Let’s talk: Should Easter have one fixed date?

Aussie columnist Tim Dick believes that Easter should have one fixed date. He argues that using a religious calendar to calculate public holidays is “lunacy” – and today Starts At 60 wants your thoughts!

In The Age, Mr Dick points out that whilst we’re celebrating Easter in March this year, for orthodox churches the celebration won’t occur until May.

“The dates for our second-longest holiday break are imposed not by law nor by rational agreement”, Mr Dick argued this weekend.

“(Instead, Easter is determined) by the result of a weirdly convoluted and ancient calculation that’s part lunar, part religious, and all lunacy”.

Back in 325, a Christian council decreed when Easter should be celebrated. “The calculation now has little to do with modern life in which Easter is, for most, a civil public holiday”, Mr Dick argued.

Of course, many Australians can find planning around an ever-changing Easter break challenging. School terms, travel itineraries and even sporting games need to be planned around Easter Sunday.

When you consider that Christmas has a fixed date, even though nobody can prove when Jesus of Nazareth was born, celebrating Easter anywhere between March to April seems even more bizarre.

According to Mr Dick’s calculations, in 2038 Easter Sunday will fall on the same date as Anzac Day. How will Australians mark both occasions then?

“Easter should be fixed as the second Sunday in April”, Mr Dick believes. “No Anzac Day dawn service would compete with the Easter Bunny” this way, and public holidays would not be squeezed together.

Do you agree? Should Easter have a fixed date? When should Australians observe this holiday period?