Why the 'pink moon' delays Easter in 2025

Have you ever wondered why the date of Easter changes every year? AccuWeather's Ariella Scalese explains.

Transcript

00:00Have you ever wondered why the date of Easter seems to change every year?

00:04Well, you're not alone.

00:05Today we're going to unravel the mystery of how the date of Easter is determined.

00:09So grab your calendars and let's hop right into it.

00:13First, let's start off with the basics.

00:15Easter is a Christian holiday that celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

00:18But why does it move around on our calendars?

00:22The answer lies in the moon.

00:23Easter is celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon following the spring equinox.

00:30The spring equinox is the moment when day and night are nearly equal in length,

00:34marking the start of spring in the northern hemisphere.

00:37This usually happens around March 20th or 21st.

00:39So let's break it down step by step and take a look at our calendar here.

00:44First, we want to find the vernal equinox this year.

00:46That was on March 20th.

00:48And then you'll check for the full moon after the vernal equinox.

00:52Now, this one's a little tricky because the full moon is Saturday evening for Eastern Standard Time.

00:59But for UTC time, that's going to be on Sunday morning.

01:02So therefore, Easter will be celebrated the following Sunday on April 20th.

01:08Passover, a significant Jewish holiday, also changes year to year.

01:11It begins on the 15th day of Nisan, the first month of the Hebrew calendar.

01:15The calendar is lunisolar, meaning it takes into account both the moon cycles and the solar year.

01:20Therefore, the timing of Passover varies each year, but it too always aligns with the full moon following the vernal equinox.

01:27Passover begins at sundown on Saturday, April 12th and ends at nightfall on Sunday, April 20th.

01:32So the two religious holidays overlap for one day.

01:36Thanks for enjoying us on this egg-citing journey.

01:39And remember, you can check the Easter forecast for your location.

01:42And don't forget, you can also use MinuteCast on the day of the holiday to see if precipitation will put a pause on those egg huts.