Catholic Easter 2025: when, who and where celebrates, the difference from the Orthodox

Easter is the biggest and most revered celebration of the liturgical year for the entire Christian world. Catholics and Orthodox celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ as the victory of life over death. In 2025, Catholic and Orthodox Easter fall on the same day, April 20. For more information about why the dates of Easter for Orthodox and Catholics do not coincide, as well as how to prepare and celebrate this day, see the Izvestia article.

Catholic Easter 2025: The history of the April 20th holiday

Easter, or the Bright Resurrection of Christ, is the most important and ancient Christian holiday. It symbolizes the victory of life over death and sacrifice for the sake of saving people from original sin. Archpriest Igor Fomin, in an interview with the Thomas magazine, refers to Easter as a celebration of celebrations. Indeed, on this day, believers always remember the Resurrection of Jesus Christ anew — the central event in church teaching, which is narrated by all four evangelists.

The main Christian holiday dates back to the ancient Jewish holiday of Passover, associated with the exodus of Jews from Egyptian captivity and the sacrifice of a lamb. The Exodus tradition is the foundation of Judaism.

According to the Old Testament, Jews lived in Egypt for over 400 years, until one day their numbers exceeded the local population. Then Pharaoh ordered the Jews to be enslaved and all newborns to be killed. However, one of them, the future liberator Moses, was saved. When Moses grew up, he came to Pharaoh with a request to let his people go, but the ruler refused. After that, according to the Bible, 10 Egyptian plagues were sent down on the country as punishment, which brought famine and crop failure. On the last night, all the Egyptian firstborn were supposed to die. To prevent the same fate from befalling Jewish families, it was necessary to sacrifice a lamb.

Although the Christian Easter has the same roots, the meaning of the holiday is very different. If Passover is celebrated as the liberation of Jews from slavery, then Easter is associated with the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. The understanding of the first Paschal sacrifice is described by the Apostle Paul in the First Epistle to the Corinthians. As the Apostle Paul writes: "Our Easter, Christ, was slain for us." With these words, the disciple proclaims Jesus to be the lamb of the New Testament.

Easter for Catholics and Orthodox in 2025: what date is celebrated in which countries

Orthodox, Catholics, Protestants and representatives of the Armenian Church celebrate the main Christian holiday at different times, but sometimes the dates of the celebration coincide. This will be the case in 2025, when Catholics and Orthodox Christians will celebrate the most important holiday on April 20.

The discrepancy is related to the calendars used by the concessions. For example, the Catholic Church compares dates according to the Gregorian calendar, while the Orthodox use the Julian calendar. An important moment for the Orthodox is considered to be the descent of the Holy Fire in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem on the eve of Easter, on Holy Saturday. Catholics, on the other hand, are neutral or skeptical about the annual action. However, the differences in the traditions of Catholic and Orthodox Easter are not limited to this.

What is the difference between Catholic Easter and Orthodox Easter? Great Lent in the Orthodox tradition is considered one of the strictest and longest. For 48 days, believers devote time to prayer and repentance, abstain from animal food, as well as loud entertainment. Such restrictions are intended to remind of the act of Jesus Christ, who fasted for 40 days in the desert before starting to preach.

Adherents of Catholicism fast for 46 days, of which strict fasting takes only three days: Ash Wednesday (the beginning of lent) and two days of the Tridentine — Good Friday and Holy Saturday. On other days, Catholics are allowed to eat eggs, dairy products, and fish. Restrictions on entertainment are also not typical for the Western tradition. During the fasting period, believers can dance, sing, visit, and engage in their favorite hobbies. At the same time, it is necessary to focus more on prayer, repentance and mercy.

In 2025, Orthodox Lent begins on March 3 and ends on April 19 (48 days). Catholics hold a pre-Easter fast from March 5 to April 19 (46 days).

The differences don't end there.

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On March 18, Orthodox Christians will begin their longest and strictest fast.

The main decoration of the Orthodox Easter table is a sweet cake with raisins, covered with white icing or sprinkled with powdered sugar. It is also customary to color chicken eggs in preparation for Bright Sunday. Initially, shades of red were used as a reminder of the blood of Christ. Now they use all the colors.

In the West, the holiday is associated mainly with chocolate eggs and the Easter bunny, a symbol of fertility and rebirth. Every year he gives children treats, plush toys and small souvenirs. Instead of the usual "egg clinking", a game called "Egg Search" is popular in the West. The idea is that parents hide colorful plastic eggs with sweets, and children are happy to look for them and collect them in a basket.

Why are Catholic and Orthodox Easter together in 2025? Easter dates for both Christian denominations are calculated using paschalia, a special calculation system that determines the days of celebration for many years to come.

Orthodox and Catholics have been celebrating Easter on different days for almost four and a half centuries, and occasionally the dates of the celebration coincide. This is because Orthodox Christians and Catholics of the Byzantine Rite are guided in calculating dates by the Alexandrian Easter and the Julian calendar, created under Julius Caesar in 45 BC. Western Christians are based on the Gregorian calendar, which was introduced in 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII. Therefore, the countdown is conducted from different dates, in both cases it is the first Sunday after the spring new moon. Most often, Catholics and Orthodox Christians celebrate Easter with a week difference, but there is both a gap of a month and a complete coincidence of dates.

Kirill Belousov, a theologian, Catholic of the Byzantine Rite and founder of the Christian Russia portal, noted that both traditions of calculating the date of the holiday go back to the first centuries of Christianity, when Easter was celebrated in memory of the exodus of the chosen people from Egypt. Initially, in the West, the holiday was celebrated on the first Sunday after the Jewish Passover, and after the Gregorian reform of the 16th century, Catholic Easter ceased to depend directly on the Jewish one.

— Nevertheless, the dates may overlap due to a complex combination of circumstances related to the lunar calendar and the vernal equinox. So, in 2025, Christians of both denominations will celebrate the great holiday on April 20, the expert explains.

Catholic Easter 2025: traditions, omens, prohibitions

Most Easter traditions are the same for Catholics and Christians. The red egg is common to representatives of both faiths. Before the holiday, believers paint eggs using onion husks and other techniques, and exchange them with their loved ones. On the festive table of Catholics, you can find chocolate figurines and sweets, which, as a rule, are intended for the youngest.

A special symbol in the Western tradition is the Easter bunny. This character, like Santa Claus, brings treats only to obedient and kind children. On the eve of the holiday, the streets of European cities are decorated with images of the Easter animal.

In some countries, employees are given extra days off in honor of the celebration. They are used to spend time with family, as Easter is an occasion to bring family and friends together. In addition, many Christians prefer to attend church services on Easter Sunday.

Catholics, as well as Orthodox Christians, address each other with the traditional greeting: "Christ is risen!", and in response they hear: "Truly he is risen!". However, it is not customary for Catholics to accompany congratulations with hugs and a triple kiss on the cheek — this tradition is called the Christening.