What are Easter dates 2023?

As well as being one of the most significant observances in the Christian calendar, Easter brings an eagerly-awaited long weekend for many in the UK.

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  • Why does the date of Easter change every year?
  • How was the Easter date decided?
  • Why do different churches celebrate Easter on different dates?
  • Holidays before and after Easter Sunday 2023 United States
  • What are Easter dates 2023?
  • What are Easter dates 2023 in UK?
  • What are Easter dates for 2024?
  • Does Hong Kong celebrate Easter?

Its date, and those of the accompanying bank holidays, are therefore always worth keeping in the diary.

However, it’s possible to get caught out because its position in the calendar changes each year – here’s when Easter falls in 2023, and how its date is calculated.

Easter Sunday falls on 9 April in 2023, just over a week earlier than this year, when it’s on 17 April.

Unlike in 2022, when Easter is arriving towards the end of the school holidays, next year’s celebrations should come about midway through the break.

It means that Good Friday will be on Friday 7 April, marking a bank holiday across the UK.

Easter Monday will then be on Monday 10 April, which will complete a four-day weekend for people in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

It’s not actually a nationwide bank holiday in Scotland, although various councils do claim it as one, such as Edinburgh, Falkirk and Dundee.

This year, Easter Sunday falls on 17 April (Photo: Bettmann Archive/Getty Images)

Why does the date of Easter change every year?

The date of Easter changes each year because it is based on the lunar cycle. Easter Sunday always falls on the Sunday after the first full moon following the Spring equinox in March.

We now use the solar, Gregorian calendar rather than a lunar one, which means the full moon occurs on different dates each year, and therefore so does Easter.

Dr Greg Brown, astronomer at the Royal Observatory Greenwich, said Easter is based on a combination of the seven-day week and the cycle of the phases of the Moon.

“The March equinox is the date when the sun crosses from the southern hemisphere of the sky to the northern hemisphere marking the beginning of spring.

“The day and night of the equinox are of approximately equal length. As neither the calendar year (365 days) nor the cycle of the phases of the Moon (29.5 days) divide evenly by the seven-day week, the date of Easter Sunday can move irregularly by up to a month, from between late March and late April.”

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How was the Easter date decided?

The decision on how and when Easter should fall each year was made by the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD, the first major church council.

As the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus happened after Passover, some early Christians decided to celebrate it then – on the 14th of the month of Nisan (from the Assyrian and Hebrew calendars). This correlates with March or April in the Gregorian calendar (named after Pope Gregory XIII), which is what we use today.

Other early Christians preferred to celebrate on a Sunday because it is thought Jesus’s tomb was found on this day, according to Brent Landau, a lecturer in religious studies at the University of Texas.

The Council of Nicaea was asked to resolve this. It decided Easter should be after the first full moon following the March equinox.

Why do different churches celebrate Easter on different dates?

It’s down to using different calendars.

Eastern Churches (Greek and Slavic) and Oriental Churches (Syrian, Armenian, Coptic Egyptian and Ethiopian) continued using the Julian Calendar, named after Julius Caesar, even after Europe adopted the Gregorian Calendar in 1582.

“This is why even now Easter is calculated differently by the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox Churches to the Catholic and other western Churches,” said theology and religion Professor Emma Loosely, from the University of Exeter.

“Easter is only ever celebrated by all Christians on the relatively rare occasions when the two calendars align,” she added.

Easter last took place on the same day last year for both Christian Churches in 2017, but this will not happen again until 2034.

  1. Holidays United States
  2. » Easter Sunday

Easter Sunday is no public holiday in 2023 in United States.

Date

Year

WeekdayDay

Name

Type

States

CW

Vacation

April 04

2021

Sunday

Easter Sunday

unofficial

all

CW 13

April 17

2022

Sunday

Easter Sunday

unofficial

all

CW 15

April 09

2023

Sunday

Easter Sunday

unofficial

all

CW 14

March 31

2024

Sunday

Easter Sunday

unofficial

all

CW 13

April 20

2025

Sunday

Easter Sunday

unofficial

all

CW 16

April 05

2026

Sunday

Easter Sunday

unofficial

all

CW 14

March 28

2027

Sunday

Easter Sunday

unofficial

all

CW 12

Holidays before and after Easter Sunday 2023 United States

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What are Easter dates 2023?

For example, in 2023, the vernal equinox is on 20th March and the following full moon is on 6th April. Therefore, Easter is on the 9th. I'll repeat for emphasis, so you don't forget: Easter Sunday is on 9th April 2023!

What are Easter dates 2023 in UK?

In 2023, Easter Sunday falls on April 9, 2023, just over a week earlier than in 2022, when it fell on April 17.

What are Easter dates for 2024?

Easter for the year 2024 is celebrated/ observed on Sunday, March 31st.

Does Hong Kong celebrate Easter?

People in Hong Kong celebrate Easter more avidly. This is partly because of their English traditions, and partly because there are a lot of Christians, established churches, and foreign Christian expats living there.

What Sunday is Easter in 2023?

Easter Sunday is on 9th April 2023! This full moon is also known as the 'pink moon', better known in the Jewish calendar as the start of Pesach or Passover.

What are Easter dates for 2024?

Easter for the year 2024 is celebrated/ observed on Sunday, March 31st.

What day is Easter in 2022 and 2023?

This year, Easter will be observed on Sunday, April 17. ... Easter Dates..

Does the date change for Easter every year?

As a moveable feast, the date of Easter is determined in each year through a calculation known as computus (Latin for "computation"). Easter is celebrated on the first Sunday after the Paschal full moon, which is the first full moon on or after 21 March (a fixed approximation of the March equinox).