It was also at the Council of Nicea that these same men under the direction of Constantine, changed the day of observing Pascha, or Passover, so that it would not coincide with the Jewish observance. Hence, what we know as Easter, or more properly called the festival of Ishtar, was born.
It is apparent that it was at this time that not only did they change the timing of the festival, but also changed its name, from Passover (or Pasch in Greek/Pascha in Hebrew) to Easter. They desire and successfully ripped the Passover out of the life of the Church. They eradicated the God-given observance and substituted one of pagan origins. But we ask the question, “Why Easter”? Here is a pretty good indication.
"Many, perhaps most, Pagan religions in the Mediterranean area had a major seasonal day of religious celebration at or following the Spring Equinox. Cybele, the Phrygian fertility goddess, had a fictional consort who was believed to have been born via a virgin birth. He was Attis, who was believed to have died and been resurrected each year during the period MAR-22 to MAR-25. "About 200 B.C. mystery cults began to appear in Rome just as they had earlier in Greece. Most notable was the Cybele cult centered on Vatican hill ...Associated with the Cybele cult was that of her lover, Attis (the older Tammuz, Osiris, Dionysus, or Orpheus under a new name). He was a god of ever-reviving vegetation. Born of a virgin, he died and was reborn annually. The festival began as a day of blood on Black Friday and culminated after three days in a day of rejoicing over the resurrection."(Gerald L. Berry, "Religions of the World," Barns & Noble, 1956)
Wherever Christian worship of Jesus and Pagan worship of Attis were active in the same geographical area in ancient times, Christians "used to celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus on the same date; and pagans and Christians used to quarrel bitterly about which of their gods was the true prototype and which the imitation."
Alexander Hislop, in his work The Two Babylons, shows quite clearly that “Easter is nothing else than Astarte, one of the names of Beltis, the queen of heaven.” The worship of this “queen of heaven” is mentioned in Jeremiah 7:18; 44:17-19,25. God rebuked His people for their participation in her worship. But this didn’t stop the Church leaders from associating this pagan name with the memorial of the sacrifice of God’s Lamb.
Now it should be pointed out, that the actual name change didn’t occur until later. The council retained the name Pasch for the festival, but set its observance at about the same time as the pagan festival to Cybele. Thus in time, the two festivals would eventually blend together into one. This simultaneous observance of the two festivals eventually allowed the integration and ‘christianizing’ of the pagan masses.
To conciliate the Pagans to nominal Christianity, Rome, pursuing its usual policy, took measures to get the Christian and Pagan festivals amalgamated, and, by a complicated but skilful adjustment of the calendar, it was found no difficult matter, in general, to get Paganism and Christianity–now sunk in idolatry-in this as in so many other things, to shake hands.
Constantine, in his Easter Letter, makes it quite clear that his intention was to completely eradicate the Jewish influence in the Passover, and make it something completely different,
We ought not, therefore, to have anything in common with the Jews, for the Saviour has shown us another way; our worship follows a more legitimate and more convenient course [the order of the days of the week]; and consequently, in unanimously adopting this mode, we desire, dearest brethren, to separate ourselves from the detestable company of the Jews.
The leaders of the Gentile Church, from the beginning of the second century, were captains of a ship, which they had cut loose from the moorings that held it fast and secure. They condemned the ship to wander the seas of turbulence and confusion without a port of stability in sight. The Nicean Council was the first major official step in the gentilization of the Church.