Easter Or Ishtar?

How does one explain to loved ones that the real Resurrection Sunday falls on the Sunday after Passover, and not on March 23? Why is the church behaving like a bunch of lemmings?

Q. How does one explain to loved ones that the real Resurrection Sunday falls on the Sunday after Passover, and not on March 23? I tried to tell them that they are celebrating a Babylonian goddess (Ishtar), based on the lunar cycle, but they maintain, that it doesn’t matter what day they observe, as long as they observe it. Why is the church behaving like a bunch of lemmings?

A. As Christianity took hold in the Roman Empire there was a disagreement about when to celebrate the Lord’s Resurrection. The Eastern leg (now Greek Orthodox) wanted it tied to Passover because they had so many converts from Judaism, but the western leg (now Catholic) argued in favor of linking it to the spring Equinox, already a big pagan celebration. They used the same argument you cited, “Why does the date matter, as long as we do it?” If it was just the date, it probably wouldn’t be such a big deal, but all the pagan fertility rites associated with the pagan goddess Ishtar became a part of it too, eventually over shadowing the real purpose of the celebration of what is arguably the most important day in Christianity.

The two legs of the Roman Empire agreed to disagree and still celebrate on different dates. This year the Eastern Orthodox celebrates “Easter” on April 27 which is the Sunday after Passover and the proper anniversary date of the Lord’s Resurrection. So at least in this case, the lemming comment only applies to the western church.