Easter
Easter, also called Resurrection Sunday, is the Christian celebration of Jesus Christ rising from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. Easter 2027 falls on Sunday, March 28, 2027, and Orthodox Easter is May 2, 2027. It is the oldest and most important feast of the Christian year.
When Is Easter?
What Easter Means
Easter is the most important day in the Christian calendar. Without the resurrection, the Apostle Paul wrote, faith would be vain, and Christians would be of all men most miserable (1 Corinthians 15:17-19). But the tomb was empty. Jesus rose bodily from the dead on the third day, defeating sin and death and opening the way for every human being to be reconciled to God. The resurrection is not a metaphor or a spiritual concept, it is a historical claim that the early church staked their lives on, and that transformed a movement of frightened disciples into a force that spread across the known world within a generation. Easter is not merely a spring holiday; it is the day that changes what death means for every person who has ever lived.
Easter in the Bible
“And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.”
“For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:”
“But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.”
How Easter Is Observed
Easter is observed with sunrise services held at dawn to commemorate the early morning discovery of the empty tomb. Churches hold their largest services of the year, often with special music and flowers. Many families gather for Easter dinners featuring lamb as a symbol of Christ the Lamb of God. Easter egg traditions, while not biblical in origin, have become associated with new life and resurrection. Easter is preceded by Holy Week, the most sacred week of the Christian year.
Catholic
Catholics begin Easter at the Easter Vigil on Saturday night and celebrate Masses throughout Easter Sunday. The Easter season lasts fifty days, to Pentecost, and the first eight days, the Easter Octave, are each celebrated as a solemnity.
Orthodox
Orthodox Christians call Easter Pascha, the feast of feasts. The midnight service begins with a candlelit procession and the greeting Christ is risen, answered Truly he is risen. Orthodox churches use the Julian calendar to calculate the date, so Pascha often falls later than Western Easter.
Protestant
Protestant churches celebrate Easter as the high point of the year, often with sunrise services recalling the women at the tomb at dawn, along with hymns such as Christ the Lord Is Risen Today. Anglicans list Easter Day first among the principal feasts.
Where It Falls in the Christian Year
Easter follows Good Friday and opens the fifty days that end at Pentecost. Paul's summary of the resurrection is in 1 Corinthians 15.
Easter FAQ
When is Easter 2027?
Easter 2027 is Sunday, March 28, 2027. Orthodox Easter is May 2, 2027. In 2028, Western Easter falls on April 16, 2028 and Orthodox Easter on April 16, 2028.
How is the date of Easter decided?
Western churches celebrate Easter on the first Sunday after the first full moon on or after March 21, using church tables rather than astronomical observation. Easter can fall between March 22 and April 25. The Council of Nicaea in 325 settled that all churches should keep Easter on the same Sunday.
Why do Orthodox and Western Christians celebrate Easter on different dates?
Orthodox churches calculate Easter with the older Julian calendar, while Catholic and Protestant churches use the Gregorian calendar. The two methods sometimes agree, as they did in 2025, but Orthodox Easter is often one, four or five weeks later.
What does Easter celebrate?
Easter celebrates the resurrection of Jesus. The Gospels say women came to the tomb early on the first day of the week and found it empty, and an angel told them, He is not here: for he is risen, as he said (Matthew 28:6).
Why is Easter called Resurrection Sunday?
Some Christians prefer the name Resurrection Sunday because it names the event at the center of the day. Easter is the traditional English name, and both refer to the same feast.
How long is the Easter season?
In the church calendar, Easter is a fifty-day season that runs from Easter Sunday to Pentecost. Forty days in, it includes the Ascension of Jesus.
Sources
- Scripture quotations: the King James Version, from our KJV Bible.
- USCCB, Liturgical Calendar for the Dioceses of the United States, 2027
- Orthodox Church in America, Easter Sunday, the Holy Pascha
- Encyclopaedia Britannica, Easter
- The Episcopal Church, The Book of Common Prayer (1979)
- Catechism of the Catholic Church, 638-658, 1169
Related Christian Holidays
The solemn commemoration of the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ on the cross.
Learn moreHoly Saturday is the solemn day of waiting between Jesus's death on Good Friday and his resurrection on Easter Sunday.
Learn moreCelebrated forty days after Easter, marking Jesus being taken up into heaven.
Learn moreThe descent of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles, called the birthday of the Church.
Learn more