When Is Orthodox Easter 2027? Easter Dates to 2031

By Anthia Vlassopoulou
Co-founder and CEO of Greece Insiders, writing about Greek travel since 2012
Updated November 2, 2026

Quick answer: when is Easter 2027?

In 2027, Western Easter (Catholic and Protestant) falls on Sunday, March 28, and Orthodox Easter, the one Greece celebrates, falls on Sunday, May 2. That gap of five weeks is one of the widest there is. So if you are planning Greek Easter, look at early May, not late March.

Easter dates from 2027 to 2031

Orthodox Easter falls on the same Sunday as Western Easter or up to five weeks after it, never before. In 2028 and 2031 the two dates match, so the whole Christian world celebrates on the same day.

Why are there two Easter dates?

Both churches use the same rule, the first Sunday after the first full moon of spring, but they count it on different calendars. Western churches use the Gregorian calendar. The Orthodox Church, including the Church of Greece, still works out Easter on the older Julian calendar, which now runs 13 days behind.

Because the Julian calendar marks the start of spring 13 days later, the Orthodox date often lands one or more full moons after the Western one. That is why Western Easter can fall anywhere from March 22 to April 25, while Orthodox Easter this century falls between April 4 and May 8. When the moon and both calendars happen to line up, as in 2028, the two Easters share a Sunday.

Greek Holy Week, day by day

Greek Easter is not one day. It starts with Lent seven weeks earlier and builds through Holy Week, when every evening has its own church service. Here is how 2027 runs in Greece.

Each region adds its own twist, from the rocket war of Vrontados on Chios to the clay pots thrown from Corfu balconies on Holy Saturday morning. You will find the best of them in our guide to Easter customs and traditions from all over Greece. The food has its own story in 6 Greek Easter dishes and their origins.

What closes in Greece over the Easter weekend?

State museums and archaeological sites close on Orthodox Easter Sunday. In 2027 they also close on Holy Saturday, because it falls on May 1, Labour Day. On Good Friday they keep shorter hours, and on Easter Monday they are open again.

So if the Acropolis or Delphi is on your list, plan it for Holy Thursday or Easter Monday rather than the weekend. The Greek Ministry of Culture publishes the opening days and hours of every state museum.

• Good Friday, April 30: museums and sites open with shorter hours
• Holy Saturday, May 1: closed (Labour Day)
• Easter Sunday, May 2: closed
• Easter Monday, May 3: open
• Clean Monday, March 15, and Whit Monday, June 21: open

Where to spend Greek Easter

Easter feels different in every corner of Greece. A big island like Corfu puts on brass bands, processions and crowds. A small Cycladic village, on the other hand, keeps it quiet, with one church, one procession and a whole community at the same table on Sunday. Early May also means warm days, green hills and wildflowers everywhere, before the summer heat and the summer crowds arrive.

Our pick of the places that do it best is in 7 of the best islands in Greece to visit during Easter. If you would like the whole week planned around the celebrations, our Greek spring journey through Easter traditions follows Holy Week from start to finish.

Going to a Greek Easter service as a visitor

Visitors are welcome at every service, and you do not need to be Orthodox to stand in the churchyard at midnight on Holy Saturday. Come a little before midnight. The crowd usually spills out of the church into the square, so the outside is where you will hear the bells and see the first flame arrive.

Buy a white Easter candle, a lambada, from a kiosk or bakery during the week. When the priest calls “Christos Anesti”, the people around you will answer “Alithos Anesti”, truly He is risen, and pass the flame along. Then fireworks go off, and families carry their lit candles home to mark a small cross in smoke above the door.

A few simple habits help you fit in:

• Dress as you would for church, with shoulders and knees covered.
• Say “Kalo Pascha”, happy Easter, to anyone you meet during Holy Week.
• Expect simpler food until Saturday night, since many Greeks fast during Holy Week. Tavernas still serve squid, octopus, beans and vegetable dishes.
• After the midnight service, many families sit down to magiritsa, a lamb soup that ends the fast.

When should you book an Easter trip to Greece?

Book in the summer or autumn before. Most of our travelers who come for Easter plan it that far ahead. The best rooms in places with famous celebrations sell out early, and Greeks travel home to their villages that same week. For Easter 2027 on May 2, that means planning now.

A long lead time also gives you room to shape the trip. One traveler described working with our team “over the course of 6+ months of planning” in a review on Trustpilot. When you are ready, tell us your dates and we will build a trip to Greece around your Easter.

Frequently asked questions

When is Greek Orthodox Easter 2027?

Greek Orthodox Easter 2027 is on Sunday, May 2. Good Friday is April 30, the midnight Resurrection service is on the night of Saturday, May 1, and Easter Monday, a public holiday in Greece, is May 3.

When is Good Friday 2027?

Good Friday 2027 is on March 26 for Western churches and on April 30 for the Orthodox Church. In Greece it is the most solemn day of the year, with the Epitaphios procession in the evening.

When is Easter Monday 2027?

Easter Monday 2027 is March 29 for Western churches and May 3 in Greece and other Orthodox countries. In Greece it is a public holiday, and state museums and archaeological sites are open.

Do Orthodox and Western Easter ever fall on the same day?

Yes. Between 2027 and 2031 they share a date twice: April 16, 2028 and April 13, 2031. In other years Orthodox Easter comes one to five weeks after Western Easter.

When is Easter 2028?

Easter 2028 is on Sunday, April 16, for both Western and Orthodox churches. It is one of the years when the whole Christian world celebrates on the same day.

Is Easter a good time to visit Greece?

Yes. Easter is the biggest celebration of the Greek year, and spring brings mild weather and wildflowers before the summer crowds. Plan around the closed days for museums, and book in the summer or autumn before.

Plan your Greek Easter early

Greek Easter 2027 falls late, on May 2. That gives you a whole week of candles, bells and lamb on the spit in the middle of the Greek spring. Mark the dates, plan your sightseeing around Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday, and start planning in the year before. Our team will take care of the rest.