Easter fluctuating dates confusion

[Soontobe60]

If Jesus Christ existed, he was supposedly born on 25th December and that date never changes. But he was crucified on Good Friday, which changes every year!
How come we know his birth date but not his death date?
When did the 25th December become known as Christmas Day?
When did the day he died become known as Good Friday and the day he rose Easter Sunday?

All questions my Year 4 children asked in school this week.

The date of Easter is logical and consistent but in a different calendar system.

I’d expect a teacher to be able to find out the answers to basic questions, and to be able to show children how to find out the answers. Teachers should be teaching children how to access knowledge.

Consistent with what ?

Get away with you ! What a terrible idea. How would you every test for it ?

Easter and Passover only sometimes occur at the same time. And the Orthodox and Western Church often have different Easters. The formulae was arranged at Nicaea in about 400.
Passover and Easter coincide this year.

Yes, I think in a way there’s a lyrical simplicity to ‘the first Sunday after the first full moon on or after the Vernal Equinox’ (and no I’m not being sarcastic! )

As a metaphorical or symbolic occasion - why not ?.Same for solstices, eclipses and what have you.

But as the specific day on which a specific event central to a religion that (lie all religion) exists to control the population ? You're 'aving a larf.

Did you even read the OP? Which ends with “All questions my Year 4 children asked in school this week.” who says OP didn’t know the answers?

My reason for starting this post was to have a discussion on what is a major Christian festival at the very time that festival is happening. It wasn’t to ask MN for the definitive answers to their questions the children posed. I do teach RE in a church school however I am not a Christian and most of my pupils are Muslim. I tend to say ‘Christians believe…’ a lot in my lessons. I present much of the content as belief rather than fact. My class is very keen to explore different belief systems and compare it to their own and they ask some thought provoking questions.
For those of you who thought of interesting points - ‘tell me you’re not a teacher’ being one - maybe read what others (me) have written before trying to be smart and superior. As a primary school teacher, I’m expected to be an expert on all things to do with maths, English language and literature, biology, physics, chemistry, geography, history, IT, music, PHSE, RE, child development, SEN and safeguarding for all children at whatever stage of their learning between the ages of 4 and 11. When someone tries to embarrass me for the assumption that I don’t know absolutely everything about all of the above, it just makes me think they’re a bit of a dick.
For everyone else who joined in the discussion in good faith I thank you.
Happy Easter everyone.

I had no idea when Easter was this year. It has crept up on me and taken me by surprise.

That’s not how discussions work - “what a good question Mohammed, let’s all stop talking and spend the next 30 minutes giving out the iPads so we can all look it up”

You win the Easter egg!!! 😂

Did you discuss the roles of Moses and Abraham?

Because there were two calendars running in Judea at the time. The Julian (predecessor to Gregorian) calendar was relatively new when Jesus was born and the Hebrew calendar was still used regularly.

They might know for sure it was 15 Nisan, for example (it wasn’t) but when 15 Nisan falls on a different Julian date every year it’s hard to keep track, it’s like saying why don’t know what date in the Islamic calendar were you born on, and then why do you celebrate a different Islamic calendar day each year when you were born on a certain Islamic date.

It was a nasty shock last week to discover that it wasn't Easter. I had somehow convinced myself it was. One of the effects of not being in an office, or surrounded by people with (grand)children anymore.

(I also managed to forget to put the clocks forward,l despite mentioning "We must remember to put the clocks forward" Saturday morning 😀)

I’m glad you were able to have a wonderful discussion with your class.

It wasn’t clear from your first post that you had done this, as you’ll see from many of the posts written by the posters who have taken the time to respond to you.

(ETA: I was actually responding to another poster who had asked why would a teacher talk about religion …)

This is DP.

But he’s been saying it daily since Wednesday. He’s now panic-cooking carrot crush.

All the Saints Days have fixed dates.
I don't know which is cause or effect for fixing Christmas Day but part of the reason it will be a fixed date is because it was a Quarter Day. Rents were collected on Quarter Days (St John's, Michaelmas, Christmas, Lady Day) and I don't think landowners would take kindly to one (and only one) of the dates fluctuating.

Jesus was not born on 25th December. That day was chosen to make the transition to Christianity easier for the romans as they already celebrated a pagan festival on that day.

Easter is decided by the moon cycle. Easter Sunday is always on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the spring equinox. Jesus didn’t die at ‘Easter’ it’s just a time of remembrance. There’s theory that the last supper was the Passover seder as Jesus was Jewish and Easter was calculated to coincide with that.

It’s not something I believe in as I’m an atheist, but these are the ‘facts’ as I understand them

Do you know the reason?
I am curious as your students 🙂

Another fun fact to throw in, but I doubt Year 4 are worrying about it ...

The year used to start on Lady Day (March 25th). When the new Gregorian calendar was adopted, we skipped forward a few days so the 'year end' skipped forward too. That's why the tax year ends on 5th April.

I've seen self-proclaimed teachers write nonsense on here and, even worse, used bad grammar, which I imagine they'd say in front of their charges because they don't know it's wrong.

A recent one was the semi-ubiquitous "I's" for my, as in 'my husband and I's holiday plans'. Nope, my husband and my holiday plans. I's doesn't exist. I have a teacher friend who says 'brang' for brought, seriously.

He wasn't born on December 25. That date has just been chosen because before Christianity there were always mid winter festivals. Once Christianity too over they became festivals to celebrate the birth of Jesus.
The timing of Easter is linked to the moon . It is always the first Sunday after the full moon after March 21. It is linked to the old Spring festivals and the beginning of Spring.

In the days before streetlights, arranging gatherings close to a full moon is a matter of practicality.
To appreciate this you need to stay somewhere wild and try to find your way across rough tracks with only starlight.

He wasn't born on December 25. That date has just been chosen because before Christianity there were always mid winter festivals.
But also, as I am sure MN appreciates, there is a pure matter of biology. Spring is new starts, new growth etc. Nine months after spring (Lady Day / Annunciation) is ... midwinter (Xmas). It's all very neat.