What About Easter?

[Quasar92]

The following is an interesting article about PASCHA, or what is now known as Easter, by Rich Robinson, Of the Jews for Jesus organization that will provide you the background for this momentous event , soon to take place again this year.

What About Easter?

At least as late as the fourth century A.D., the holiday known as Easter was called PASCHA ("Passover" in English). Easter, however, appears to be derived from EASTRE, the name or festival of the Teutonic goddess of spring, to whom sacrifices were offered in the month of April. The word is Germanic, not Greek or Hebrew. We can surmise that when Christianity began to make inroads among the Teutonic (Germanic) tribes, the name EASTER was transfered to the Christian celebration, inasmuch as both occurred at the same time of year.

The earliest observation of PASCHA took place at the same time as Passover, on the 14th day of the Jewish month of Nisan. This celebration is referred to as the "Quartodeciman Passover" from the Latin word for "fourteenth."

Moves towards changing the date of PASCHA began early in the second century. The motivation behind this change was fear of the authorities coupled with anti-Jewish sentiment. The actual course of events appears to have been as follows.

Bishop Sixtus of Rome, who presided from A.D. 116-126, may have been the first to observe a Sunday date rather than the 14th of Nisan. These three reasons support the idea.

1. According to the church historian eusebius, a later Roman bishop named Victor sought to impose a Sunday observance on the entire Church and to break ties with those Christians who obseved the 14th of Nisan. He was opposed by Iraneus, who discouraged such a break and argued that peace should be kept among Christians who celebrated the day on different dates. He contended that even earlier church leaders who did not observe the Quartodeciman date were at peace with those who did. In mentioning the names of one church leader after another, Iraneus used reverse chronological order, stopping at Bishop Sixtus.

2. The rule of Bishop Sixtus coicided with the measures of the Roman Emperor Hadrian that were aimed at repressing anything Jewish. (Hadrian's reign was A.D. 117-13 . It would have made sense if the church had been pressured at that time not to observe the 14th of Nisan. Any anti-Jewish feeling would certainly have been catalysed by Hadrian's prohibition of Jewish customs and festigvals. This culminated in the expulsion of the Jews, including the Jewish Christian church leaders, from Jerusalem , circa A.D. 135. (After that, the Jewish church was composed of Gentiles).

3. According to the fourth century Bishop Epiphanius, the Sunday observance of PASCHA was first introduced in Jerusalem after A.D. 135 when the Jews were forced out of Jerusalem by Hadrian. If the new Sunday observance began with Sixtus in his tenure of A.D. 116-126, this would have allowed time for the practice to have spread to Jerusalem by A.D. 135.

The next significant step on record comes from the late second century, the time of Bishop Victor of Rome. As already mentioned, Victor attempted to make the Sunday observance of PASCHA uniform. A primary motivating factor for Victor would have been the presence in Rome of many Christians from Asia Minor who observed the Quartodeciman Passover. Their presence alongside the Roman believers would have meant that Christians were observing two different dates for the same occasion. Perhaps Victor's only motive was his desire to ensure uniformity within the church.

In any case, by the middle of the third century, blatant anti-Semitic statements are found in various Christian sources. In a work called DE PASCHA COMPUTUS, the author, known as Pseudo-Cyprian, wrote contemptuously of following Jewish practice, expressing the desire for Christians not to "walk in blindness and stupidity behind the Jews as though they did not know the day of Passover."

Finally, in the fourth century, PASCHA became decisively separated from Passover and restricted to a Sunday observance. Not only individuals but church councils contributed to the change in date. In A.D. 314, the Council of Arles recommended a single date for the uniform observance of PASCHA, but it was the Council of Nicaea in A.D. 325 that was the watershed that solidified this motion. The date of PASCHA was fixed as the Sunday following the full moon that falls on or after the vernal equinox. The edict of Council of Nicaea proclaimed:

"All the brethren in the East who formerly celebrated Easter
with the Jews, will henceforth keep it at the same time as the
Romans, with us and with all those who from ancient times
have celebrated the feast at the same time with us."

