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Easter 2025, 2026 and 2027

Easter is one of the most widely celebrated holiday periods across New Zealand, with public holidays on Good Friday and Easter Monday creating an extra-long weekend that many use for travel and family gatherings. Easter Sunday is the most anticipated date for many Christians. The day is also known as Resurrection Day.

Good Friday falls on 18 April in 2025, and Easter Sunday is on 20 April. In 2026 Easter Sunday will be celebrated on 5 April.

Year	Date	Day	Holiday
2025	18 Apr	Fri	Good Friday
	21 Apr	Mon	Easter Monday
2026	3 Apr	Fri	Good Friday
	6 Apr	Mon	Easter Monday
2027	26 Mar	Fri	Good Friday
	29 Mar	Mon	Easter Monday
Please scroll down to end of page for previous years' dates.

The date of Easter moves each year and occurs later in 2025 compared to many other years. The date is calculated as the first Sunday after the first full moon following the ecclesiastical vernal equinox (always 21 March). When 21 March is a full-moon day and a Sunday, then Easter is on the next weekend. This means that the date of Easter Sunday can be anytime from 22 March to 25 April.

Domestic travel plans also make Easter highly anticipated by hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders who fly to hotspot destinations including Auckland, Rotorua, Queenstown, Taupō, Wellington and Christchurch. The predictable Autumn weather and spectacle of trees turning golden makes outdoor activities at the time all the more desirable.

People across New Zealand get involved in Easter festivities, regardless of religious or cultural backgrounds. Easter chocolates are a major focus of the season, with chocolates eggs and rabbits being enjoyed in the lead-up to the Easter weekend. Easter egg hunts are popular community activities that take place in schools, parks and family backyards.

Church is a key focus for Christians across the country with solemn Good Friday services and joyful Resurrection Sunday services interspersing their weekend agenda. According to Christian tradition, Easter Sunday is the holiest day of the liturgical year. It marks the climax of Holy Week, which runs from the Triumphal Entry to the Resurrection. It also marks the commencement of the seven-week period that culminates in the Ascension and the Day of Pentecost.

Easter is also the end of the period known as “Lent,” wherein certain foods and activities are restrained from as a sort of “sacrificial reminder” of the holy events of the season.

Previous Years

Year	Date	Day	Holiday
2024	29 Mar	Fri	Good Friday
	1 Apr	Mon	Easter Monday
2023	7 Apr	Fri	Good Friday
	10 Apr	Mon	Easter Monday