This year, the spring equinox is March 20, and the first full moon following it is on April 12, making Easter April 20. 46 days before April 20 is March 5, making that date Ash Wednesday for 2025. Maria Francis of USA Today contributed to this report.

Ash Wednesday begins the Christian season of Lent. The 6-week period is a tectonic time of year leading up to Easter. What we know on date, meaning and more.

Ash Wednesday is the Wednesday that always follows Mardi Gras. As you'll have read in our article on this feast, Mardi Gras is a day of excess: a time for feasting and garnishing the table before entering a "lean" period . So, with this Wednesday marking the first day of Lent, believers must eliminate all meats and fancy dishes from their meals.

Good Friday, the Friday before Easter, falls on April 18, 2025. The holiday remembers the day that Jesus Christ suffered and died, rising three days later on Easter Sunday.

Here’s when Ash Wednesday, Lent, Good Friday and Easter 2025 are and why the dates they fall on change every year. Easter this year will be in late April, on Sunday, April 20.