Easter is not like Christmas, which politely stays put on December 25. No, Easter is the diva of holidays – glamorous, mysterious, and determined to keep everyone guessing. Its date changes every year because it’s tied to a cosmic mash‑up of the spring equinox, the full moon, and a Sunday, which sounds less like a religious calculation and more like instructions for summoning a seasonal brunch.
The official rule – set all the way back in 325 A.D. at the Council of Nicaea – is that Easter must fall on the first Sunday after the first full moon following the spring equinox. In other words:
•Wait for spring to begin (March 20 or 21).
•Watch for the next full moon.
•Then celebrate Easter on the following Sunday.
This system is why Easter can land anywhere between March 22 and April 25. It’s also why your calendar, your pastor, and your grandmother’s almanac sometimes disagree.
The full moon that determines Easter’s date even has a fancy name: the Paschal Full Moon. In 2026, that moon shows up on April 1, which means Easter hops in right behind it on April 5.
If you’re thinking, “Wait, so Easter is basically lunar‑powered?” – yes. Easter is the original solar‑lunar crossover event, long before astrology apps made it cool.
And, just to keep things interesting, not all Christian traditions use the same calendar. Western churches, Catholic and Protestant, use the Gregorian calendar while Eastern Orthodox churches use the Julian calendar, which currently runs 13 days behind.
This means Orthodox Easter can land weeks later, sometimes even in May. It’s not a glitch – it’s tradition. And also math. Lots of math.
So, why all this complexity? Because early church leaders wanted Easter to be:
•Celebrated worldwide on the same Sunday
•Connected to the Jewish Passover timeline
•Anchored to natural signs of spring (renewal, rebirth, blooming flowers, and seasonal allergies)
•Determined by a trusted authority – originally the Church of Alexandria, which apparently had the best astronomers in the 4th century
In short, Easter’s date is a blend of theology, astronomy, and ancient committee work. And like all committee work, it produced a system that is elegant, complicated, and guaranteed to confuse future generations.
So, this year, when someone inevitably asks, “When is Easter again?” you can confidently say: “April 5, 2026 – because of the Paschal Full Moon after the spring equinox, obviously.” Then enjoy the look on their face as they wonder whether you’re brilliant… or just showing off.
However, the most important thing to remember isn’t the date of Easter. It isn’t the baskets full of pretty eggs and candy. It isn’t soft, lovable bunnies. The most important thing to remember is we are celebrating the resurrection of Jesus three days after his crucifixion, symbolizing victory over sin and death and the promise of forgiveness and eternal life.
-by Abernathy Inkwell
SOKY Guest Columnist
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