List of dates for Easter

Last updated

Table of (Gregorian) dates of Easter 2015–2030 [1]
YearFull Moon Jewish Passover [note 1] Astronomical Easter [note 2] Gregorian Easter Julian Easter

2015April 4April 5April 12
2016March 23April 23March 27May 1
2017April 11April 16
2018March 31April 1April 8
2019March 20April 20March 24April 21April 28
2020April 8April 9April 12April 19
2021March 28April 4May 2
2022April 16April 17April 24
2023April 6April 9April 16
2024March 25April 23March 31May 5
2025April 13April 20
2026April 3April 2April 5April 12
2027March 22April 22March 28May 2
2028April 9April 11April 16
2029March 29March 31April 1April 8
2030April 17April 18April 21April 28

  1. ↑ Jewish Passover is on Nisan 15 of its calendar. It commences at sunset preceding the date indicated (as does Easter by some traditions).
  2. ↑ Astronomical Easter is the first Sunday after the astronomical full moon after the astronomical March equinox as measured at the meridian of Jerusalem according to this WCC proposal.

This is a list of dates for Easter. The Easter dates also affect when Ash Wednesday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday, the Feast of the Ascension and Pentecost occur in a given year. Easter may occur on different dates in the Gregorian Calendar (Western) and the Julian Calendar (Orthodox or Eastern). The accompanying table provides both sets of dates, for recent and forthcoming years—see the computus article for more details on the calculation.

Contents

Earliest Easter

Western (Gregorian)

In 1818 the Paschal Full Moon fell on Saturday, March 21 (the equinox). Therefore, the following day, March 22 and the 81st day of the year, was Easter. It will not fall as early again until 2285, a span of 467 years. The next earliest Easter, March 23, in that timespan occurred in 1845, 1856, 1913, and 2008. Easter will next occur on March 23 in 2160. These are gaps of 11, 57, 95 and 152 years.

The earliest week by international standard reckoning is W12, and the 12th Sunday of the year is also the earliest possible Easter Sunday.

Orthodox (Julian)

The earliest dates for Easter in the Eastern Orthodox Church between 1875 and 2099 are April 4, 1915 and April 4, 2010 (Gregorian). Both dates are equivalent to 22 March in the Julian Calendar.

Latest Easter

Western (Gregorian)

In 1943 Easter fell on Sunday, April 25, the 115th day of the year. The last ecclesiastical full moon preceding the Paschal did not occur until March 20; prior to March 21, the fixed date to which the vernal equinox is assigned for the purposes of the computus, meaning the Paschal full moon did not happen until Sunday, April 18. Consequently, Easter was the following Sunday, April 25. Easter will next occur as late again in 2038—a span of 95 years. Easter may also occur on April 25 of a leap year, i.e. the 116th day of the year, but this has never occurred since the Gregorian reforms were implemented. The first time Easter will occur on April 25 in a leap year will be in 3784. This is also the only case where Easter is in ISO week W17, otherwise all occurrences after April 18 and on this day in leap years are in W16. In several cases, Easter falls onto the latest possible, 17th Sunday of the year. The first time that Easter will fall on April 24 in a leap year will be in 4292 which is also the 115th day of the year.

The second latest date for Easter, April 24 or day 114, occurred in 2011. The last time this occurred before was in 1859 and it will not happen again until 2095—spans of 152 and 84 years. Easter also occurred on the 114th day of the year on April 23 in 2000, a leap year.

Orthodox (Julian)

The latest dates for Orthodox Easter between 1875 and 2099 are May 8, 1983, and May 8, 2078 (Gregorian). Both dates are equivalent to April 25 in the Julian Calendar. Orthodox Easter has never fallen on Gregorian May 7 yet; it will happen in 2051 unless these churches change to another calendar.

Beginning March 14, 2100 (February 29, 2100, in the Julian Calendar), the difference between the Julian and Gregorian calendars will increase to 14 days.

