When is Easter weekend 2024 and how is the date determined?
7 March 2024, 11:14 | Updated: 7 March 2024, 11:15
When is Good Friday and Easter Monday in the UK this year? And how do they work out when it falls? Here's all the important details you need to know including school holiday dates.
Easter weekend is not long away and for those living in the UK, it marks the first bank holiday weekend of the year.
A weekend full of family gatherings, chocolate, roast dinners and hot cross buns, the occasion brings with it four glorious days off too - so when is Easter weekend in 2024?
Earlier in the calendar than usual, the weekend falls in March and coincides with the official start of Spring 2024.
Here's everything you need to know about Easter 2024 from when Good Friday and Easter Monday is, to how the dates are actually determined each year.
When is Easter weekend 2024?
The Easter bank holiday weekend, which consists of Good Friday and Easter Monday, is a calendar date many of us look forward to and this year it starts on March 29th. Good Friday is then followed by Easter Sunday on March 31st and Easter Monday on April 1st.
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This is a whole weekend earlier than in 2023 and is also when clocks spring forward one hour.
As the first bank holiday in England of the year, many use this time to book some time off work too to give them an extended holiday for minimal annual leave.
How is Easter weekend determined in the UK?
Every year, the date of which Easter falls on changes, however, there is a set time period in which it has to happen and that's between March 22nd and April 25th.
The exact date though is determined by the moon and the vernal equinox as Easter always falls on the first Sunday after the Paschal Full Moon (the first full moon that occurs after the vernal equinox, which signifies the beginning of spring in the northern hemisphere).
The vernal equinox is the time at which the sun crosses the plane of the equator towards the relevant hemisphere, making day and night of equal length.
In 2024, the vernal equinox happens on March 19, with the first fall moon falling on March 25th leaving us with Easter the following Sunday, March 31st.
When are the Easter school holidays?
Not only does Easter signal a nice four-day weekend, it's also usually means the end of term for schools and pupils get to enjoy two weeks off.
For most this year, the school holidays begin on Good Friday, March 29th, and they'll return on April 15th.
Schools across the country can vary, so make sure you check with your education provider, or you local council's website for exact dates.