Why Does Easter Change Every Year?
The springtime holiday has wildly different dates from year to year.
Easter is one of those holidays that both sneaks up on you and feels like it takes forever to get here — and I blame that weird mind-game on the fact that it’s always a different day. And not even like a Thanksgiving or Mother’s Day where you can say it’s at least the second Sunday of April or something — Easter just has its own entire thing going on. In 2024, for example, Easter was April 1. In 2025, it’s a full 19 days later. So why does Easter change every year? Is there some fun little trick to remember which day it’s going to be on?
Well, get out your moon charts — you’re going to have to become an astronomer for this one. While Easter is always on a Sunday, it’s the Sunday after the Paschal Full Moon — the first full moon after the spring equinox. It feels like that should make it super easy to figure Easter out, but the spring equinox date can also vary, falling somewhere between March 19 and March 21. And depending on how the planet is rotating, a full moon could be just a few days or even weeks after the spring equinox, according to Farmer’s Almanac.
But hold on! That’s why we have ecclesiastical dates and astronomical dates! You thought this was all going to make sense, but brace yourself: the Christian Church came up with certain dates for certain events long, long ago... and sometimes those dates don’t match up with the actual astronomical dates set by science. (Hold your jokes, I know.) For example, the Christian Church has set March 21 as the ecclesiastical spring equinox date, even if sometimes the spring equinox happens on March 20, Farmer’s Almanac reports. The Christian Church also has a date set for the Paschal Full Moon, which may not match up with the actual full moon event. And when it comes to setting the Easter date, the ecclesiastical dates are observed instead of the astronomical dates.
Phew! On second thought, put those moon charts away and just wait for the Christian Church to tell us when the Easter Bunny is coming. The good thing is, Easter and spring are the perfect match, so dye eggs whenever you want, put out all the bunny tea towels, and be sure to wear plenty of gingham as soon as the spring equinox comes — even if you’re not sure what date it is.
