Why Easter moves
Easter celebrates the resurrection of Jesus, and unlike most holidays it has no fixed date. Western churches set it as the first Sunday after the first full moon on or after March 21. That produces a date anywhere from March 22 to April 25.
The moon in that rule is not the one you see in the sky. It is an “ecclesiastical” full moon taken from tables agreed centuries ago, so the church date can differ from what a telescope would suggest. The result always lands on a Sunday.
How this page works it out
The page uses the standard Gregorian calculation for Western Easter, the method followed by the Catholic Church and Western Protestant churches. Eastern Orthodox churches generally calculate Easter by the older Julian calendar, so their Easter is often later, and in some years it falls on the same day as Western Easter. This countdown is for Western Easter Sunday.
Days tied to Easter
Many dates are set from Easter. Ash Wednesday, the start of Lent, comes 46 days before Easter Sunday, Good Friday is two days before it, and Pentecost comes 49 days after it. Good Friday is a general holiday in Alberta, which makes it the first holiday after Family Day and turns Easter into a long weekend for many people.
How people mark it
Churches hold services on Good Friday and Easter Sunday, many families gather for a meal, and children hunt for eggs. Eggs are widely linked to new life, and chocolate eggs became popular much more recently, but the origins of the Easter egg and Easter bunny customs are not settled. Lent, the weeks of fasting and reflection before Easter, ends before Easter Sunday itself.
Planning ahead
Because Easter can move by more than a month, schools, churches, travellers and shops plan around it early. The countdown shows how long you have to book travel or order for a family meal. Use the countdown timer for cooking times, the clock for service times, or embed the countdown on a church or school page. St. Patrick’s Day comes before it every year, and Victoria Day follows.
More countdowns
Need a different date? Use the countdown to any date or count up with time since a date.
Questions
What date is Easter this year?
Easter Sunday is always between March 22 and April 25, and it moves every year. The countdown above works out the next Western Easter from the church’s rule, so it is right for the current year without any lookup.
How is the date of Easter decided?
Western churches set Easter on the first Sunday after the first full moon on or after March 21. The full moon used is an ecclesiastical one calculated from tables, not the astronomical one, which is why the rule always gives a date in the same range.
Why is Orthodox Easter on a different day?
Eastern Orthodox churches generally calculate Easter using the Julian calendar, which runs behind the Gregorian calendar. The two Easters are often one or more weeks apart and sometimes fall on the same day. This page counts to Western Easter.
Is Good Friday a holiday in Alberta?
Yes. Good Friday, two days before Easter Sunday, is one of Alberta’s general holidays. Easter Sunday itself falls on a weekend. Check with your employer about how the holiday applies to your own job.