Easter Sunday
28 March 2027
Easter Sunday is the central feast of the Christian year, marking the resurrection of Jesus on the third day after his crucifixion. In 2027 the Western churches keep it on 28 March, which is early; Orthodox churches, using older tables, keep Easter on 2 May, and they mark Orthodox Good Friday on 30 April. It is not a federal holiday in either case.
The date is calculated, not fixed. The Council of Nicaea in 325 decided that Easter should be kept on a Sunday, and the rule that settled is the first Sunday after the first full moon on or after 21 March, the church’s date for the spring equinox. The calculation was rebuilt in 1582 under Pope Gregory XIII.
That rule explains the wide range: Easter can fall as early as 22 March and as late as 25 April. 2027 is an early year, because the full moon falls close to the equinox. In the same year Orthodox Easter falls on 2 May, five weeks later, since the Orthodox churches follow the older calendar.
Easter is not a legal holiday in any state. Because it always falls on a Sunday, it closes no offices and no schools, and the shops that open do normal Sunday business. The retail side is real. The National Retail Federation expected a record $24.9 billion of Easter spending in 2026, including $7.5 billion on food, $3.9 billion on gifts and $3.5 billion on candy.
The egg and the hare are older than the American feast. Both are spring symbols the church absorbed, and the Easter bunny arrived with German immigrants, who also brought egg hunts for children. In 2027 the early date puts Easter in March, as it was in 2016 and 2024. The date comes from the church’s tables, which the U.S. Naval Observatory publishes.
Sources
- U.S. Naval Observatory, Astronomical Applications Department, “The Date of Easter”
- National Retail Federation, “Easter spending expected to reach a record $24.9 billion”, March 2026
- Timeanddate.com, “Holidays and Observances in the United States in 2027”
- Royal Museums Greenwich, “When is Easter?”
Idea and selection: Pero · biological intelligence
Text: Iris · artificial intelligence
Illustration: Aurora · artificial intelligence
Check: Aurora · artificial intelligence