Western and Orthodox Easter on the same date

Despite using calendars that are apart by 13 days, Western Easter and Orthodox Easter occasionally fall on the same date, as happened in 2010, 2011, 2014, and 2017. For example, according to the Western (Gregorian) calendar, the first Paschal Full Moon after the Spring Equinox (March 21) fell on Monday, April 14, 2014. The following Sunday, April 20, was, therefore, Easter Day.

According to the Orthodox (Julian) calendar (which is 13 days behind the Gregorian calendar), the Spring Equinox also falls on March 21. However, in the Gregorian Calendar, this is April 3. The first Orthodox Full Moon after the Equinox falls on (Julian) Tuesday, April 2, 2014 (Gregorian April 15). The following Sunday, (Julian) April 7, is, therefore, Easter Day (Gregorian April 20).

Range of dates for Western and Orthodox Easter

Both calendars (Gregorian and Julian) calculate Easter as falling on dates between March 22 and April 25 on their calendars. However, because of the current 13-day difference, Western Easter falls between March 10 and April 12 on the Julian calendar. Conversely, Orthodox Easter falls between April 4 and May 8 on the Gregorian calendar.

The possible dates of Easter depend on the first day of the year and hence its dominical letter. Each type has five possible dates of Easter. Note that some feasts that depend on the date of Easter (may) occur before the leap day, e.g. Shrove Monday.

Possible dates of Easter by type of year
DL1 January1 MarchSundays in range
A SundayWednesday26 March, 2, 9, 16, 23 April
BA Saturday
B Tuesday27 March, 3, 10, 17, 24 April
CB Friday
C Monday28 March, 4, 11, 18, 25 April
DC Thursday
D Sunday22, 29 March, 5, 12, 19 April
ED Wednesday
E Saturday23, 30 March, 6, 13, 20 April
FE Tuesday
F Friday24, 31 March, 7, 14, 21 April
GF Monday
G Thursday25 March, 1, 8, 15, 22 April
AG Sunday

Sundays on the dates March 22 through April 25 in the Gregorian calendar may be the 81st through 115th day of common years or 82nd through 116th day of leap years. They occur as the last day of ISO week number W12 through W17 and are also the 12th through 17th Sunday of the year, but these numbers mismatch in some years.

Occurrences, weeks and ordinal Sundays of the 35 Gregorian Easter dates
VariantEaster SundayCountLatest [2] Next [2] DoYWeekSunday
1March 22418182285081W1212th
1*0—2972082
2March 23219132600
2*520082160083
3March 24117992391
3*119405280084
4March 25719512035
4*0—379208513th
5March 261219892062
5*117802084086
6March 27920052157
6*620162236087
7March 28619372027
7*419482032088W13
8March 29919702043
8*319642116089
9March 301419972059
9*0—2092090
10March 311620132086
10*420242176091
11April 11020182029
11*61956204009214th
12April 2919612051
12*519722056093
13April 3819942067
13*519882140094
14April 41320212083
14*119202488095W14
15April 51520152026
15*318962048096
16April 61219692042
16*519802064097
17April 7819852075
17*519962080098
18April 8820072091
18*62012216409915th
19April 9920232034
19*119442884100
20April 101619772039
20*0—2072101
21April 111519932066
21*420042088102W15
22April 121120092093
22*520202172103
23April 13819412031
23*419522036104
24April 141019742047
24*419682120105
25April 151420012063
25*0—209610616th
26April 161720172090
26*318762028107
27April 171020222033
27*619602044108
28April 18919652049
28*519762060109W16
29April 19919872071
29*519922076110
30April 201120142025
30*119242864111
31April 211420192030
31*116802052112
32April 22819732057
32*51984206811317th
33April 23119052079
33*420002152114
34April 24520112095
34*0—4292115
35April 25419432038
35*0—3784116W17

(Variants with an asterisk * are in leap years.)

