When is Easter 2026, and why does the date change year to year? As spring arrives and flowers bloom, that means it's almost time for Easter. Easter always falls on a Sunday — hence the name Easter Sunday — but the date isn't always the same. This year, Easter falls on April 5. In 2027, Easter Sunday will be even earlier, on March 28, then will fall back to April 16 in 2028. The date of Easter changes due to its connection with the lunar calendar. Easter is determined by the first Sunday after the full moon that occurs on or after March 21, which marks the spring equinox in the Christian tradition. If the full moon coincides with a Sunday, Easter is celebrated the following Sunday. This year, the full moon falls on Wednesday, April 1, so Easter is observed on the subsequent Sunday, April 5. The earliest possible date for Easter is March 22. The last time this occurred was in 1818, and it will happen again in 2285. Conversely, the latest possible date is April 25. This date last occurred in 1943 and will return in 2038. Over the past 500 years, between 1600 and 2099, the most frequent Easter dates have been March 31 and April 16, each occurring 22 times, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Looking ahead, the next decade will see Easter fall on the following dates: 2026 (April 5), 2027 (March 28), 2028 (April 16), 2029 (April 7), 2030 (April 27), 2031 (March 23), 2032 (April 11), 2033 (April 3), 2034 (April 23), and 2035 (March 25). These variations highlight the interplay between the lunar cycle and the Gregorian calendar, ensuring Easter’s date shifts annually while remaining tied to the spring equinox.#spring_equinox #lunar_calendar #easter_sunday #us_census_bureau #gregorian_calendar
Slow Growth Impacts Nation’s Largest Counties Hardest Population growth slowed in a majority of the nation’s 3,143 counties and the District of Columbia between July 1, 2024, and July 1, 2025, according to the Vintage 2025 population estimates released by the U.S. Census Bureau. Among the 2,066 counties that experienced growth between 2023 and 2024, nearly 80% saw their growth slow or reverse in 2025. In many cases, counties already in decline saw losses accelerate. Thirty-one of the 387 U.S. metropolitan statistical areas (metro areas) had slower growth between 2024 and 2025 compared to the prior year. The three metro areas with the steepest declines in population growth rates were along the U.S.-Mexico border: Laredo, Texas, which saw its growth rate drop from 3.2% to 0.2%; Yuma, Arizona, which fell from 3.3% to 1.4%; and El Centro, California, which declined from 1.2% to -0.7%. These trends were largely driven by lower levels of net international migration (NIM), which declined nationwide. Nine out of 10 U.S. counties experienced reduced NIM between July 1, 2024, and June 30, 2025, compared to the previous year. Only one in 10 counties saw no decline in international migration, and none experienced an increase. Some of the country’s most populous counties were hit hardest by the drop in NIM. These counties typically had higher natural growth rates due to more births than deaths but also faced negative net domestic migration—more people moving out than in from other regions. Combined with reduced NIM, this led to slower growth or, in some cases, population decline. George M.#yuma_arizona #us_census_bureau #laredo_texas #el_centro_california #george_m_hayward
