When is Easter 2026? Dates for Ash Wednesday, Lent, Good Friday and Pascha

Easter Sunday in 2026 falls on April 5, 2026 (ET). That places the holiday substantially earlier than the previous year and sets a calendar of observances that begins in mid-February and runs through early April for many Western Christian communities.

Key dates for the 2026 Lenten season

The liturgical calendar for 2026 centers on these dates, all given in Eastern Time (ET):

• Ash Wednesday: Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026 (ET) — the traditional start of Lent for Western churches.
• Lent (Western churches): Feb. 18 through Thursday, April 2, 2026 (ET), providing the customary 40 days of fasting and reflection when Sundays are not counted in the fast.
• Good Friday: Friday, April 3, 2026 (ET) — the day commemorating the Crucifixion in Western practice.
• Easter Sunday (Western churches): Sunday, April 5, 2026 (ET) — the celebration of the Resurrection.
• Great Lent (Eastern Orthodox): Feb. 23 through April 11, 2026 (ET) — a separate observance schedule that leads to Pascha.
• Pascha (Eastern Orthodox): Sunday, April 12, 2026 (ET) — the date of the Resurrection observance in many Eastern traditions.

For communities that follow the Western (Gregorian) liturgical calendar, the sequence above will mark the major days of Holy Week and the surrounding fast and feasts. The Eastern observance follows a slightly different timetable that places Pascha a week later in 2026.

How Easter’s date is set and what that means in 2026

Easter’s date is not fixed to a single calendar day; it is determined by an ecclesiastical rule tied to the cycle of the seasons and the moon. In broad terms, Easter is observed on the first Sunday following the first full moon that occurs after the vernal (spring) equinox. That calculation is why the date shifts from year to year and why Easter can fall anywhere between late March and late April.

Because the timing hinges on the full moon and the equinox, calendars and community planners take note well in advance. In 2026 the necessary lunar and solar conditions result in an April 5 observance for Western churches and an April 12 observance for many Eastern communities, which use a related but distinct method tied to a different ecclesiastical calendar.

Practical implications for worship, schools and calendars

An earlier Easter affects a range of civic and cultural schedules: school spring breaks, holiday travel planning, and the timing of Holy Week services. Parishes and dioceses generally publish their schedules and special services well ahead of Ash Wednesday so congregants can prepare for Lenten disciplines, confession schedules, and the liturgies of Holy Week.

For those coordinating calendars across different traditions, note the one-week gap between Western Easter and Eastern Pascha in 2026. That gap can affect shared events, ecumenical services, and community celebrations tied to the Resurrection observance.

As the season approaches, faith communities will issue more detailed guidance on worship times and communal observances. For now, the key dates above provide a clear framework for planning personal observances, institutional schedules, and travel around the 2026 Easter season.