Why does Easter change dates each year? (The reason might surprise you)
Have you ever wondered why the date of Easter changes every year? Unlike many festivals and celebrations which have a set date (Christmas and Halloween, for example), Easter is a moveable feast, and its date can range by over a month year to year.
The earliest possible date it could fall is 22nd March, and it can be as late as 25th April. Fun fact: the most common Easter dates over a 500-year period are 31st March and 16th April, while the rarest is 24th April.
But why does Easter's date change each year, and how is it calculated? And why is it so late this year?
What date is Easter 2025?
This year, in 2025, Easter Sunday will be celebrated on 20th April – almost a full month later than last year, when we celebrated Easter on 31st March.
Here is a full list of the key dates you need to know for Easter 2025, so you can get planning your Easter egg shopping and Easter activities – including those all-important bank holidays:
Shrove Tuesday (pancake day): 4th March
Ash Wednesday (when Lent begins): 5th March
Good Friday: 18th April
Easter Sunday: 20th April
Easter Monday: 21st April
It's worth noting, however, that in Eastern Orthodox branches of Christianity (most common in countries such as Russia and Greece), Easter is often celebrated on a different date to the UK. This year the two religious calendars align, so the Eastern Orthodox church will also be celebrating Easter on 20th April in 2025.
Why does Easter change dates each year?
Unlike most Christian celebrations, Easter's date is dependent on the moon and lunar cycles. The date of Easter Sunday is always set to coincide with the first Sunday after the Paschal Full Moon – this is the first full moon after the vernal equinox on 21st March (also known as the spring equinox). This also marks the official date that spring starts.
But why is Easter linked to the Paschal Full Moon in the first place? Christians believe that Christ's death and resurrection happened after the Jewish festival of Passover, because the Last Supper (the final meal that Jesus shared with his apostles before his crucifixion) was a Passover feast. Early Christians therefore arranged Easter celebrations to correspond to the date of Passover. Because the Jewish calendar is tied to solar and lunar cycles, the date of Passover fluctuates each year, which is why Easter's date in turn changes from year to year.
However, not all branches of Christianity follow the Gregorian calendar. Many Eastern Orthodox churches follow the Julian calendar, which means Easter often falls on a different day to the UK's bank holidays – so for followers of the Eastern Orthodox Church, Easter can fall anywhere from 4th April to 8th May depending on the year. This year, Eastern Orthodox churches will also celebrate Easter on the 20th April.
What other dates change with Easter?
The dates of Ash Wednesday and Lent change annually along with Easter Sunday. Ash Wednesday signals the beginning of Lent, the 40-day period leading up to Easter during which many believers give up an earthly pleasure – often specific foods such as chocolate or sweets – as a form of penance. Its date is always exactly 46 days before Easter Sunday (40 days of Lent plus six, as Sundays are skipped), which is why Ash Wednesday fell on 5th March this year.
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