Why Easter is late in 2025 and how Moon plays a role in delaying it
Produced by Abhinav yadav
Produced by Abhinav yadav
Easter Sunday in 2025 will fall on April 20. The reason? It’s all about the moon, the sun, and some church rules that don’t always follow astronomy.
This year, the April full moon, also called the Pink Moon, rises on April 12. However, this full moon is also the Paschal Moon, the one used to calculate the date of Easter.
Easter falls on the Sunday after the first full moon following the spring equinox (March 21, by church rule). So, with a full moon on April 12, Easter should be April 13. However, this is not what’s happening in 2025.
In Europe (including the Vatican), the full moon occurs after midnight on April 13. So by church rules, the next Sunday April 20 becomes Easter Sunday. It’s all about timing and time zones.
The church sets March 21 as the fixed date of the equinox, even though it often occurs on March 20. And the Paschal Moon is based on tables, not real time astronomy. So sometimes, Easter doesn’t match the actual sky.
The earliest Easter can fall is March 22 The latest is April 25. A 10 year streak of April Easters has never happened but will; in the year 2856 April 16 is the most frequent Easter date this century
This rare case in 2025 shows how ancient lunar traditions still shape modern religious calendars. Even with modern science, we still look to the moon and sun to celebrate key moments, just like our ancestors did.