🐰 Easter Date Calculator
By ToolNimba Editorial Team · Updated 2026-06-19
Gregorian calendar, valid for 1583 and later.
Enter a year to find the date of Easter Sunday.
Easter Sunday does not fall on a fixed calendar date: it moves every year, which is why it is called a movable feast. This calculator works out the exact date of Easter Sunday for any year you enter, using the standard Gregorian Computus algorithm that the Western church follows. Type a year, and you will see the Easter date, a confirmation that it lands on a Sunday, and the dates for the years just before and after so you can plan ahead.
What is the Easter Date Calculator?
Easter is the Christian celebration of the resurrection of Jesus, and unlike Christmas it has no fixed date. The rule, set at the First Council of Nicaea in 325 AD, is that Easter falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon (the Paschal full moon) that occurs on or after the spring equinox, which is fixed for this purpose at 21 March. Because that depends on both the solar calendar and a lunar cycle, the date drifts from year to year.
Working this out by hand is awkward, so astronomers and mathematicians developed the Computus, a step-by-step calculation for the date of Easter. The version used here is the Anonymous Gregorian algorithm, sometimes credited to Gauss and refined by later writers. It uses only integer arithmetic on the year: it derives the golden number, the century corrections, the epact (the age of the Moon), and the dominical letter, then combines them to give the month and day. It is exact for the Gregorian calendar and is the method most software uses.
The result always lands between 22 March and 25 April inclusive. The earliest possible date, 22 March, last happened in 1818 and will not return until 2285; the latest, 25 April, occurred in 1886 and 1943. Eastern Orthodox churches usually celebrate Easter on a different date because they base the calculation on the older Julian calendar, so this Gregorian calculator gives the Western (Catholic and Protestant) date.
When to use it
- Planning holidays, school terms, or travel around the long Easter weekend in a future year.
- Scheduling church services, choir practice, or community events that depend on the Easter date.
- Setting retail, marketing, or seasonal campaign dates that anchor to Easter rather than a fixed day.
- Settling a curiosity or a trivia question about which day Easter fell on in a past or future year.
How to use the Easter Date Calculator
- Enter the year you want (any year from 1583 onward, where the Gregorian rule applies).
- Read off the Easter Sunday date shown in the result panel.
- Note the weekday confirmation: Easter is always a Sunday.
- Use the This year or Next year buttons for quick lookups, and check the surrounding-years table for context.
Formula & method
Worked examples
Find the date of Easter Sunday in 2026.
- a = 2026 mod 19 = 12
- b = floor(2026 ÷ 100) = 20, c = 2026 mod 100 = 26
- d = 5, e = 0, f = 0, g = 7
- h = (19×12 + 20 − 5 − 7 + 15) mod 30 = 251 mod 30 = 11
- i = 6, k = 2, l = (32 + 0 + 12 − 11 − 2) mod 7 = 31 mod 7 = 3, m = 0
- month = floor((11 + 3 − 0 + 114) ÷ 31) = floor(128 ÷ 31) = 4 (April); day = (128 mod 31) + 1 = 4 + 1 = 5
Result: Easter Sunday 2026 is April 5, 2026.
Find the date of Easter Sunday in 2024.
- a = 2024 mod 19 = 10
- b = 20, c = 24, d = 5, e = 0, f = 0, g = 7
- h = (190 + 20 − 5 − 7 + 15) mod 30 = 213 mod 30 = 3
- i = 6, k = 0, l = (32 + 0 + 12 − 3 − 0) mod 7 = 41 mod 7 = 6, m = 0
- month = floor((3 + 6 + 114) ÷ 31) = floor(123 ÷ 31) = 3 (March); day = (123 mod 31) + 1 = 30 + 1 = 31
Result: Easter Sunday 2024 was March 31, 2024.
Date of Easter Sunday (Western, Gregorian) for recent and upcoming years
| Year | Easter Sunday |
|---|---|
| 2024 | March 31 |
| 2025 | April 20 |
| 2026 | April 5 |
| 2027 | March 28 |
| 2028 | April 16 |
| 2029 | April 1 |
| 2030 | April 21 |
Easter facts and limits
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Earliest possible date | March 22 (last in 1818) |
| Latest possible date | April 25 (last in 1943) |
| Always falls on | A Sunday |
| Rule set at | Council of Nicaea, 325 AD |
| Calendar used here | Gregorian (Western churches) |
Common mistakes to avoid
- Expecting Easter on a fixed date. Easter is a movable feast tied to the spring full moon, so it shifts each year and can land anywhere from 22 March to 25 April. There is no single calendar date to memorize.
- Confusing Western and Orthodox Easter. Eastern Orthodox churches calculate Easter on the Julian calendar, so their date usually differs from the Western date and can be up to several weeks later. This tool gives the Gregorian (Western) date.
- Using the equinox as the actual astronomical event. The rule fixes the equinox at 21 March for church purposes, not the true astronomical equinox (which can fall on 19 or 20 March). Mixing the two up can shift your answer by a full lunar month.
- Applying the Gregorian rule to years before 1583. The Gregorian calendar began in October 1582, so the Computus used here is only valid from 1583 onward. Earlier years need the Julian calculation, which gives a different date.
Glossary
- Computus
- The set of calculations used to determine the date of Easter from the year, combining solar and lunar cycles.
- Movable feast
- A religious observance whose date changes from year to year rather than falling on a fixed calendar date.
- Paschal full moon
- The first full moon falling on or after the church spring equinox (fixed at 21 March); Easter is the Sunday after it.
- Epact
- The age of the Moon, in days, on a reference date, used in the Computus to locate the Paschal full moon.
- Golden number
- A value from 1 to 19 marking the year position in the 19-year Metonic lunar cycle, used to track moon phases.
- Gregorian calendar
- The civil calendar introduced in 1582 and now in worldwide use; the Western Easter date is based on it.
Frequently asked questions
When is Easter this year?
Click the This year button in the calculator to see the exact date. Easter is a movable feast, so it changes annually: for example it falls on April 5 in 2026 and March 28 in 2027. The date is always a Sunday between 22 March and 25 April.
How is the date of Easter calculated?
Easter is the first Sunday after the first full moon (the Paschal full moon) that falls on or after the spring equinox, which the church fixes at 21 March. This calculator turns that rule into exact arithmetic using the Anonymous Gregorian Computus algorithm.
Why does Easter change date every year?
Because the rule depends on a full moon, which follows the lunar cycle, not the fixed solar calendar. The Moon and the calendar do not line up evenly, so the Sunday that satisfies the rule lands on a different date each year.
What are the earliest and latest possible dates for Easter?
In the Gregorian calendar, Easter can fall no earlier than 22 March and no later than 25 April. The earliest, 22 March, last occurred in 1818, and the latest, 25 April, last occurred in 1943.
Why is Orthodox Easter on a different day?
Eastern Orthodox churches base their calculation on the older Julian calendar rather than the Gregorian one, so their Easter usually falls on a different Sunday, sometimes the same day and sometimes several weeks later. This tool gives the Western date.
Does this calculator work for any year?
It works for any year from 1583 onward, the period in which the Gregorian Easter rule applies. Years before the calendar reform of 1582 used the Julian calculation, which gives different dates and is not covered here.