Historical Easter Question for Minimalist

[abaris]

Easter - probably derived from the Germanic goddess Eostre - is a northern European term.

In the southern countries, France, Italy, etc. the term is some derivation of pesach which was the jewish term for Passover.

She's also called Ostara - hence the name "Easter" or more to the point the German word for it: "Ostern", which is literally derived from the name of the goddess. And of course she had her feast and celebration around the same time of the year.

As far as the christian date is concerned, it was the english monk Beda Venerabilis , who determined that Easter should be celebrated on the first sunday after the first full moon in spring. That was in the early 8th century. He died in 735.