Public holidays

In Hungary, Kenya, the United Kingdom (except Scotland), Hong Kong, Australia, South Africa, Slovakia, Germany, Serbia, Sweden, Switzerland and New Zealand, Easter has two public holidays, Good Friday and Easter Monday, making a four-day weekend. The movable date of Easter sometimes brings it into conflict with other, fixed or moveable, public holidays.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Easter</span> Christian commemoration of the resurrection of Jesus

Easter, also called Pascha or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in the New Testament as having occurred on the third day of his burial following his crucifixion by the Romans at Calvary c. 30 AD. It is the culmination of the Passion of Jesus Christ, preceded by Lent, a 40-day period of fasting, prayer, and penance.

Reform of the date of Easter refers to proposals to change the date for the annual celebration of Easter. These proposals include setting a fixed date or agreeing between Eastern and Western Christendom a common basis for calculating the date of Easter so that all Christians celebrate the Festival on the same day. As of 2023, no such agreement has been reached.

A common year starting on Sunday is any non-leap year that begins on Sunday, 1 January, and ends on Sunday, 31 December. Its dominical letter hence is A. The most recent year of such kind was 2023 and the next one will be 2034 in the Gregorian calendar, or, likewise, 2018 and 2029 in the obsolete Julian calendar, see below for more.

A common year starting on Friday is any non-leap year that begins on Friday, 1 January, and ends on Friday, 31 December. Its dominical letter hence is C. The most recent year of such kind was 2021 and the next one will be 2027 in the Gregorian calendar, or, likewise, 2022 and 2033 in the obsolete Julian calendar, see below for more. This common year is one of the three possible common years in which a century year can begin on, and occurs in century years that yield a remainder of 100 when divided by 400. The most recent such year was 1700 and the next one will be 2100.

A common year starting on Monday is any non-leap year that begins on Monday, 1 January, and ends on Monday, 31 December. Its dominical letter hence is G. The most recent year of such kind was 2018 and the next one will be 2029 in the Gregorian calendar, or likewise, 2019 and 2030 in the Julian calendar, see below for more. This common year is one of the three possible common years in which a century year can begin on and occurs in century years that yield a remainder of 300 when divided by 400. The most recent such year was 1900 and the next one will be 2300.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Date of Easter</span> Calculation of its date

As a moveable feast, the date of Easter is determined in each year through a calculation known as computus. Easter is celebrated on the first Sunday after the Paschal full moon. Determining this date in advance requires a correlation between the lunar months and the solar year, while also accounting for the month, date, and weekday of the Julian or Gregorian calendar. The complexity of the algorithm arises because of the desire to associate the date of Easter with the date of the Jewish feast of Passover which, Christians believe, is when Jesus was crucified.

Dominical letters or Sunday letters are a method used to determine the day of the week for particular dates. When using this method, each year is assigned a letter depending on which day of the week the year starts. The Dominical letter for the current year 2024 is GF.

A leap year starting on Sunday is any year with 366 days that begins on Sunday, 1 January, and ends on Monday, 31 December. Its dominical letters hence are AG. The most recent year of such kind was 2012 and the next one will be 2040 in the Gregorian calendar or, likewise 2024 and 2052 in the obsolete Julian calendar.

A common year starting on Tuesday is any non-leap year that begins on Tuesday, 1 January, and ends on Tuesday, 31 December. Its dominical letter hence is F. The most recent year of such kind was 2019 and the next one will be 2030, or, likewise, 2014 and 2025 in the obsolete Julian calendar, see below for more.

A leap year starting on Monday is any year with 366 days that begins on Monday, 1 January, and ends on Tuesday, 31 December. Its dominical letters hence are GF. The current year, 2024, is a leap year starting on Monday in the Gregorian calendar. The last such year was 1996 and the next such year will be 2052 in the Gregorian calendar or, likewise, 2008 and 2036 in the obsolete Julian calendar. 29 February falls on Thursday.

A common year starting on Wednesday is any non-leap year that begins on Wednesday, 1 January, and ends on Wednesday, 31 December. Its dominical letter hence is E. The most recent year of such kind was 2014, and the next one will be 2025 in the Gregorian calendar or, likewise, 2015 and 2026 in the obsolete Julian calendar, see below for more. This common year is one of the three possible common years in which a century year can begin on, and occurs in century years that yield a remainder of 200 when divided by 400. The most recent such year was 1800 and the next one will be 2200.

