Easter Sunday 2026 Date Set: When Easter Falls This Year, Why It Changes, and What to Know for Holy Week Planning

Easter Sunday in 2026 will be observed on Sunday, April 5, 2026, ET for most Western Christian traditions that follow the Gregorian calendar. The date lands later than some recent years, pushing major travel, school-break planning, and church scheduling deeper into early April.

For many Eastern Christian traditions that follow the Julian-calendar method for calculating the feast, Orthodox Easter in 2026 falls on Sunday, April 12, 2026, ET, one week later. That split date can affect everything from community event calendars to family travel when households observe different traditions.

Easter 2026: What happened to the calendar and why Easter moves every year

Unlike fixed holidays, Easter is a “movable feast,” meaning its date changes year to year. The short version is that Easter is tied to a springtime astronomical cycle rather than a single calendar date. The longer version involves an established church calculation that aims to keep Easter aligned with spring and the traditional timing of Passover-era events, while still being predictable for scheduling.

In practical terms, Easter can fall anywhere from late March to late April. In 2026, that puts Easter on April 5, giving many communities a later spring holiday window than in years when Easter arrives in March.

Key dates around Easter Sunday 2026

If you’re planning services, travel, or time off, these are the anchor dates in the run-up to Easter Sunday 2026, listed in Eastern Time:

• Ash Wednesday: Wednesday, February 18, 2026, ET

• Palm Sunday: Sunday, March 29, 2026, ET

• Holy Thursday (Maundy Thursday): Thursday, April 2, 2026, ET

• Good Friday: Friday, April 3, 2026, ET

• Holy Saturday: Saturday, April 4, 2026, ET

• Easter Sunday: Sunday, April 5, 2026, ET

• Easter Monday: Monday, April 6, 2026, ET

• Orthodox Easter Sunday (many Eastern traditions): Sunday, April 12, 2026, ET

The calendar spacing matters: in 2026, Lent begins relatively early in mid-February, but Easter arrives in early April, creating a longer runway for seasonal programming, community events, and school schedules that align with spring breaks.

Behind the headline: why the Easter 2026 date matters beyond church calendars

Easter’s placement can shift real-world behavior in ways that rarely make headlines. When Easter falls later, it often pushes peak spring travel and hospitality demand into April instead of late March. That can change pricing patterns, staffing decisions, and local event lineups, especially in cities and regions that treat Easter weekend as a major tourism or family-gathering period.

Retail and small businesses also plan around Easter timing because it influences promotions, inventory cycles, and spring product launches. A later Easter can compress the runway for seasonal sales that typically ramp up in March. For schools and parents, it can mean spring breaks either align closely with Easter weekend or drift earlier, depending on district calendars, creating a planning puzzle for childcare and travel.

Religious institutions are stakeholders in a more direct way: choirs, special services, and volunteer-heavy community outreach often scale up around Holy Week. When Easter is later, there can be more time to prepare, but there can also be more competition for attention as other spring activities pile up.

What people often confuse: Easter Sunday vs. Orthodox Easter

The one-week difference in 2026 between Western Easter and Orthodox Easter is common, but it is not guaranteed every year. Sometimes the dates align, sometimes they are separated by one week, and in other years the gap can be larger.

The takeaway for families and organizations is simple: if you’re coordinating across traditions, confirm which calendar method the community follows before finalizing dates for gatherings, meals, or shared events.

What happens next: realistic planning scenarios for Easter 2026

1. Travel demand concentrates around April 3 to April 5, 2026, ET. Trigger: families clustering departures around Good Friday and returns on Easter Monday.

2. School-break schedules diverge by region. Trigger: districts choosing either late March or early April as their spring break window.

3. Churches and community groups expand Holy Week programming. Trigger: earlier Lent start date giving longer prep time.

4. Households observing both dates plan two weekends of gatherings. Trigger: Western Easter on April 5 and Orthodox Easter on April 12.

5. Retail season peaks closer to April. Trigger: a later Easter pulling promotions and purchasing into the final weeks before April 5.

Easter 2026 is now firmly on the calendar: April 5, 2026, ET for most Western traditions, and April 12, 2026, ET for many Orthodox traditions. If you’re planning anything from flights to family dinners to service schedules, those two Sundays are the key dates to circle first.