Live countdown to Easter Sunday — date calculated automatically.
Unlike most holidays, Easter doesn't fall on the same date each year — it moves around on the calendar following a formula tied to the lunar cycle, which is why it can be as early as late March or as late as late April. This tool calculates the exact date of the next Easter and counts down to it.
In Australia, Easter is a four-day long weekend: Good Friday (Friday before Easter Sunday), Easter Saturday, Easter Sunday, and Easter Monday. All four days are public holidays in most states — making Easter one of the longest public holiday periods of the year alongside Christmas.
The school holidays around Easter vary by state. In Queensland, the Easter school holidays typically align closely with the long weekend. Check your state education department for the exact dates each year.
Easter Sunday falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the March equinox (on or after March 21). This rule, established by the First Council of Nicaea in 325 AD, is why Easter can fall anywhere between March 22 and April 25. The calculation uses the ecclesiastical (calendar-based) moon, not the actual astronomical moon.
The earliest possible Easter is March 22, which last occurred in 1818 and won't happen again until 2285. The latest is April 25, which also happens to be ANZAC Day — when this coincidence occurs, ANZAC Day commemorations are adjusted. The most common Easter dates cluster around the first two weeks of April.
Yes — Good Friday and Easter Monday are public holidays in all states and territories. Easter Saturday is also a public holiday in most states, though rules about trading hours vary. Easter Sunday trading hours are set by individual state legislation.
Western churches (Catholic, Protestant) use the Gregorian calendar. Eastern Orthodox churches generally use the Julian calendar for calculating Easter, which usually results in a different date — often one to five weeks later than the Western date.