A leap year starting on Tuesday is any year with 366 days that begins on Tuesday, 1 January, and ends on Wednesday, 31 December. Its dominical letters hence are FE. The most recent year of such kind was 2008 and the next one will be 2036 in the Gregorian calendar or, likewise 2020 and 2048 in the obsolete Julian calendar.

A common year starting on Saturday is any non-leap year that begins on Saturday, 1 January, and ends on Saturday, 31 December. Its dominical letter hence is B. The most recent year of such kind was 2022 and the next one will be 2033 in the Gregorian calendar or, likewise, 2023 and 2034 in the obsolete Julian calendar. See below for more.

A common year starting on Thursday is any non-leap year that begins on Thursday, 1 January, and ends on Thursday, 31 December. Its dominical letter hence is D. The most recent year of such kind was 2015 and the next one will be 2026 in the Gregorian calendar or, likewise, 2021 and 2027 in the obsolete Julian calendar, see below for more.

A leap year starting on Saturday is any year with 366 days that begins on Saturday, 1 January, and ends on Sunday, 31 December. Its dominical letters hence are BA. The most recent year of such kind was 2000 and the next one will be 2028 in the Gregorian calendar or, likewise 2012 and 2040 in the obsolescent Julian calendar. In the Gregorian calendar, years divisible by 400 are always leap years starting on Saturday. The most recent such occurrence was 2000 and the next one will be 2400, see below for more.

A leap year starting on Friday is any year with 366 days that begins on Friday 1 January and ends on Saturday 31 December. Its dominical letters hence are CB. The most recent year of such kind was 2016 and the next one will be 2044 in the Gregorian calendar or, likewise, 2000 and 2028 in the obsolete Julian calendar.

A leap year starting on Thursday is any year with 366 days that begins on Thursday 1 January, and ends on Friday 31 December. Its dominical letters hence are DC. The most recent year of such kind was 2004 and the next one will be 2032 in the Gregorian calendar or, likewise, 2016 and 2044 in the obsolete Julian calendar.

A leap year starting on Wednesday is any year with 366 days that begins on Wednesday 1 January and ends on Thursday 31 December. Its dominical letters hence are ED. The most recent year of such kind was 2020 and the next one will be 2048 in the Gregorian calendar, or likewise, 2004 and 2032 in the obsolete Julian calendar, see below for more.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paschal Triduum</span> Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and Easter Sunday

The Paschal Triduum or Easter Triduum, Holy Triduum, or the Three Days, is the period of three days that begins with the liturgy on the evening of Maundy Thursday, reaches its high point in the Easter Vigil, and closes with evening prayer on Easter Sunday. It is a moveable observance recalling the Passion, Crucifixion, Death, burial, and Resurrection of Jesus, as portrayed in the canonical Gospels.

The World Council of Churches proposed a reform of the method of determining the date of Easter at a summit in Aleppo, Syria, in March 1997.

References

  1. ↑ "Towards a Common Date for Easter". Aleppo, Syria: World Council of Churches (WCC) / Middle East Council of Churches Consultation (MECC). 10 March 1997.
  2. 1 2 Robert H. van Gent. "Easter Sunday Frequencies". Perpetual Easter and Passover Calculator.
  3. ↑ "Royal Wedding Bank Holiday in the United Kingdom". Archived from the original on 2017-04-15. Retrieved 2017-04-15.
  4. ↑ "Irish bishops move St. Patrick's Day 2008 over conflict with Holy Week". Catholic News Agency . July 19, 2007. Archived from the original on April 6, 2021. Retrieved April 1, 2018.
  5. ↑ "National Holidays in Australia in 2021". Office Holidays. January 2021. Archived from the original on 2021-07-31. Retrieved 2021-05-31.
  6. ↑ "GovHK: General holidays for 2021". GovHK (www.gov.hk). Archived from the original on 2021-06-12. Retrieved 2021-05-31.
  7. ↑ "Easter Monday in the United States". TimeAndDate.com. Archived from the original on December 11, 2016. Retrieved October 25, 2016.
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