The Easter Bunny was incorporated into the celebration of Easter separately from Christian traditions.
Despite the recent cold temperatures, a spring holiday will soon be right around the corner.
Easter is typically of fun activities, and in some years the spring holiday also provides a welcome amount of sunshine and good weather after a long winter in the city and suburbs.
Watch NBC 5 free wherever you are
WATCH HEREBut when is Easter in 2025, and how is it determined when the holiday takes place?
When is Easter in 2025?
Get top local stories in DFW delivered to you every morning with NBC DFW's News Headlines newsletter.
SIGN UP This year, Easter will take place on Sunday, April 20. That is actually one of the latest possible dates that the holiday can occur, but what determines when the holiday is observed?
How is the date of Easter determined?
The calculation used to determine the date of Easter is known as “Computus” or “computus paschalis,” and is used by churches to determine the date on which the observance will fall.
Holidays
From gift guides to local events, we're here to help you celebrate in style.
Most of the time, that date is simply the first Sunday following the first full moon after the spring equinox. This year, the spring equinox is on Thursday, March 20, and the first full moon following that date is on Saturday, April 12 in the U.S. and April 13 in most of the world.
Those dates would line up with April 20 being the date of Easter, but there is a bit of a catch to the calculation. When determining the date of Easter, the church uses what’s known as “ecclesiastical dates,” with the spring equinox always taking place on March 21, regardless of when the astronomical equinox takes place.
The church also uses "lunar months" instead of the Gregorian Calendar to calculate Easter, which throws another wrinkle into the mix.
To help ease confusion, the Christian church uses a Computus table to determine the date of Easter.
This year, the “Paschal Full Moon” date is April 13, and as a result Easter is on April 20. Next year, the full moon will take place on April 2, meaning Easter will be on April 5.
Easter in 2027 will take place on March 28.
