Easter 2025 explained: What it is and how it's celebrated

Hot cross buns are a food typically eaten during Easter

Easter is the most important festival in the Christian calendar and is celebrated by people all over the world.

It marks the story of Jesus rising from the dead three days after dying on a wooden cross.

For many people, Easter is also a time for chocolate eggs, hot cross buns and being with family.

Read on to find out more about this religious festival.

When is Easter 2025?

The date of Easter Sunday is different every year.

It is celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon that follows the spring equinox.

The date of the equinox is determined by the Earth's tilt on its axis as it travels around the Sun.

At the equinox, the Earth's axis is tilted neither towards nor away from the Sun, making day and night nearly equal in length.

The spring equinox takes place on 19, 20 or 21 March.

In 2025 the first full moon after the spring equinox will fall on 13 April.

Good Friday in 2025 is 18 April and Easter Sunday is 20 April.

What is the difference between Good Friday and Easter Sunday?

Good Friday marks the crucifixion of Jesus on the cross

There are different days during Easter to mark different events which are written in the Bible about Jesus' life.

On Good Friday, Christians commemorate Jesus' crucifixion, when he died on a wooden cross.

It's a day of mourning in the church, and services are held to reflect on Jesus' suffering.

After Jesus died, his body was taken to be buried in a tomb. It was heavily guarded by Roman soldiers, and a huge boulder was placed in front of it.

Two days later on the Sunday, a woman called Mary Magdalene and some of Jesus' followers visited the tomb, only to find the boulder pushed to one side and the inside completely empty.

Later that day, they found Jesus alive and realised God had resurrected him. This is why Christians celebrate Easter Sunday.

How is the religious festival of Easter celebrated?

Paschal candle

There are church services to commemorate Jesus rising from the dead during Easter.

Many churches have a service late on Saturday, the day before Easter Sunday, called the Easter vigil.

It is often a time of quiet reflection, and a large candle called a Paschal candle is often lit to represent the resurrection.

Then on Easter Sunday some churches may decorate and fill the church with flowers to celebrate the discovery of Jesus rising from the dead.

What are Easter eggs?

Painted eggs like these used to be very common

Throughout history, people have given each other eggs to mark spring festivals and new life.

This tradition continued and became part of the Christian festival of Easter, which takes place in spring.

People used to paint real chicken eggs, but nowadays people exchange chocolate eggs.

Another tradition which has grown from this is the Easter egg hunt.

Food which is typical during Easter is the hot cross bun, which is a currant bun with a cross on it, usually made with flour paste.

While traditionally sold on Good Friday, they have become so popular they are now available in shops most of the year.

How is Easter celebrated around the world?

A giant omelette is cooked every year as part of the Easter celebrations in a small town in France

On the Greek island of Corfu, old pots are thrown out of the windows on to the streets as an Easter Saturday morning tradition. It's thought the tradition was copied from the people of Venice, in Italy, who throw out their possessions.

In Poland, people throw water over each other on Easter Monday. It's known as Wet Monday and happens in many other countries too.

It's a tradition that is connected with the baptism of a Polish prince hundreds of years ago.

In the small town of Bessieres in the south of France, people gather every Easter Monday to share a massive... omelette!

Around 15,000 eggs are used, and it's big enough to feed thousands of people.

Legend has it that the French Emperor Napoléon Bonaparte liked an omelette he'd eaten in a small town and wanted a huge one made for him and his army, and from that this tradition was born.