Easter 2023 will be observed on Sunday, April 9 . Easter, the most significant Christian festival, is a “movable feast.” Why is it different every year? What are the most frequent and unusual Easter dates? How is the date chosen? What is the origin of the term “Easter”? Find the answers to these queries on our Easter website.
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When Is Easter 2023?
This year, Easter Sunday will be observed on Sunday, April 9. This follows the Gregorian schedule. It should be noted, however, that many Eastern Orthodox religions use the Julian date rather than the Gregorian. Eastern Orthodox Easter will be celebrated on Sunday, April 16, 2023 (Julian calendar date changed to Gregorian calendar).
Easter Dates
| Year | Easter Sunday (Gregorian calendar) |
Eastern Orthodox Church (Julian calendar date converted to Gregorian) |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | April 9 | April 16 |
| 2024 | March 31 | May 5 |
| 2025 | April 20 | April 20 |
| 2026 | April 5 | April 12 |
Is Easter Always in March or April?
Easter is a “movable feast,” which means it does not occur on the same date every year. It is always celebrated on a Sunday between March 22 and April 25 in the Gregorian calender. However, in the Eastern Orthodox faith, Easter can be celebrated between April 4 and May 8.
What Is the Most Common Easter Date?
Over a 500-year span (from 1600 to 2099 AD), Easter will have been observed most frequently on March 31 or April 16.
What is the Most Unusual Easter Date?
The most uncommon Easter date, according to long-term norms, is March 22. The 24th of April takes second position, and the 23rd of March takes third place.
How Is The Date of Easter Determined?
Easter Sunday is always the first Sunday after Easter. Paschal Full Moon . What exactly is the Paschal Full Moon? This is the first Sunday after the full Moon that happens on or after the March or spring equinox .
While Christmas is based on the solar calendar (and occurs near the winter equinox), Easter is based on the Jewish moon calendar. The Last Supper (the final supper Jesus enjoyed with his disciples before his execution) was a Passover feast in the Christian faith. Because Easter is founded on a solar month (which lasts 29.5 days), the date of Easter can differ greatly.
To keep things simple, the Christian Church always uses March 21 as the spring equinox date. In reality, the equinox’s celestial timing can vary by a day or so. The calendar date of the equinox in 2023 is Monday, March 20. As a result, this is often referred to as 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?
If the full Moon falls on the same day as the spring equinox, Easter is celebrated the following Sunday. There is, however, one caveat:
As previously stated, the Christian Church chose to ease the calculation of Easter by always following the spring equinox on March 21, despite the fact that the equinox date varies over time and is actually getting earlier.
This difference between the astrological equinox date and the Church’s observed equinox date can occasionally create misunderstanding, as it did in 2019, when the full Moon and the astronomical equinox fell on the same day—Wednesday, March 20.
This should have indicated that Easter would be celebrated on Sunday, March 24th, according to the calculation above. However, because the Church marks the equinox on March 21, the full Moon did not appear “on or just after” the equinox, so the next full Moon would decide the date of Easter instead. As a result, in 2019, Easter was celebrated on Sunday, April 21, following the full Moon on Friday, April 19.
What Is the Paschal Full Moon?
The word “ Paschal, “Pascha,” a translation of the Aramaic term for “Passover,” is used in the religious (Christian church) schedule.
Paschal relates to the date of the full Moon, which was established many years ago as the 14th day of a lunar month. Certain moon movements were not taken into consideration in ancient computations (done in 325 AD).
So, according to a defined set of church calendar standards, the Paschal Full Moon is the 14th day of a lunar month happening on or after March 21, which does not always equal the date of the astronomical full Moon closest to the astronomical spring equinox.
It may appear complex, but the fundamental concept is to make calculating the date for contemporary dates easier. Rest confident, Easter times are determined far in advance. View previous and upcoming Easter days here.
What Is the Golden Number?
Readers frequently inquire about the Golden Number, which has historically been used in computations to determine the date of Easter.
The Golden Number is a number that is used to indicate the times of new Moons each year over a 19-year period.
The Moon’s stages recur every 19 years (the Metonic cycle), and the Golden Number symbolizes one year in that cycle. The cycle year can then be used to calculate the date of Easter.
To Calculate the Golden Number:
Add 1 to any given year and split by 19, making sure to round up to the closest whole number; the residue is the Golden Number. The Golden Number is 19 if there is no leftover.
For example, to calculate the Golden Number for 2022 , we add 1 to 2022 to get 2023, then split it equally by 19 to get 106 with a residual of 9. As a result, the Golden Number for 2022 is 9, indicating that 2022 is the 9th year of the Metonic era.
What Is Easter?
Easter is the most important day on the Christian calender. It upholds the most fundamental principle of the Christian faith—that Jesus Christ was raised from the grave. The rising symbolizes virtue triumphing over evil, sin, mortality, and the corporeal body.
Easter Sunday represents the conclusion of Holy Week, the end of Lent, and the final day of the Easter Triduum (which begins on Maundy Thursday evening and continues through Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and Easter Sunday), as well as the start of the ecclesiastical year’s Easter season.
Where Did the Word “Easter” Come From?
Easter, also called Pascha or Resurrection Sunday , is a celebration and holiday that commemorates Jesus’ rising from the grave.
Let us begin with Pascha (Latin), which derives straight from Pesach (Hebrew for Passover). Returning to the Hebrew Bible and the first Passover tale, Moses instructs the Israelites to kill a passover calf and put its blood on their entrance. By crossing over their doorways, the Lord shielded the Israelites from death and promised not to “allow the destroyer to enter your houses to strike you down” (Ex. 12:23).
Paul links the risen Christ to Passover in the New Testament (1 Corinthians 5:7). He alludes to Jesus as the paschal goat who was slain for the redemption of his people. Because Jesus shared the Last Supper with his followers during Passover, it stands to reason that the Feast of the Resurrection is linked to the Jewish festival. Christians commemorate the “Paschal mystery” today.
So, where did the term “Easter” originate?The precise root of the term “Easter” is unknown. It’s not as easy as claiming religious or heathen roots.
Some scholars believe it derives from the Latin term hebdomada alba, which refers to the white clothes that new Christians donned when they were immersed during Holy Week. The term esostarum evolved into Easter in Old German.
According to the Venerable Bede, a seventh-century Anglo-Saxon chronicler also known as Saint Bede, the term Easter derives from the Anglo-Saxon morning deity of fecundity Eostre, also known as the goddess of the sunrise, who started in what is now Scandinavia. Over time, early Christians began to refer to the Resurrection Feast by the name of the month in which it was observed—Eosturmonath (what we now call April).
Easter could also be derived from an ancient German term for “east,” which is derived from a Latin word for “dawn.” Historically, the term easter could mean “to turn toward the east” or “rising,” with no religious connotation.(It should be noted that, like Santa Claus, the Germans created the “Easter Bunny,” who visited “good” children’s houses.)
To summarize, no one fully understands the linguistic roots of the term “Easter.” It is one of the most ancient Old English terms.
In the end, it makes no difference whether Easter is named after the deity of the morning or the Latin term for sunrise. Easter is a Christian festival celebrated today in all languages to commemorate Christ’s resurrection—and to remember us that mortality gives rebirth.
Our Favorite Easter Recipes
Traditional Easter meals include lamb, ham, eggs, asparagus, spring peas, hot cross buns and sweet pastries, and carrot cake, as well as fresh vegetables.
We have all of the classic Easter dishes, plus some new ones! See our favorite Easter recipes.
Greek Easter Bread. Photo by Pasta/Shutterstock.
