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Christianity

Easter: What It Celebrates and Why the Date Changes

Easter is Christianity’s annual celebration of the resurrection of Jesus. Its date changes because the church calendar links it to the spring equinox and a full moon.

By ThatPainter Team 1 min read
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Easter is Christianity’s annual celebration of the resurrection of Jesus, and it is observed on a Sunday. Its date changes from year to year because the church calendar sets it using a calculation tied to the spring equinox and a full moon. Western Easter Sunday in 2026 was April 5.

What Easter celebrates

Easter commemorates the resurrection of Jesus and the Christian Paschal mystery: Christ’s Passion and Resurrection. The Catholic Catechism calls Easter “that most solemn of all feasts” and the “Feast of feasts.” Those descriptions express Easter’s importance in Catholic teaching; Christian communities may describe and observe the feast in different ways.

Why Easter changes dates

In its summary of the date-setting rule, the Catholic Catechism says Easter is celebrated on the Sunday following the first full moon after the vernal, or spring, equinox. It connects this rule to the Council of Nicaea in 325 and describes the relevant full moon as the one occurring on 14 Nisan.

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Gregorian and Eastern calendar reckoning can produce different Easter dates. The Catechism attributes a discrepancy of several days to the Gregorian calendar reform. This is a concise account of the rule and the calendar difference, not a full technical history of how each tradition calculates Easter.

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How Easter is observed

Christian communities mark Easter with worship and celebration, but particular services and customs are not universal. In Catholic practice, the Easter Vigil is a night of waiting for the resurrection. The Vatican’s overview describes its Service of Light, Liturgy of the Word and Baptismal Liturgy as parts of that Catholic celebration.

Egg decorating as a seasonal custom

Decorated eggs are one custom associated with Easter. A local government calendar for April 2026 notes the custom, but it does not establish how widely it is observed or identify a single origin. Painting or decorating eggs can be a seasonal activity; it is a custom, not a requirement of Christian observance.

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