Why Does Easter’s Date Change Every Year?
Easter 2025 will be observed on Sunday, April 20. As the most important Christian holiday, Easter is a “movable feast.” Why does it change every year?
What are the commonest and rarest Easter dates? How is the date determined? Where did the word “Easter” come from? Find answers to these questions on our Everything-Easter page.
When is Easter 2025?
This year, Easter Sunday will be observed on Sunday, April 20. This is based on the Gregorian calendar. Many Eastern Orthodox churches follow the Julian calendar rather than the Gregorian. In 2025, Eastern Orthodox Easter will also occur on Sunday, April 20 (the Julian calendar date converted to the Gregorian calendar).
You May Read
| Easter Dates | ||
| Year | Easter Sunday (Gregorian calendar) | Eastern Orthodox Church (Julian calendar date converted to Gregorian) |
| 2025 | April 20 | April 20 |
| 2026 | April 5 | April 12 |
| 2027 | March 28 | May 2 |
| 2028 | April 16 | April 16 |
What Day is Easter?
Easter is always held on a Sunday. Name Easter Sunday. In 2025, it will be held on Sunday, April 20.
When is Ash Wednesday? When is Lent?
Christian season of Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, 40 days before Easter (not counting Sundays). In 2025, Ash Wednesday is March 5. Many Christians attend church services on Ash Wednesday to receive ashes on their foreheads in the sign of the cross. (Ashes are a symbol of penance in the Old Testament and in pagan antiquity.)
In the Roman Catholic Church, Ash Wednesday is a day of fasting. In the sixth century, Christians who had committed grave faults were obliged to do public penance. On Ash Wednesday, they donned a hair shirt (which they wore for 40 days), and the local bishop blessed them and sprinkled them with ashes. Then, while others recited the Seven Penitential Psalms, the penitents were turned out of the holy place. They could not enter the church again until Maundy Thursday (the Thursday before Easter), when they received absolution.
Is Easter Always in March or April?
Easter is a “movable feast,” so it doesn’t happen on the same date from year to year. In the Gregorian calendar, it is always observed on a Sunday between March 22 and April 25. Easter can be observed between April 4 and May 8 in the Eastern Orthodox Church.
What is the Most Common Easter Date?
Over a 500-year period (from 1600 to 2099 AD), Easter will most often be celebrated on either March 31 or April 16.
What is the Most Unusual Easter Date?
According to long-term averages, the most unusual Easter date is March 22. Second place goes to April 24, and the third place goes to March 23.
How Is The Date of Easter Determined?
Easter Sunday always occurs on the first Sunday after the Paschal Full Moon. What is the Paschal Full Moon? This is specifically the first Sunday following the full Moon that occurs on or after the March or spring equinox.
What Happens When the Full Moon and Spring Equinox Occur on the Same Day?
While Christmas is fixed to a solar calendar (and near the winter solstice), Easter is based on the lunar cycles of the Jewish calendar. In the Christian religion, the Last Supper (the final meal Jesus shared with his apostles before his crucifixion) was a Passover feast. Because Easter is based on a lunar month (which is 29.5 days), the date of Easter can vary.
Note that the spring equinox date used by the Christian Church is always March 21 to simplify matters. In fact, the astronomical date of the equinox can shift by a day or so. In 2025, the astronomical date of the equinox is March 20. So, you’ll often see this called the “ecclesiastical” equinox (i.e., the date used by the Church).
What Happens When the Full Moon and Spring Equinox Occur on the Same Day?
Generally, if the full Moon occurs on the same day as the spring equinox, Easter is observed on the subsequent Sunday. There is a caveat:
As mentioned above, the Christian Church decided to simplify calculating Easter’s date by always observing the spring equinox on March 21, despite the fact that the equinox date changes over time and is actually getting earlier.
Discrepancy between the astronomical equinox date and the Church’s observed equinox date can sometimes cause confusion, as in 2019 when the full Moon and the astronomical equinox occurred on the same day—Wednesday, March 20.
According to the formula above, this should have meant that Easter would be observed on Sunday, March 24. However, because the Church observes the equinox on March 21, the full Moon technically did not occur “on or just after” the equinox, meaning that the next full Moon would determine Easter’s date instead. Thus, in 2019, Easter was held on Sunday, April 21, after the full Moon on Friday, April 19.
What Is the Paschal Full Moon?
Word “Paschal,” which is used in the ecclesiastical (Christian Church) calendar, comes from Pascha, a transliteration of the Aramaic word meaning “Passover.”
In reference to the full Moon, Paschal refers to the date of the full Moon, which was determined many years ago as the 14th day of a lunar month. Ancient calculations (made in A.D. 325) did not consider certain lunar motions.
So, the Paschal Full Moon is the 14th day of a lunar month occurring on or after March 21 according to a fixed set of ecclesiastical calendar rules, which does not always match the date of the astronomical full Moon nearest the astronomical spring equinox.
What is the Golden Number?
Readers often ask us about the Golden Number, which is traditionally used in calculations to determine the date of Easter.