Ultimate official support came from Emperor Constantine, whose conciliar letter to all bishops of the same time period announced it "unworthy" to celebrate PASCHA on Passover.
Nevertheless, complications arose because some churches followed the Jewish or lunar calendar. Full uniformity in calculating the date was not secured until as late as the eighth century. The Eastern Orthodox Church still calculates Easter differently.

Quasar92

 

[Yeshua HaDerekh]

The following is an interesting article about PASCHA, or what is now known as Easter, by Rich Robinson, Of the Jews for Jesus organization that will provide you the background for this momentous event , soon to take place again this year.

What About Easter?

At least as late as the fourth century A.D., the holiday known as Easter was called PASCHA ("Passover" in English). Easter, however, appears to be derived from EASTRE, the name or festival of the Teutonic goddess of spring, to whom sacrifices were offered in the month of April. The word is Germanic, not Greek or Hebrew. We can surmise that when Christianity began to make inroads among the Teutonic (Germanic) tribes, the name EASTER was transfered to the Christian celebration, inasmuch as both occurred at the same time of year.

The earliest observation of PASCHA took place at the same time as Passover, on the 14th day of the Jewish month of Nisan. This celebration is referred to as the "Quartodeciman Passover" from the Latin word for "fourteenth."

Moves towards changing the date of PASCHA began early in the second century. The motivation behind this change was fear of the authorities coupled with anti-Jewish sentiment. The actual course of events appears to have been as follows.

Bishop Sixtus of Rome, who presided from A.D. 116-126, may have been the first to observe a Sunday date rather than the 14th of Nisan. These three reasons support the idea.

1. According to the church historian eusebius, a later Roman bishop named Victor sought to impose a Sunday observance on the entire Church and to break ties with those Christians who obseved the 14th of Nisan. He was opposed by Iraneus, who discouraged such a break and argued that peace should be kept among Christians who celebrated the day on different dates. He contended that even earlier church leaders who did not observe the Quartodeciman date were at peace with those who did. In mentioning the names of one church leader after another, Iraneus used reverse chronological order, stopping at Bishop Sixtus.

2. The rule of Bishop Sixtus coicided with the measures of the Roman Emperor Hadrian that were aimed at repressing anything Jewish. (Hadrian's reign was A.D. 117-13 . It would have made sense if the church had been pressured at that time not to observe the 14th of Nisan. Any anti-Jewish feeling would certainly have been catalysed by Hadrian's prohibition of Jewish customs and festigvals. This culminated in the expulsion of the Jews, including the Jewish Christian church leaders, from Jerusalem , circa A.D. 135. (After that, the Jewish church was composed of Gentiles).

3. According to the fourth century Bishop Epiphanius, the Sunday observance of PASCHA was first introduced in Jerusalem after A.D. 135 when the Jews were forced out of Jerusalem by Hadrian. If the new Sunday observance began with Sixtus in his tenure of A.D. 116-126, this would have allowed time for the practice to have spread to Jerusalem by A.D. 135.

The next significant step on record comes from the late second century, the time of Bishop Victor of Rome. As already mentioned, Victor attempted to make the Sunday observance of PASCHA uniform. A primary motivating factor for Victor would have been the presence in Rome of many Christians from Asia Minor who observed the Quartodeciman Passover. Their presence alongside the Roman believers would have meant that Christians were observing two different dates for the same occasion. Perhaps Victor's only motive was his desire to ensure uniformity within the church.

In any case, by the middle of the third century, blatant anti-Semitic statements are found in various Christian sources. In a work called DE PASCHA COMPUTUS, the author, known as Pseudo-Cyprian, wrote contemptuously of following Jewish practice, expressing the desire for Christians not to "walk in blindness and stupidity behind the Jews as though they did not know the day of Passover."

Finally, in the fourth century, PASCHA became decisively separated from Passover and restricted to a Sunday observance. Not only individuals but church councils contributed to the change in date. In A.D. 314, the Council of Arles recommended a single date for the uniform observance of PASCHA, but it was the Council of Nicaea in A.D. 325 that was the watershed that solidified this motion. The date of PASCHA was fixed as the Sunday following the full moon that falls on or after the vernal equinox. The edict of Council of Nicaea proclaimed:

"All the brethren in the East who formerly celebrated Easter
with the Jews, will henceforth keep it at the same time as the
Romans, with us and with all those who from ancient times
have celebrated the feast at the same time with us."

