Peg, I didn't say you said you agreed with Hutton on all points. I was simply commenting on the points of disagreement I observed between your piece and what I remember of his work.

MMario is right about Easter: its placement in the year derives from the Jewish Festival of Unleavened Bread, which originally came at the beginning of the winter-barley harvest, so its time of year was determined by the facts of agriculture. At some point (some theorize) it seems to have been combined with another springtime observance, the lamb-sacrifice of the Passover. Also, some theorize, at some point its date was rationalized into the lunar calendar, so the close connection to the ripening of the winter barley was weakened slightly.

T.