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Easter

Easter 2024, 2025 and 2026

Easter is regarded as the most important holy day by Christians, and the Easter season traditionally includes the 40 days of lent and Holy Week culminating in Easter Sunday – also known as Resurrection Sunday.

YearDateDayHolidayCountries
202429 MarFriGood Friday National
1 AprMonEaster Monday National except Scotland
202518 AprFriGood Friday National
21 AprMonEaster Monday National except Scotland
20263 AprFriGood Friday National
6 AprMonEaster Monday National except Scotland
Please scroll down to end of page for previous years' dates.

Easter is one of the oldest Christian traditions and commemorates the last week of Jesus’ life, his death, and his resurrection. For Christians, Easter symbolises the dawn of a new life and the high point of the Christian calendar.

Easter is observed with a holiday across the UK on Good Friday as well as a holiday on Easter Monday everywhere except Scotland. The date of Easter changes each year based on centuries-old calculations that determine the Christian Ecclesiastical Calendar. The date of Easter is always the Sunday following the first full moon that occurs after the first day of spring. Thus, the date of Easter Sunday can be anytime between 22 March and 25 April.

The Easter weekend is the first public holiday period of the year to enjoy spring-like weather, so many outdoor events are generally part of Easter celebrations. This includes domestic travel – not only to visit family but to hit key hotspot destinations.

While defined as a Christian holiday, Easter has many of its roots in the traditions and rituals of the pagan people who inhabited the United Kingdom before its wide spread conversion to the Christian faith. Scholars believe that Easter was named for “Eostre”, the Anglo-Saxon goddess of the spring.

Perhaps one of the largest traditions during a UK Easter is the giving of Easter eggs. Chocolate eggs are given to children on Easter Sunday. These can either be hollow or have a filling, such as a cream base, and tend to be wrapped in silver or gold paper. Early Easter gifts were originally birds’ eggs, painted in bright colours and patterns. Some still celebrate Easter with egg painting as a children’s activity. Eggs are a symbol of new life created during the spring and is said to have come from the original pagan traditions surrounding the holiday.

Hot cross buns are traditionally eaten on Good Friday. Traditionally, the bread serves as a reminder of Jesus dying due to the shape of the cross that appears across the top of the bun. They are generally consumed as a breakfast food and come straight from the oven.

Fish is the traditional food of choice for Good Friday suppers, while some devout Christians opt to fast instead in memory of the sacrifice given by Jesus Christ.

*Please refer to this note for Scotland-specific information.

 

 

Previous Years

YearDateDayHolidayCountries
20237 AprFriGood Friday National
10 AprMonEaster Monday National except Scotland
202215 AprFriGood Friday National
18 AprMonEaster Monday National except Scotland
20212 AprFriGood Friday National
5 AprMonEaster Monday National except Scotland
202010 AprFriGood Friday National
13 AprMonEaster Monday National except Scotland
201919 AprFriGood Friday National
22 AprMonEaster Monday National except Scotland
201830 MarFriGood Friday National
2 AprMonEaster Monday National except Scotland
201714 AprFriGood Friday National
17 AprMonEaster Monday National except Scotland