Ultimate official support came from Emperor Constantine, whose conciliar letter to all bishops of the same time period announced it "unworthy" to celebrate PASCHA on Passover.
Nevertheless, complications arose because some churches followed the Jewish or lunar calendar. Full uniformity in calculating the date was not secured until as late as the eighth century. The Eastern Orthodox Church still calculates Easter differently.

Quasar92

WE still call it PASCHA today!

 

[Yeshua HaDerekh]

The following is an interesting article about PASCHA, or what is now known as Easter, by Rich Robinson, Of the Jews for Jesus organization that will provide you the background for this momentous event , soon to take place again this year.

What About Easter?

At least as late as the fourth century A.D., the holiday known as Easter was called PASCHA ("Passover" in English). Easter, however, appears to be derived from EASTRE, the name or festival of the Teutonic goddess of spring, to whom sacrifices were offered in the month of April. The word is Germanic, not Greek or Hebrew. We can surmise that when Christianity began to make inroads among the Teutonic (Germanic) tribes, the name EASTER was transfered to the Christian celebration, inasmuch as both occurred at the same time of year.

The earliest observation of PASCHA took place at the same time as Passover, on the 14th day of the Jewish month of Nisan. This celebration is referred to as the "Quartodeciman Passover" from the Latin word for "fourteenth."

Moves towards changing the date of PASCHA began early in the second century. The motivation behind this change was fear of the authorities coupled with anti-Jewish sentiment. The actual course of events appears to have been as follows.

Bishop Sixtus of Rome, who presided from A.D. 116-126, may have been the first to observe a Sunday date rather than the 14th of Nisan. These three reasons support the idea.

1. According to the church historian eusebius, a later Roman bishop named Victor sought to impose a Sunday observance on the entire Church and to break ties with those Christians who obseved the 14th of Nisan. He was opposed by Iraneus, who discouraged such a break and argued that peace should be kept among Christians who celebrated the day on different dates. He contended that even earlier church leaders who did not observe the Quartodeciman date were at peace with those who did. In mentioning the names of one church leader after another, Iraneus used reverse chronological order, stopping at Bishop Sixtus.

2. The rule of Bishop Sixtus coicided with the measures of the Roman Emperor Hadrian that were aimed at repressing anything Jewish. (Hadrian's reign was A.D. 117-13 . It would have made sense if the church had been pressured at that time not to observe the 14th of Nisan. Any anti-Jewish feeling would certainly have been catalysed by Hadrian's prohibition of Jewish customs and festigvals. This culminated in the expulsion of the Jews, including the Jewish Christian church leaders, from Jerusalem , circa A.D. 135. (After that, the Jewish church was composed of Gentiles).

3. According to the fourth century Bishop Epiphanius, the Sunday observance of PASCHA was first introduced in Jerusalem after A.D. 135 when the Jews were forced out of Jerusalem by Hadrian. If the new Sunday observance began with Sixtus in his tenure of A.D. 116-126, this would have allowed time for the practice to have spread to Jerusalem by A.D. 135.

The next significant step on record comes from the late second century, the time of Bishop Victor of Rome. As already mentioned, Victor attempted to make the Sunday observance of PASCHA uniform. A primary motivating factor for Victor would have been the presence in Rome of many Christians from Asia Minor who observed the Quartodeciman Passover. Their presence alongside the Roman believers would have meant that Christians were observing two different dates for the same occasion. Perhaps Victor's only motive was his desire to ensure uniformity within the church.

In any case, by the middle of the third century, blatant anti-Semitic statements are found in various Christian sources. In a work called DE PASCHA COMPUTUS, the author, known as Pseudo-Cyprian, wrote contemptuously of following Jewish practice, expressing the desire for Christians not to "walk in blindness and stupidity behind the Jews as though they did not know the day of Passover."

