If you’ve already started glancing at next year's calendar to plan a spring break trip or a family brunch, you probably noticed something a bit jarring. Easter Sunday 2025 falls on April 20. That is late. Honestly, it’s about as late as the holiday can possibly get without bumping into May.
Most years, we're hunting for eggs in late March or maybe the first week of April. But 2025 is doing its own thing. Because of the way the lunar cycle interacts with the Gregorian calendar, we are looking at a "late Easter" year, which changes everything from school break schedules to when you should probably book that ham at the local butcher.
It's weird, right? One year it's freezing and we're wearing coats over our Sunday best, and the next, we're basically in full-blown late-spring heat. There is a very specific, ancient reason for this drift, and it’s not just some random decision made by a calendar committee in an office building somewhere.
The Moon, the Equinox, and the Date of Easter Sunday 2025
So, why the wait?
To understand why Easter Sunday 2025 lands on April 20, you have to look at the Council of Nicaea. Back in A.D. 325, a bunch of church leaders decided that Easter should be observed on the first Sunday following the first full moon after the vernal equinox. In plain English: we wait for spring to officially start, then we wait for a full moon, and then we go to the next Sunday.
In 2025, the spring equinox is on March 20. However, the "Paschal Full Moon"—that’s the technical term for the first full moon of spring—doesn't show up until Sunday, April 13. Since the rule says the holiday must be the following Sunday, we push all the way to the 20th.
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It’s kind of a "perfect storm" for a late date. If that full moon had happened just a few days earlier, we’d be celebrating in March. Instead, we’re almost three weeks deep into April. This timing matters because it dictates the entire liturgical season. Ash Wednesday will land on March 5, 2025, meaning Lent is going to feel like it lasts forever because it stretches so far into the warmer months.
How This Late Date Messes With Your Travel Plans
If you’re a parent, this April 20 date is a big deal. Usually, "Spring Break" and Easter have a bit of a tug-of-war. Some school districts tie their week off to the holiday; others stick to a fixed week in March.
In 2025, since Easter Sunday 2025 is so late, many schools might actually have two separate breaks or one very awkwardly timed one. If you’re planning a trip to Disney or a beach destination, you need to look at the "Spring Break" clusters. Usually, the peak crowds hit when the holiday aligns with the mid-March break. Since they are separated in 2025, you might actually find a "sweet spot" for travel in late March where crowds are thinner, even though the holiday itself is still weeks away.
But wait. There's a flip side.
Because April 20 is so late, the weather in the Northern Hemisphere is generally much more reliable. You aren't gambling on a freak snowstorm in the Northeast or Midwest. It’s actually likely to feel like spring. This makes outdoor sunrise services and backyard egg hunts significantly more pleasant than the shivering-in-the-mud affairs we sometimes deal with in March.
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The "Great Convergence" of 2025
Here is something most people don't realize: 2025 is actually a very special year for the Christian world.
Usually, Western Christianity (which uses the Gregorian calendar) and Eastern Orthodox Christianity (which often uses the Julian calendar) celebrate Easter on different Sundays. Sometimes they are a week apart; sometimes they are more than a month apart. It’s confusing and, frankly, makes planning multi-denominational family gatherings a nightmare.
However, Easter Sunday 2025 is one of those rare years where the dates align. Both Western and Orthodox Easters fall on April 20.
This doesn't happen often. The last time the dates coincided was 2017, and after 2025, it won't happen again until 2028. There is actually a lot of high-level discussion in the Vatican and the Ecumenical Patriarchate about using this 2025 coincidence—which also happens to be the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea—to find a way to permanently fix the date so they always match. Whether that actually happens is anyone's guess, but for one year, at least, everyone is on the same page.
Real-World Impact: From Florists to Farmers
You wouldn't think a calendar date affects the economy that much, but it really does.
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Florists hate a March Easter. It's hard to get lilies and spring blooms to cooperate when the ground is still frozen in half the country. But an April 20 Easter? That's a goldmine for the floral industry. Everything is in bloom. The supply chain is smoother.
Retailers, on the other hand, have a love-hate relationship with late Easters. A late date usually means a longer "spring selling season." People have more time to buy candy, decorations, and new clothes. However, it also compresses the time between Easter and Mother's Day, which can be a logistical headache for shipping and inventory.
Basically, if you’re planning on buying a specific type of chocolate or a certain color of ham, you’ve got plenty of time to prep, but don't expect the "clearance" sales to last long before they start putting out the May flowers and graduation gear.
What You Should Do Right Now
Since we know the date is April 20, you can actually be productive about it. Don't wait until April to figure out the logistics.
- Check the school calendar immediately. If your kids' school ties break to Easter, you are looking at a very late vacation. If they don't, you might have a random Monday off in April that catches you by surprise.
- Book travel for March instead. If you want to avoid the "Easter crowd," travel in the last two weeks of March. Most people will be waiting for the holiday weekend to travel, leaving the mid-month window slightly more open.
- Gardening prep. If you're a gardener, a late Easter is your best friend. You can actually plant your pansies and cold-hardy annuals well before the holiday, so your yard looks established by the time the family comes over for brunch.
- Restaurant Reservations. Seriously. April 20 is also right in the middle of peak wedding and prom season in many areas. If you have a favorite brunch spot, mark your calendar to call them in early February.
The fact that Easter Sunday 2025 is so late isn't just a trivia point. It changes the rhythm of the first half of the year. We get a longer winter-to-spring transition, a unified global celebration between different church traditions, and—hopefully—much better weather for finding those hidden plastic eggs in the grass.
Prepare for a long Lent and a very green April. Usually, we're rushing into spring, but in 2025, we get to take our time.
Actionable Insight: Verify your local school district's "Spring Break" dates today. Because Easter is so late in 2025, many districts are decoupling the holiday from the vacation week, which could leave you without childcare on the Monday after Easter (April 21) if you haven't planned ahead.