A common misinterpretation arises from the KJV's use of 'Easter' for the Greek 'pascha,' leading some to erroneously claim that the Christian Easter celebration existed in the first century and was observed by the unbelieving Herod, a Jew hostile to Christianity; in reality, 'pascha' refers to the Jewish Passover festival, and the verse underscores Herod's cynical timing of Peter's trial to exploit religious festivities, not any Christian holiday.
Acts 12:4
King James Version (1769)
4 And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people.
In Acts 12:4, Herod Agrippa I imprisons the apostle Peter with sixteen soldiers during the Feast of Unleavened Bread following Passover, planning a public execution afterward to appease Jewish leaders and crowds, highlighting the intensifying persecution of early Christians amid political opportunism and divine intervention that soon leads to Peter's miraculous release.