Finally, in the fourth century, PASCHA became decisively separated from Passover and restricted to a Sunday observance. Not only individuals but church councils contributed to the change in date. In A.D. 314, the Council of Arles recommended a single date for the uniform observance of PASCHA, but it was the Council of Nicaea in A.D. 325 that was the watershed that solidified this motion. The date of PASCHA was fixed as the Sunday following the full moon that falls on or after the vernal equinox. The edict of Council of Nicaea proclaimed:

"All the brethren in the East who formerly celebrated Easter
with the Jews, will henceforth keep it at the same time as the
Romans, with us and with all those who from ancient times
have celebrated the feast at the same time with us."

Ultimate official support came from Emperor Constantine, whose conciliar letter to all bishops of the same time period announced it "unworthy" to celebrate PASCHA on Passover.
Nevertheless, complications arose because some churches followed the Jewish or lunar calendar. Full uniformity in calculating the date was not secured until as late as the eighth century. The Eastern Orthodox Church still calculates Easter differently.

Quasar92

The author is incorrect. While it is true that the Asiatic Orthodox did keep Passover on the 14th, that day is NOT the resurrection. That is the day Yeshua died on. That day is still kept by The Orthodox Church. However, His resurrection is kept on that Sunday (actually after sundown on Saturday). Whatever the church of Rome does is what they do (Easter?). The problem was that He did not raise from the dead on the 14th. He rose on Yom HaBikkurim, firstfruits, Sunday. It is ALWAYS on Sunday, the morrow after the Sabbath (currently rabbinic Jews do not calculate it this way). We count the omer from that day until Pentecost (which is also always on a Sunday). The problem was that believers would stop fasting on the 14th while others stopped fasting on that Sunday. You cant, by definition celebrate Pascha (resurrection) on the day Yeshua died (the 14th).

 

[Hank77]

He rose on Yom HaBikkurim, firstfruits, Sunday. It is ALWAYS on Sunday, the morrow after the Sabbath (currently rabbinic Jews do not calculate it this way). We count the omer from that day until Pentecost (which is also always on a Sunday).

I agree with your whole post.
I just wanted to point out, about this section and maybe you know this, that the Karaite Jews agree with you and still practice their faith this way.

 

[Yeshua HaDerekh]

I agree with your whole post.
I just wanted to point out, about this section and maybe you know this, that the Karaite Jews agree with you and still practice their faith this way.

Yes, thanks Hank, I am aware of that

 

[Ignatius the Kiwi]

I am glad for any article that goes into some actual history regarding Pascha instead of regurgitating the outlandish claim that it's a Pagan celebration Christians adopted from ancient Babylon. I would only add one more ancient resource regarding the ancient Christian celebration of the Paschal feast (called Easter in English) from Saint Melito of Sardis, who wrote a work called Peri Pascha. His second century work Peri Pascha makes it clear that Pascha Christians celebrated was directed towards Christ fulfilling or bringing out the true meaning of the Old Exodus. He argues extensively that what was in the Old Testament was a prefiguration leading to the celebration of Christ dying and rising from the grave. Melito represents the practice of the Quartodecimans which was not merely a Jewish retelling of the exodus story but was a Christ focused feast day.

 

[Hank77]

Melito represents the practice of the Quartodecimans which was not merely a Jewish retelling of the exodus story but was a Christ focused feast day.

Polycarp, a disciple of the Apostle John and Bishop of Smyrna, kept this feast day.
I know you know this but there are others who do not.

 

[Quasar92]

The OP is about the early church changing the name and date of Passover, to the English term, Easter, that was celebrated by Israel, So as not to be associated with the hated Jews of that time. Passover is about the shed blood of lambs without blemish to save the firstborn of each family from suffering death at the hands of the death angel when he passed over them. It is not about the resurrection. The precise forerunner of what Jesus di for us. See the following facts:

What is the Passover Lamb? How is Jesus our Passover Lamb?"

