The Church Calendar
Every movable feast, calculated from the same paschal computus the church has used since Nicaea — so any year works, not just this one.
Next up
All Saints' Day
Sunday, November 1, 2026 — in 77 days.
The 2029 church year
Easter 2029 falls on Sunday, April 1, 2029, which sets everything movable around it. Lent begins on Feb 14, 2029 and runs 40 fasting days to Easter, and the next church year opens with Advent on Dec 2, 2029. Orthodox Easter falls 1 weeks later, on Apr 8, 2029.
| Observance | Date | Countdown |
|---|---|---|
| EpiphanyMarks the visit of the Magi and the close of the Christmas season. Always January 6. | Jan 6, 2029 | In 874 days |
| Shrove TuesdayThe last day before Lent, traditionally for using up rich food. Also called Mardi Gras or Pancake Day. | Feb 13, 2029 | In 912 days |
| Ash WednesdayThe first day of Lent, 46 days before Easter — 40 fasting days plus the six Sundays, which are not counted. | Feb 14, 2029 | In 913 days |
| Palm SundayThe Sunday before Easter, marking the entry into Jerusalem and the start of Holy Week. | Mar 25, 2029 | In 952 days |
| Maundy ThursdayCommemorates the Last Supper, on the Thursday of Holy Week. | Mar 29, 2029 | In 956 days |
| Good FridayCommemorates the crucifixion, on the Friday before Easter. | Mar 30, 2029 | In 957 days |
| Easter SundayThe resurrection, and the anchor the whole movable calendar is built from. | Apr 1, 2029 | In 959 days |
| Orthodox EasterEastern Orthodox churches calculate Easter on the Julian calendar, so it usually falls later than Western Easter. | Apr 8, 2029 | In 966 days |
| Ascension DayForty days after Easter, marking the ascension. Always a Thursday. | May 10, 2029 | In 998 days |
| PentecostFifty days after Easter, marking the descent of the Holy Spirit. Also called Whitsunday. | May 20, 2029 | In 1,008 days |
| Trinity SundayThe Sunday after Pentecost. | May 27, 2029 | In 1,015 days |
| All Saints' DayHonors the saints. Always November 1. | Nov 1, 2029 | In 1,173 days |
| Christ the KingThe last Sunday of the church year, immediately before Advent begins. | Nov 25, 2029 | In 1,197 days |
| First Sunday of AdventThe start of the church year, four Sundays before Christmas. | Dec 2, 2029 | In 1,204 days |
| Christmas DayThe nativity. Always December 25. | Dec 25, 2029 | In 1,227 days |
Dates are computed, not curated: Easter from the anonymous Gregorian computus, Orthodox Easter from the Julian computus shifted to the Gregorian calendar, and everything else counted from Easter or Christmas. Individual denominations and national churches sometimes transfer an observance to a nearby Sunday, so check with your parish for local practice. Working out your giving? Use the tithe calculator.
Almost every date in the Christian year hangs off two anchors. Christmas is fixed to December 25, and everything else that moves — Lent, Holy Week, Easter, Ascension, Pentecost — is counted forward or backward from Easter Sunday.
These dates are computed here rather than copied from a list, using the paschal computus that the church has used to fix Easter since the Council of Nicaea. That means any year works, including ones decades out.
Why Easter moves and Christmas does not
Christmas was assigned a fixed solar date. Easter was tied to Passover, which follows a lunar calendar, and the Council of Nicaea in AD 325 settled the rule still in use: Easter is the first Sunday after the first ecclesiastical full moon on or after March 21, the church's fixed date for the spring equinox. Because lunar months do not divide evenly into a solar year, the resulting date drifts across a 35-day window from March 22 to April 25.
How Lent counts to forty
Lent runs from Ash Wednesday to Easter, a span of 46 calendar days. The traditional number is forty, and the difference is the six Sundays, which are not counted as fast days because every Sunday is a commemoration of the resurrection. Forty is a deliberate echo — the flood, Israel's forty years in the wilderness, Moses on Sinai, and Christ's forty days of temptation.
Why Orthodox Easter usually falls later
Eastern Orthodox churches apply the same Nicene rule but calculate it on the Julian calendar, which now runs thirteen days behind the Gregorian one, and use a different lunar table. The two Easters coincide in some years and diverge by as much as five weeks in others. Both dates are shown below so you can see where a given year lands.
The church year begins in Advent
The liturgical year does not start on January 1. It begins on the First Sunday of Advent, the fourth Sunday before Christmas, which falls between November 27 and December 3. The year then runs through Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Easter, and the long stretch of Ordinary Time after Pentecost, ending with Christ the King on the Sunday before Advent begins again.
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Church Calendar — Frequently Asked Questions
- Why does the date of Easter change every year?
- Because it is set by a lunar rule rather than a fixed calendar date. Easter is the first Sunday after the first ecclesiastical full moon falling on or after March 21. Since lunar cycles do not align with the solar year, the date shifts within a 35-day window between March 22 and April 25.
- How many days is Lent?
- Forty fasting days, spread across 46 calendar days from Ash Wednesday to Easter. The six Sundays in that stretch are not counted as fast days, because Sunday is always kept as a commemoration of the resurrection.
- When is the first day of Lent?
- Ash Wednesday, which falls 46 days before Easter Sunday. Because Easter moves, Ash Wednesday moves with it, landing anywhere from early February to early March.
- Why is Orthodox Easter on a different date?
- Eastern Orthodox churches follow the same rule agreed at Nicaea but compute it using the Julian calendar and an older lunar table. The Julian calendar currently runs thirteen days behind the Gregorian calendar, so Orthodox Easter usually falls later — sometimes by a week, sometimes by more than a month, and occasionally on the same day.
- When does the church year start?
- On the First Sunday of Advent, four Sundays before Christmas, which falls between November 27 and December 3 depending on the year. That is the liturgical new year, not January 1.
- How is Pentecost dated?
- Fifty days after Easter, which always places it on a Sunday. The name comes from the Greek for fiftieth. Ascension Day falls forty days after Easter and is therefore always a Thursday.