When is Easter in 2025? Easter Sunday for both orthodox and non-orthodox Christians will this year fall on Sunday, April 20, making it one of the latest dates for the holiday in recent memory. According to Timeanddate.com, the latest Easter Sunday can ever be is April 25—only five days beyond the date in 2025.
The reason? A combination of the moon’s elliptical, (easter) egg-shaped orbit of the sun and the date of a rare “Blood Moon” total lunar eclipse on March 13-14, 2025. This eclipse—visible across North America—is the final full moon before the spring equinox, setting the stage for a later Easter by delaying the “Pink Moon” or “Paschal Moon,” the full moon used to calculate Easter’s date.
If Easter being decided by celestial mechanics is a surprise, you’re not alone. However, Christianity is one of many religions that use the moon and sun to decide the dates of significant annual events. Chinese Lunar New Year, Ramadan and Passover are all tied to lunar or lunisolar calendars.
How Non-Orthodox Easter Is Calculated
Unlike Christmas, which is fixed to the Gregorian solar calendar, Easter is a lunar festival determined by a combination of the moon’s phases and the spring equinox. The rule is simple: Easter falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon occurring on or after the spring equinox (as it’s called in the Northern Hemisphere).
- This year, the spring equinox is on March 21, 2025.
- The next full moon after the equinox is the “Pink Moon” on April 13, also this year known as the “Paschal Moon” in Christian tradition.
- Easter is observed on the following Sunday, April 20.
Easter in 2024 was on March 31. The long delay this year happens because the full “Worm Moon”—the full moon that will occur during the March 13-14 total lunar eclipse—falls just before the equinox, pushing the “Paschal Moon” and Easter into mid-April.
The Role of the Moon in Calendars Worldwide
The moon’s phases have guided human calendars for millennia. In 2025, Jan. 29 marked the Chinese Lunar New Year, ushering in the Year of the Snake and beginning a 15-day celebration culminating with the Lantern Festival on the full moon on Feb. 12. Similarly, the Islamic holy month of Ramadan begins with the sighting of the crescent moon on Feb. 28, following the new moon, and concludes with Eid al-Fitr at the next crescent moon.
The Jewish festival of Passover also begins on a full moon—the 15th of Nisan, the first month of the Hebrew lunar calendar—which aligns with the Pink Moon on April 13, 2025.
Why Easter Dates Are Synchronized In 2025
Orthodox Christians celebrate Easter later than Western Christians because they use different calendars, according to History.com. The West follows the Gregorian calendar, while the Orthodox Church uses the Julian calendar. Orthodox Easter also depends on Passover, falling on the first Sunday after the first full moon following it. This places Easter Sunday between April 4 and May 8.
In 2025, for the first time since 2017, both traditions will celebrate Easter on the same date.
The ‘Blood Moon’ Total Lunar Eclipse
As well as being pivotal in determining the dates of Easter in 2025, the March 13-14, 2025, total lunar eclipse will be a standout celestial event of the year. Known colloquially as a “Blood Moon,” the eclipse will occur as the full “Worm Moon” passes through Earth’s umbral shadow, turning a reddish-orange color as it does so. Totality will last for an impressive 65 minutes and will be visible in its entirety across North and South America.
Wishing you clear skies and wide eyes.