The Passover lamb was the animal God directed the Israelites to use as a sacrifice in Egypt on the night God struck down the firstborn sons of every household (Exodus 12:29). This was the final plague God issued against Pharaoh, and it led to Pharaoh releasing the Israelites from slavery (Exodus 11:1). After that fateful night, God instructed the Israelites to observe the Passover Feast as a lasting memorial (Exodus 12:14).

God instructed every household of the Israelite people to select a year-old male lamb without defect (Exodus 12:5; cf. Leviticus 22:20-21). The head of the household was to slaughter the lamb at twilight, taking care that none of its bones were broken, and apply some of its blood to the tops and sides of the doorframe of the house. The lamb was to be roasted and eaten (Exodus 12:7-8). God also gave specific instructions as to how the Israelites were to eat the lamb, “with your cloak tucked into your belt, your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand (Exodus 12:11; cf. Ephesians 6:14). In other words, they had to be ready to travel.

God said that when He saw the lamb’s blood on the doorframe of a house, He would “pass over” that home and not permit “the destroyer” (Exodus 12:23) to enter. Any home without the blood of the lamb would have their firstborn son struck down that night (Exodus 12: 12-13).

The New Testament establishes a relationship between this prototypical Passover lamb and the consummate Passover Lamb, Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 5:7). The prophet John the Baptist recognized Jesus as “the Lamb of God” (John 1:29), and the apostle Peter links the lamb without defect (Exodus 12:5) with Christ, whom he calls a “lamb without blemish or defect” (1 Peter 1:19). Jesus is qualified to be called One “without blemish” because His life was completely free from sin (Hebrews 4:15). In Revelation, John the apostle sees Jesus as “a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain” (Revelation 5:6). Jesus was crucified during the time that the Passover was observed (Mark 14:12).

The Bible says believers have symbolically applied the sacrificial blood of Christ to their hearts and thus have escaped eternal death (Hebrews 9:12, 14). Just as the Passover lamb’s applied blood caused the “destroyer” to pass over each household, Christ’s applied blood causes God’s judgment to pass over sinners and gives life to believers (Romans 6:23).

As the first Passover marked the Hebrews’ release from Egyptian slavery, so the death of Christ marks our release from the slavery of sin (Romans 8:2). As the first Passover was to be held in remembrance as an annual feast, so Christians are to memorialize the Lord’s death in communion until He returns (1 Corinthians 11:26).

The Old Testament Passover lamb, although a reality in that time, was a mere foreshadowing of the better and final Passover Lamb, Jesus Christ. Through His sinless life and sacrificial death, Jesus became the only One capable of giving people a way to escape death and a sure hope of eternal life (1 Peter 1:20-21).


Quasar92

 

[prodromos]

At least as late as the fourth century A.D., the holiday known as Easter was called PASCHA ("Passover" in English). Easter, however, appears to be derived from EASTRE, the name or festival of the Teutonic goddess of spring, to whom sacrifices were offered in the month of April.

"Easter" is from the Old Teutonic German word for "resurrection". Etymologically they both have the same root of the word we now know as "east". Because the sun "easts" in the morning, many languages have "rise" as the compass direction where the sun appears every morning.
The only reference to a goddess of Spring is from Bede, and he doesn't make clear association, nor is there any documentation of sacrifices being offered to such a goddess in April. All of that is conjecture, nothing more.

 

[Quasar92]

"Easter" is from the Old Teutonic German word for "resurrection". Etymologically they both have the same root of the word we now know as "east". Because the sun "easts" in the morning, many languages have "rise" as the compass direction where the sun appears every morning.
The only reference to a goddess of Spring is from Bede, and he doesn't make clear association, nor is there any documentation of sacrifices being offered to such a goddess in April. All of that is conjecture, nothing more.

The point of the OP was to reveal that Easter is what the RCC made out of Passover, including the changing of the dating of it. It was not intended as a celebration for the resurrection of Jesus, as it is today, but rather, for the saving shed blood of the lambs without blemish that was fulfilled by Jesus shed blood on the cross for us all.


