After a long, chilly winter, springtime provides much-needed warmth and brightness. That's why many of us welcome the season with gorgeous pastels, blooming blossoms, and signs of brighter (and longer) days ahead. While it's easy to get caught up in the excitement of Easter — Easter egg hunts, Easter baskets loaded with fun, festive treats, and other treasured holiday traditions — don't forget that the day is a symbol of something far bigger for Christians everywhere: Jesus' resurrection.
Because Easter Sunday does not always occur on the same day each year, check the calendar before you start planning your family's yearly celebration. We've gone a step further: Find out when Easter will be in 2023 and how to predict the date in the future.

In 2023, when is Easter?

Go back to the beginning of the season to find out when Easter is celebrated. Lent officially begins on Ash Wednesday, which falls on February 22 this year. The Lenten season, which runs from Wednesday, February 22 to Thursday, April 6, prepares believers for the pleasure of Easter by requiring 40 days of penance, fasting, and reflection. Palm Sunday, which falls on April 2 this year, marks the beginning of Holy Week. That's seven days of Christian religious importance and the final countdown before Easter Sunday. Lent officially concludes on Maundy Thursday, Holy Thursday, three days before Easter. Christians conclude Holy Week with Good Friday and Holy Saturday. Easter Sunday is the grand climax - a day when Christians celebrate Jesus Christ's resurrection.

Unlike set festivals such as Halloween and Christmas, Easter is a "movable feast" that can come between March 22 and April 25, according to The Old Farmer's Almanac. Easter occurs on Sunday, April 9, 2023, much sooner than the previous year (April 17).

How is the date of Easter determined?

Easter is historically observed on the first Sunday following the full moon, formally known as the "Paschal Full Moon," which occurs on or near the spring equinox. This year, the first full moon following the spring equinox occurs on Thursday, April 6, implying that Easter falls on the following Sunday, April 9. That moon is also known as the Full Pink Moon this year, so we know what color we'll wear in its celebration. Easter is observed the following Sunday if the first full moon occurs on a Sunday.

Why is Easter observed in the spring?

According to the Bible, Jesus Christ died and was resurrected at the Jewish Passover in March or April. Passover, also known as the celebration of freedom, begins at sundown on April 5 and ends on the evening of April 13.