Golden Number is a value used to show the dates of new Moons for each year, following a 19-year cycle.
Moon repeats the dates of its phases approximately every 19 years (the Metonic cycle), and the Golden Number represents a year in that cycle. The year of the cycle can then be used to determine the date of Easter.
To Calculate the Golden Number:
Add 1 to any given year and divide the result by 19, ensuring that you calculate to the nearest whole number; the remainder is the Golden Number. If there is no remainder, the Golden Number is 19.
For example, to calculate the Golden Number for 2025, we take 2025 and add 1, resulting in 2026, then divide it evenly by 19, giving us 106 with a remainder of 12. Therefore, the Golden Number for 2025 is 12, meaning 2025 is the 12th year of the Metonic cycle.
What is Easter?
Easter is the holiest day in the Christian calendar. It observes the most central tenet of the Christian faith—that Jesus Christ was resurrected from the dead. Resurrection represents the triumph of good over evil, sin, death, and the physical body.
Easter Sunday marks the end of Holy Week, the end of Lent, and the last day of the Easter Triduum (starting from the evening of Maundy Thursday through Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and Easter Sunday), as well as the beginning of the Easter season of the liturgical year.
Where Did the Word “Easter” Come From?
Easter, also called Pascha or Resurrection Sunday, is a festival and holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.
Let’s start with Pascha (Latin), which comes directly from Pesach, the Hebrew word for Passover. Going back to the Hebrew Bible and the story of the first Passover, Moses tells the Israelites to slaughter a Passover lamb and paint its blood on their doors. Lord protected the Israelites from death by passing over their doors and would not “allow the destroyer to enter your houses to strike you down” (Ex. 12:23).
Paul connects the resurrected Christ to Passover in the New Testament (1 Corinthians 5:7). He refers to Jesus as the “paschal lamb” sacrificed for his people’s salvation. Jesus celebrated the Last Supper with his disciples during Passover, so it makes sense that the Feast of the Resurrection is connected with the Jewish holiday. Today, Christians celebrate the “Paschal mystery.”
So, where did the word “Easter” come from? Exact origin of the word “Easter” is unclear. It’s not as simple as saying it has religious origins or pagan origins.
Some historians suggest that it came from the phrase hebdomada alba, Latin for “white week,” used to describe the white garments new Christians wore when they were baptized during Holy Week. In Old German, the word became esostarum and, eventually, Easter.
Venerable Bede, a seventh-century Anglo-Saxon historian also known as Saint Bede, writes that the word Easter comes from the Anglo-Saxon dawn goddess of fertility, Eostre, also the goddess of the dawn, who originated in what is now Scandinavia. Over time, early Christians started referring to the Feast of the Resurrection by the name of the month in which it was celebrated—Eosturmonath (what we now call April).
Alternatively, Easter may come from an old German word for “east,” which in turn is derived from a Latin word for “dawn.” In the past, the word easter could mean “to turn toward the east” or “rising” and didn’t necessarily have any implied religious meaning. (Note: It was the Germans who invented the “Easter Bunny,” who visited “good” children’s homes, much like they invented Santa Claus.)
The bottom line is that no one truly knows the etymological origins of the word “easter.” It is one of the oldest Old English words.
In the end, it is unimportant whether Easter comes from the goddess of the dawn or the Latin word for dawn. In whatever language, Easter today is a Christian holiday to celebrate Christ’s resurrection—and the reminder that death brings life.
Our Favorite Easter Recipes
Traditional Easter dishes include seasonal produce as well as symbols of spring, such as lamb, ham, eggs, asparagus, spring peas, hot cross buns, sweet breads, and carrot cake.
FAQs
What is Easter?
Easter is a Christian holiday that celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ, believed to have occurred three days after His crucifixion.
Why is Easter called “Easter”?
Name “Easter” may come from Eostre, a spring goddess, or the Old English word “ēastre,” meaning spring.
Why do we celebrate Easter?
Christians celebrate Easter to honor the resurrection of Jesus, symbolizing hope, renewal, and eternal life.
When is Easter celebrated?
Easter is observed on the first Sunday after the first full moon following the vernal equinox, typically between March 22 and April 25.
What is the significance of the Easter Bunny?
Easter Bunny symbolizes fertility and new life and is associated with bringing eggs, which also represent new beginnings.
Why do we have Easter eggs?
Easter eggs symbolize new life and the resurrection. The tradition of decorating eggs has ancient origins and has become a key part of Easter festivities.
How is Easter celebrated around the world?
Easter is celebrated with church services, festive meals, egg hunts, and the exchange of chocolates and other treats, varying by culture.
What is Holy Week?
Holy Week is the week before Easter, including Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday, marking the final days of Jesus’ life.
Why does the date of Easter change every year?
Date of Easter is based on the lunar calendar, determined by the first Sunday after the first full moon following the spring equinox.
What are some traditional Easter foods?
Traditional Easter foods include lamb, ham, eggs, and breads, representing themes of new life, sacrifice, and celebration.