Quasar92

 

[Hank77]

The point of the OP was to reveal that Easter is what the RCC made out of Passover, including the changing of the dating of it. It was not intended as a celebration for the resurrection of Jesus, as it is today, but rather, for the saving shed blood of the lambs without blemish that was fulfilled by Jesus shed blood on the cross for us all.


Quasar92

Would you comment on the resurrection maybe being the completion of the passing over, compared with passing over the Jordon out of the wilderness and into the Promised Land?

 

[Quasar92]

Would you comment on the resurrection maybe being the completion of the passing over, compared with passing over the Jordon out of the wilderness and into the Promised Land?

The Jewish passover had nothing to do with any resurrection, but was the command of God for Israel to kill a one year old lamb, without blemish, and sprinkle its blood over and around their doors, to prevent their firstborns from being killed by the death angel who would be passing over them. The foreshadow of the very action of Jesus Christ thousands of years later. See post #10.


Quasar92

 

[Hank77]

The Jewish passover had nothing to do with any resurrection, but was the command of God for Israel to kill a one year old lamb, without blemish, and sprinkle its blood over and around their doors, to prevent their firstborns from being killed by the death angel who would be passing over them. The foreshadow of the very action of Jesus Christ thousands of years later. See post #10.


Quasar92

I know what the passover was on Nisan 14. What I am asking you is if when the Israelites left the wilderness and went into Canaan, if that could be compared to the resurrection.

 

[Quasar92]

I know what the passover was on Nisan 14. What I am asking you is if when the Israelites left the wilderness and went into Canaan, if that could be compared to the resurrection.

No, it would not have anything whatever to be seen as the forshadowing of the resurrection.


Quasar92

 

[Hank77]

No, it would not have anything whatever to be seen as the forshadowing of the resurrection.


Quasar92

Personally I see First-Fruits as a foreshadowing of the Resurrection of the Christ.

 

[Quasar92]

Personally I see First-Fruits as a foreshadowing of the Resurrection of the Christ.

It was a foreshadowing of Jesus work on the cross, all right, who was indeed the first firstfuit of all believers who obtained their salvation through Him. While in OT times, the firstfruits came from the the very first of the harvested crops.


Quasar92

 

[Root of Jesse]

The following is an interesting article about PASCHA, or what is now known as Easter, by Rich Robinson, Of the Jews for Jesus organization that will provide you the background for this momentous event , soon to take place again this year.

What About Easter?

At least as late as the fourth century A.D., the holiday known as Easter was called PASCHA ("Passover" in English). Easter, however, appears to be derived from EASTRE, the name or festival of the Teutonic goddess of spring, to whom sacrifices were offered in the month of April. The word is Germanic, not Greek or Hebrew. We can surmise that when Christianity began to make inroads among the Teutonic (Germanic) tribes, the name EASTER was transfered to the Christian celebration, inasmuch as both occurred at the same time of year.

The earliest observation of PASCHA took place at the same time as Passover, on the 14th day of the Jewish month of Nisan. This celebration is referred to as the "Quartodeciman Passover" from the Latin word for "fourteenth."

Moves towards changing the date of PASCHA began early in the second century. The motivation behind this change was fear of the authorities coupled with anti-Jewish sentiment. The actual course of events appears to have been as follows.

Bishop Sixtus of Rome, who presided from A.D. 116-126, may have been the first to observe a Sunday date rather than the 14th of Nisan. These three reasons support the idea.

1. According to the church historian eusebius, a later Roman bishop named Victor sought to impose a Sunday observance on the entire Church and to break ties with those Christians who obseved the 14th of Nisan. He was opposed by Iraneus, who discouraged such a break and argued that peace should be kept among Christians who celebrated the day on different dates. He contended that even earlier church leaders who did not observe the Quartodeciman date were at peace with those who did. In mentioning the names of one church leader after another, Iraneus used reverse chronological order, stopping at Bishop Sixtus.

2. The rule of Bishop Sixtus coicided with the measures of the Roman Emperor Hadrian that were aimed at repressing anything Jewish. (Hadrian's reign was A.D. 117-13 . It would have made sense if the church had been pressured at that time not to observe the 14th of Nisan. Any anti-Jewish feeling would certainly have been catalysed by Hadrian's prohibition of Jewish customs and festigvals. This culminated in the expulsion of the Jews, including the Jewish Christian church leaders, from Jerusalem , circa A.D. 135. (After that, the Jewish church was composed of Gentiles).

