.org As for the date of the resurrection we celebrate it in relation to the time of the jewish passover as this was when the crucifixion and resurrection occurred and was also symbolic of the sacrifice of the first born son who paid the penalty for our sins. Hope this helped

I agree that Easter is usually set to coincide with the Passover, but this year we are at least 4 weeks apart. Passover is April 24th, but Easter is on March 27th. Even Pat Robertson on the 700 Club couldn't answer that question! Have a Blessed Easter! Pam

Easter always falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox. The Vernal Equinox is the first day of spring--so Easter falls the sunday after the first full moon after March 20th. Hope this helps with the rotating Easter question. Joan F.