Secular society wants to fix Easter holiday dates

The National Secular Society wants to pin down Easter to a fixed date.

It has asked the Government to fix the date in early spring to avoid problems with holiday planning and school terms.

The Church of England says it is strange that a secular society should want to be involved in the timing of a religious festival.

Spokesman Steve Jenkins told Ananova: "What's it got to do with them - they don't believe in God. The fact is that Easter is a religious festival based on the crucifixion, not on when people would like a bank holiday.

"The date of Easter can be calculated to fit in with the biblical story, it all fits together. That's not to say the churches would be against fixing the date of Easter per se, but certainly not at the bidding of the National Secular Society."

President of the National Secular Society, Denis Cobell, said: "It would make far more sense to have an early spring holiday at the same time each year. Having a variable Easter is very inconvenient, and plays havoc with holiday planning and school terms.

"The former Whitsun bank holiday provides a precedent for making such a change. Whit Monday used to be a bank holiday but has been replaced by the fixed late spring holiday.

"And why do we have this ludicrous arrangement in which Easter Sunday can vary from 22 March to 25 April? Because the churches' bizarre formula, fixed in 325 CE, for setting the date is based on the ancient lunar calendar?

"The ultimate irony is that both Easter and midwinter festivals long pre-dated Christianity, so it is entirely inappropriate for the church to be dictating the dates on which they are held, especially in a society that has largely abandoned religion."