Easter Sunday 2026

When Is Easter Sunday in 2026?

In 2026, Easter Sunday falls on April 5. The observance lasts 1 day (culminates Holy Week; Eastertide lasts 50 days). Because Easter Sunday follows a Computus: first Sunday after the first full moon (Paschal Full Moon) on or after the vernal equinox (March 21), per Gregorian calendar rules, the exact Gregorian date shifts each year. The computus is based on an ecclesiastical equinox (fixed March 21) and an idealized lunar month, not the astronomical full moon or local time. Western (Catholic/Protestant) and Eastern Orthodox Easter diverge because Orthodoxy uses the Julian calendar's equinox (March 21 Julian = April 3 Gregorian) and requires Easter to follow Passover. They coincide only intermittently. Since Easter Sunday's date changes from year to year, here are the dates for the next five years so you can plan ahead: Year Date 2026 April 5 2027 March 28 2028 April 16 2029 April 1 2030 April 21

What Time Does Easter Sunday Start in Your Time Zone?

Easter itself falls on a Sunday, so it is timezone-independent in the sense that Sunday is Sunday everywhere. But the liturgical timing of Easter is precise: the Easter Vigil is meant to be celebrated after nightfall on Holy Saturday, which means the actual moment of "Easter" arrives at different clock times in different time zones. A vigil in Sydney, Australia, begins Saturday evening local time, which is Friday morning in New York — yet the service is the same Easter Vigil being celebrated around the world. What really matters for Easter is the date itself, which is calculated by a formula known as the computus. Western Christianity (Catholics, Protestants, and most Anglicans) uses the Gregorian computus; Eastern Orthodoxy uses the older Julian computus. The two systems agree on the date of Easter in some years and disagree in others — in 2026, both East and West celebrate Easter on April 5, but in 2024 the Western date was March 31 while the Orthodox date was May 5. This five-week gap is the largest possible and occurs when the Julian calculation lands on a different lunar month than the Gregorian one. The table below shows the observance date for Easter Sunday in major time zones around the world: Location Observance Date Time Zone New York, USA April 5 EST/EDT (UTC-5/-4) London, UK April 5 GMT/BST (UTC+0/+1) New Delhi, India April 5 IST (UTC+5:30) Sydney, Australia April 5 AEST/AEDT (UTC+10/+11) Dubai, UAE April 5 GST (UTC+4)

The Story Behind Easter Sunday

Easter Sunday is the most important day in the Christian liturgical calendar — the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, three days after his crucifixion on Good Friday. For Christians, the resurrection is the foundational event of faith: the moment when death was defeated and the promise of eternal life was opened to humanity. The theological weight is enormous, which is why Easter is preceded by 40 days of Lenten fasting and reflection, and followed by 50 days of Eastertide leading to Pentecost. The name "Easter" in English (and the German "Ostern") is widely believed to derive from Eostre, an Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring, whose festival coincided with the Christian observance. In most other languages — French Pâques, Spanish Pascua, Italian Pasqua, Russian Paskha, Greek Pascha — the name comes from the Hebrew Pesach, or Passover, reflecting the fact that Jesus's crucifixion and resurrection took place during Passover week in Jerusalem. The Eastern Orthodox churches still calculate Easter using the Jewish Passover as one of the inputs, which is why Orthodox and Western Easter often fall on different dates. The biblical account, drawn from the four Gospels, describes how women followers of Jesus — most prominently Mary Magdalene — came to his tomb early on Sunday morning to anoint his body, only to find the stone rolled away and the tomb empty. An angel told them that Jesus had risen. The resurrection story became the central proclamation of the early Christian church, and the Sunday weekly observance itself — shifting the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday — derives from the original Easter event.

