Easter Sunday in Costa Rica: date, history and key facts

Easter Sunday closes Holy Week and is the date on which Holy Thursday and Good Friday depend. Here is why it changes every year, when it falls in 2027 and what the figures say about faith in Costa Rica.

How the date is set, step by step

Easter does not follow the sky but a set of tables. According to the United States Naval Observatory, the Church fixes the equinox on 21 March “regardless of the actual position of the Sun”, and the full moon it uses is not the astronomical one but an “ecclesiastical” moon computed with the tables of the papal bull Inter Gravissimas; the two do not always coincide.

1. 1
   The starting point: 21 March, the Church's fixed date for the equinox.
2. 2
   The moon: the first ecclesiastical full moon on or after that date is found.
3. 3
   The Sunday: Easter is the Sunday after that full moon.
4. 4
   The result: never before 22 March or after 25 April.
5. 5
   What it carries along: Holy Thursday and Good Friday, public holidays in Costa Rica, fall three and two days earlier.

Timeline

Easter dates, year by year

In eight years, Easter moves by almost a month: from 28 March in 2027 to 21 April in 2030. The two Holy Week public holidays move with it and can fall in March or in April.

Faith in Costa Rica, in figures

According to that Universidad Nacional survey, 96 % of people believe in some deity. Catholicism weighs differently by province and age: 68 % say they are Catholic in Cartago and 31 % in Limón; 62 % among people over 55 and 35 % among those aged 18 to 24. 34 % of Catholics go to mass every week, and 48 % of evangelicals attend their service weekly.

Curious facts

• In 2031, Good Friday will fall on 11 April: the same day as the Juan Santamaría public holiday.
• The latest possible Easter, 25 April, happened in 1943 and will not come again until 2038; the earliest, 22 March, last happened in 1818 and will not return until 2285.
• According to the US Naval Observatory, many Orthodox churches do not use the Gregorian tables but older ones, based on the Julian calendar.
• Easter 2032 falls on 28 March again, just like Easter 2027.

Frequently asked questions

Is Easter Sunday a public holiday in Costa Rica?

No. Article 148 of the Labour Code only makes Holy Thursday and Good Friday public holidays during Holy Week, both with mandatory pay. The Monday after Easter is not a holiday either.

When is Easter Sunday in 2027?

On 28 March 2027. Holy Thursday and Good Friday, public holidays, fall on 25 and 26 March, and Palm Sunday on the 21st.

Why does Easter not fall on a fixed date?

Because it depends on the moon: it is the Sunday after the first ecclesiastical full moon on or after 21 March. That is why it can fall on any day between 22 March and 25 April.

Sources

• United States Naval Observatory (USNO): “The Date of Easter”, with the rule and the algorithm to compute Easter.
• SINALEVI: Labour Code, article 148, and Decree XXVIII of 1 September 1884, repealed by Law 10285 of 20 September 2022.
• Ministry of Labour and Social Security: press release on the Holy Week holidays (26 March 2026) and the Ministry's history.
• El Observador: report on the Universidad Nacional's survey of religious values and practices (6 February 2025).