3. According to the fourth century Bishop Epiphanius, the Sunday observance of PASCHA was first introduced in Jerusalem after A.D. 135 when the Jews were forced out of Jerusalem by Hadrian. If the new Sunday observance began with Sixtus in his tenure of A.D. 116-126, this would have allowed time for the practice to have spread to Jerusalem by A.D. 135.

The next significant step on record comes from the late second century, the time of Bishop Victor of Rome. As already mentioned, Victor attempted to make the Sunday observance of PASCHA uniform. A primary motivating factor for Victor would have been the presence in Rome of many Christians from Asia Minor who observed the Quartodeciman Passover. Their presence alongside the Roman believers would have meant that Christians were observing two different dates for the same occasion. Perhaps Victor's only motive was his desire to ensure uniformity within the church.

In any case, by the middle of the third century, blatant anti-Semitic statements are found in various Christian sources. In a work called DE PASCHA COMPUTUS, the author, known as Pseudo-Cyprian, wrote contemptuously of following Jewish practice, expressing the desire for Christians not to "walk in blindness and stupidity behind the Jews as though they did not know the day of Passover."

Finally, in the fourth century, PASCHA became decisively separated from Passover and restricted to a Sunday observance. Not only individuals but church councils contributed to the change in date. In A.D. 314, the Council of Arles recommended a single date for the uniform observance of PASCHA, but it was the Council of Nicaea in A.D. 325 that was the watershed that solidified this motion. The date of PASCHA was fixed as the Sunday following the full moon that falls on or after the vernal equinox. The edict of Council of Nicaea proclaimed:

"All the brethren in the East who formerly celebrated Easter
with the Jews, will henceforth keep it at the same time as the
Romans, with us and with all those who from ancient times
have celebrated the feast at the same time with us."

Ultimate official support came from Emperor Constantine, whose conciliar letter to all bishops of the same time period announced it "unworthy" to celebrate PASCHA on Passover.
Nevertheless, complications arose because some churches followed the Jewish or lunar calendar. Full uniformity in calculating the date was not secured until as late as the eighth century. The Eastern Orthodox Church still calculates Easter differently.

Quasar92

The modern English term Easter, cognate with modern Dutch ooster and German Ostern, developed from an Old English word that usually appears in the form Ēastrun, -on, or -an; but also as Ēastru, -o; and Ēastre or Ēostre.[nb 3] The most widely accepted theory of the origin of the term is that it is derived from the name of a goddess mentioned by the 7th to 8th-century English monk Bede, who wrote that Ēosturmōnaþ (Old English 'Month of Ēostre', translated in Bede's time as "Paschal month") was an English month, corresponding to April, which he says "was once called after a goddess of theirs named Ēostre, in whose honour feasts were celebrated in that month".[22] However, it is possible that Bede was only speculating about the origin of the term since there is no firm evidence that such a goddess actually existed.[23]

In Greek and Latin, the Christian celebration was, and still is, called Πάσχα, Pascha, a word derived from Aramaic פסחא, cognate to Hebrew פֶּסַח (Pesach). The word originally denoted the Jewish festival known in English as Passover, commemorating the Jewish Exodus from slavery in Egypt.[24][25] Already in the 50s of the 1st century, Paul, writing from Ephesus to the Christians in Corinth,[26] applied the term to Christ, and it is unlikely that the Ephesian and Corinthian Christians were the first to hear Exodus 12 interpreted as speaking about the death of Jesus, not just about the Jewish Passover ritual.[27] In most of the non-English speaking world, the feast is known by names derived from Greek and Latin Pascha.[2][28] Pascha is also a name by which Jesus himself is remembered in the Orthodox Church, especially in connection with his resurrection and with the season of its celebration.[29]

 

[Root of Jesse]

WE still call it PASCHA today!

As do we. When we hold egg hunts and such, we call it Easter, though.