How Easter Sunday Is Celebrated

Easter celebrations begin in earnest with the Easter Vigil on Saturday night, the most important liturgy of the Christian year. Catholic and Anglican churches light a new fire outside, bless a large Paschal candle, and process into a darkened church, from which the candle's flame is passed to individual candles held by every worshipper. The Exsultet, an ancient hymn of praise, is sung, and the readings retell the whole arc of salvation history. At midnight or shortly after, the Gloria is sung for the first time since Lent began, and the alleluias return. On Easter Sunday morning, churches hold festive services with special music — often including Handel's Hallelujah Chorus or hymns like "Jesus Christ Is Risen Today." In Orthodox churches, the midnight service is followed by a feast that breaks the strict Lenten fast. Greeks roast lamb on spits in their yards; Russians share kulich, a sweet Easter bread, and paskha, a sweet cheese dessert. In Catholic countries like Poland, the Easter breakfast features a basket of blessed foods — eggs, sausage, bread, horseradish — that were taken to church on Holy Saturday for the Święconka blessing. Secular Easter traditions have become universal: egg hunts, chocolate bunnies, hot cross buns, and family meals. The egg, an ancient symbol of new life, has been associated with Easter since at least the 13th century. The custom of painting eggs is especially elaborate in Orthodox traditions — Ukrainian pysanky eggs are tiny works of art, with intricate patterns drawn in wax and dyed in successive colors. The White House Easter Egg Roll, held annually since 1878, is one of the most famous American Easter traditions. In Bermuda, families fly kites on Good Friday to symbolize Christ's ascension. Why Does Easter Sunday Move Every Year? The date of Easter is determined by a rule established at the Council of Nicaea in 325 CE: Easter falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon that occurs on or after the vernal equinox. The "vernal equinox" in this calculation is fixed at March 21, regardless of the actual astronomical event. The "full moon" is also an ecclesiastical calculation, not the actual astronomical full moon — it's the 14th day of the lunar month in a 19-year Metonic cycle. This is why Easter dates feel slightly off if you compare them to your wall calendar's full moon. The result of the rule is that Western Easter can fall anywhere between March 22 and April 25. The most common date is April 19. The earliest possible Easter, March 22, last occurred in 1818 and won't recur until 2285. The latest, April 25, last occurred in 1943 and will next occur in 2038. Because the calculation is fixed in advance, we can list Easter dates decades out — and they do not drift like the lunar-calendar holidays. The pattern repeats over a 5.7-million-year cycle, which is a fun fact to share at Easter dinner.

Calendar Calculation

Computus: first Sunday after the first full moon (Paschal Full Moon) on or after the vernal equinox (March 21), per Gregorian calendar rules

Traveling for Easter Sunday? Where to Go

Easter is one of the heaviest travel weekends of the year in many Christian-majority countries, especially in Europe and the Americas. In Latin America, Holy Week (Semana Santa) processions draw enormous crowds — Seville's processions are world-famous, and Guatemala's Antigua hosts one of the largest Easter parades in the world, with massive floats carried through streets covered in flower-and-sawdust carpets. In the Philippines, the Holy Week observances in San Fernando (Pampanga) include reenactments of the crucifixion that draw both pilgrims and tourists. In Greece, the island of Corfu is famous for its Easter Saturday tradition of throwing clay pots from balconies. Top destinations for this holiday: Vatican City: — A popular destination with significant celebrations and cultural events. Seville: — A popular destination with significant celebrations and cultural events. Jerusalem: — A popular destination with significant celebrations and cultural events. Rome: — A popular destination with significant celebrations and cultural events. Philippines: — A popular destination with significant celebrations and cultural events. If you're planning to travel for easter sunday, compare hotel rates and book early — accommodations in Vatican City fill up weeks before the festival. [Search hotels for Easter Sunday travel →]

Did You Know? Easter Sunday Facts & Trivia

The Easter date calculation — called the computus — was established at the Council of Nicaea in 325 CE. The formula produces a date between March 22 and April 25 for Western Christianity. The Eastern Orthodox church uses the older Julian calendar, so Orthodox Easter can fall up to five weeks later. The Easter Bunny tradition was brought to America by German immigrants in the 1700s. The original German tradition featured the "Osterhase" — an egg-laying hare — that children would make nests for. The tradition evolved into the modern Easter egg hunt. The first Easter eggs were painted red, symbolizing the blood of Christ. The Orthodox tradition of painting eggs red continues today, particularly in Greece and Russia. The practice of painting eggs in various colors and patterns is especially elaborate in Ukrainian pysanky, where eggs are decorated using a wax-resist process. Each year, the White House hosts the Easter Egg Roll on the South Lawn, a tradition dating to 1878. The event, held on Easter Monday, draws over 30,000 attendees who watch children roll Easter eggs across the lawn using long-handled spoons.