Happy Easter 2026, April 5 -- Every spring, billions of people across the globe mark Easter with church services, chocolate eggs, and visits from a gift‑bearing rabbit. Yet remarkably few of those celebrating have any idea why the holiday carries that name, why the date shifts so dramatically from one year to the next, or what a pre‑Christian English goddess has to do with the resurrection of Jesus. The answers reach back thousands of years and they are far more surprising than the familiar story suggests.

Unlike Christmas, which is anchored firmly to 25 December, Easter is what scholars call a "moveable feast." The date is governed by a precise astronomical formula: Easter always falls on the first Sunday after the first ful...