Easter Date Calculator (Any Year)
Find the date of Easter Sunday for any year, using the Gregorian (Western) or Julian (Orthodox) computus.
Result
- Easter SundayApril 5, 2026
- Day of weekSunday
- CalendarGregorian (Western)
- Good FridayApril 3
- Ash Wednesday (46 days before)February 18
Step-by-step
- Easter is the first Sunday after the ecclesiastical full moon on or after March 21.
- Gregorian computus for 2026 gives April 5.
- That is a Sunday; Good Friday is two days earlier.
How to use this calculator
- Enter the year you want.
- Choose the Gregorian (Western) or Julian (Orthodox) calendar.
- Read the Easter Sunday date and day of week.
- See related dates: Good Friday and Ash Wednesday.
About this calculator
Easter is a moveable feast: its date changes every year because it is defined relative to the moon, not a fixed calendar day. The rule, set by the Council of Nicaea, is that Easter falls on the first Sunday after the ecclesiastical full moon that occurs on or after March 21 (the nominal spring equinox). Computing it requires the "computus," a centuries-old algorithm. This calculator implements both the Gregorian computus, which gives the Western Easter observed by Catholic and Protestant churches, and the Julian computus, which gives the Orthodox Easter (shown converted to the Gregorian calendar for easy comparison). Because the two traditions use different equinox and full-moon reckonings, their Easters can fall on the same day or differ by as much as five weeks. The tool also derives related dates — Good Friday and the start of Lent on Ash Wednesday.
How it works — the formula
Easter = first Sunday after the ecclesiastical full moon on/after March 21
Gregorian: Anonymous computus algorithm
Julian: Meeus algorithm (then +offset to Gregorian)The computus locates the paschal full moon and the following Sunday; the Julian result is shifted to the Gregorian calendar for display.
Worked examples
- Inputs:
- year=2026, calendar=gregorian
- Output:
- April 5, 2026 (Sunday)
- Inputs:
- year=2025, calendar=gregorian
- Output:
- April 20, 2025
- Inputs:
- year=2024, calendar=gregorian
- Output:
- March 31, 2024
Limitations
- Julian (Orthodox) date is converted to Gregorian using the century offset.
- Valid from 326 CE onward.
- Ecclesiastical full moon is an approximation, not the astronomical moon.
Algorithmic computus; matches published Western and Orthodox Easter tables.