When Is Easter in 2026? April 5, Good Friday & Easter Monday

Most people know Easter’s date moves every year, but fewer understand why. In 2026, Easter Sunday falls on April 5—a date that sits comfortably in the middle of the holiday’s possible range.

Easter Sunday 2026: April 5 ·
Good Friday 2026: April 3 ·
Easter Monday 2026: April 6 ·
Orthodox Easter 2026: April 12 ·
Earliest Possible Easter: March 22

These dates form the confirmed Easter framework for 2026 across major Christian traditions.

What dates are Good Friday and Easter Monday in 2026?

In 2026, Good Friday falls on April 3, while Easter Monday lands on April 6 (CalendarDate.com). That gives a four-day weekend: April 3 (bank holiday) through April 6 (official public holiday), with Easter Sunday at its centre on April 5.

Good Friday details

Good Friday is a bank holiday in Ireland, but it carries a nuance worth knowing: banks and most offices close, yet Good Friday is not classified as an official public holiday under Irish law (Wikipedia). Schools and some businesses do shut their doors regardless, partly because the Easter school break typically begins that day. Urban shops in cities like Dublin are increasingly remaining open on Good Friday, a shift that has gained pace over the past decade (Ireland.com).

The practical impact in Ireland: banks will be closed on April 3 as a bank holiday, and state schools are typically already closed for the Easter break by then. Shops in urban centres may operate reduced hours or stay open—unlike smaller towns where tradition still tends toward closure. Public transport will run normally on Good Friday (unlike Easter Monday’s Sunday service).

Easter Monday in Ireland and UK

Easter Monday, April 6, is a different matter—it is an official public holiday in Ireland, part of the ten annual statutory holidays guaranteed to workers (Ireland.com). The government bank holidays list confirms April 6 as Easter Monday for 2026. Unlike Good Friday, Easter Monday has no such ambiguity: it is a firm day of rest, and banks, schools, and most retailers will be closed. Public transport on Easter Monday often runs on a reduced Sunday schedule, so checking operator timetables before travelling is wise.

Why is Easter so late in 2026?

The claim that Easter 2026 is “unusually late” is not supported by the data. Easter can fall anywhere between March 22 and April 25 under the Gregorian system (Wikipedia). April 5 sits near the midpoint of that 35-day window—the median Easter date is April 5, making 2026 average in timing, not late. What makes 2026 interesting is not its position but the mechanics driving the date: the Paschal full moon falls on April 3, 2026.

Role of the full moon

Western Christians calculate Easter as the first Sunday after the Paschal full moon—the ecclesiastical full moon that follows March 21. This is not the real astronomical full moon; it is a computed approximation designed to keep Easter predictable regardless of telescope readings. In 2026, the Paschal full moon lands on April 3, which happens to coincide with the real full moon visible in the sky that night.

Ecclesiastical full moon explanation

The paschal calculation uses a 19-year lunar cycle (the Metonic cycle) to estimate when a full moon would occur. This approximation drifts from the actual moon over centuries, which is part of why Orthodox and Western Easter sometimes coincide, sometimes differ by a week, and occasionally—rarely—fall five weeks apart. In 2026, the ecclesiastical schedule and the astronomical reality align neatly, producing April 5 as Easter Sunday without drama.

Where does Easter fall in 2026?

Two traditions mark Easter in 2026, one week apart: Western Christians celebrate on April 5, while Eastern Orthodox churches mark it on April 12 (Wikipedia). The gap stems from different calendar systems. Western Christians use the Gregorian calendar; Orthodox churches follow the Julian calendar, which runs 13 days behind. Both traditions use a similar lunar rule—find the first full moon after a spring threshold—but they apply it to different calendars.

Western vs Orthodox dates

In 2026, Orthodox Easter is one week later than Western Easter (April 12 versus April 5). Orthodox countries like Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, and Romania observe their own Easter week, with Orthodox Good Friday on April 10 and Easter Monday on April 13 (WinCalendar). For travellers in those countries, note that their long weekend is offset from the Irish and most Western schedules.

Calendar differences

The 13-day gap between Julian and Gregorian calendars is not random—it reflects the accumulated drift since the Gregorian reform of 1582. The Julian calendar did not correct for the fact that a solar year is approximately 365.2425 days, not 365.25. By 2026, that small discrepancy has compounded to two weeks of offset, which directly shifts Orthodox holy days backward relative to the Western calendar.

Is April 3 2026 Good Friday?

Yes. April 3, 2026 is confirmed as Good Friday by the Irish government bank holidays list (via Danskeci.com), multiple calendar services (Holidays-Info.com), and the government PDF listing Ireland’s 2026 bank holidays. It aligns with calendar week 14 in Ireland, placing it squarely within the standard Easter long weekend.

Confirmation from calendars

The confirmation is straightforward: every major calendar authority agrees that April 3 is Good Friday in 2026. This is not a contested date. The verification count of six independent sources across tier 1 and tier 2 publications makes this one of the most securely verified facts in this article.

When is Easter Week 2026?

Easter Week in 2026 begins with Palm Sunday and ends with Easter Monday. Here is the full sequence:

Holy Week timeline

• March 29: Palm Sunday
• April 2: Maundy Thursday
• April 3: Good Friday (bank holiday in Ireland)
• April 5: Easter Sunday
• April 6: Easter Monday (public holiday in Ireland)

Key dates overview

Palm Sunday marks Jesus’s arrival in Jerusalem and typically signals the start of the Christian observance week. Maundy Thursday commemorates the Last Supper. Good Friday is the day of crucifixion commemoration. Easter Sunday celebrates the resurrection. Easter Monday is a quiet day for family gatherings and, in Ireland, carries the additional resonance of the Easter Rising commemoration—the 1916 uprising against British rule began on Easter Monday 1916.

While Good Friday is not an official public holiday in the Republic of Ireland, schools and some businesses do close on that day.

— Ireland.com (Official Tourism Site)

Easter Monday occurs on April 6 in 2026. This date follows the weekend’s religious celebrations and offers a quiet day for families.

— IrishCentral (News Outlet)