Good Friday and Easter 2027 dates in India, with Holy Week

Good Friday 2027 falls on Friday, 26 March, and Easter Sunday on 28 March 2027. The season of Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, 10 February, and Holy Week starts with Palm Sunday on 21 March.

Good Friday is a gazetted holiday for central government offices, and a holiday in almost every state. Here are the dates and how the days are observed in India.

Key points

• Ash Wednesday (start of Lent): Wednesday 10 February 2027.
• Palm Sunday: 21 March. Maundy Thursday: 25 March.
• Good Friday: Friday 26 March 2027 (gazetted holiday).
• Easter Sunday: 28 March 2027 (restricted holiday for central government staff).
• Orthodox Easter, in churches that follow the older Julian calendar, falls on Sunday 2 May 2027.

Easter 2027 dates at a glance

How the date of Easter is set

Unlike Christmas, which is always on 25 December, Easter moves every year. Western churches celebrate it on the first Sunday after the first full moon on or after 21 March, the date the church uses for the spring equinox. That is why Easter can fall anywhere from late March to late April. In 2027 it comes fairly early in the season, on 28 March.

Once Easter is fixed, the other days follow: Good Friday is two days before, Palm Sunday a week before, and Ash Wednesday 46 days before. Most churches in India follow this Western date. Orthodox churches that follow the older Julian calendar celebrate Easter on 2 May in 2027.

Lent 2027

Lent is the 40-day season of prayer, fasting and giving that prepares Christians for Easter. It begins on Ash Wednesday, 10 February 2027, when many Christians receive a cross of ash on the forehead as a sign of repentance. The 40 days do not count Sundays, which is why Lent lasts about six and a half weeks.

During Lent, many Christians give up certain foods or habits, fast on Fridays, avoid meat on some days, and give more to charity. In Kerala, many Syrian Christian families follow a strict 50-day Lenten fast, giving up meat, fish and eggs, while in Goa and the Northeast, parishes organise retreats, charity drives and special prayer services through the season. Children often keep a Lenten box to collect money for the poor.

Holy Week 2027

Palm Sunday (21 March): Churches bless palm leaves, and processions remember Jesus's entry into Jerusalem, when crowds laid palm branches on the road. In Kerala and Goa, palm fronds are woven into crosses and taken home.

Maundy Thursday (25 March): Remembers the Last Supper and Jesus washing his disciples' feet. In many churches, the priest washes the feet of twelve people. In Kerala, Syrian Christian families mark the day as Pesaha, sharing a special unleavened bread, Pesaha appam, and a sweet coconut milk drink at home.

Good Friday (26 March): The most solemn day of the Christian year. Churches hold long services, often three hours in the afternoon, and many follow the Way of the Cross, a series of prayers at fourteen stations remembering Jesus's last journey. Many Christians fast, and churches are left bare, without flowers or music. It is not a day for "Happy Good Friday" greetings; "Happy Easter" is kept for Sunday.

Holy Saturday (27 March): A quiet day of waiting. After dark, many churches hold the Easter Vigil, which begins in darkness with the lighting of the Easter candle.

Easter Sunday (28 March): The celebration of the resurrection, with joyful services, often starting at dawn, followed by family meals. Churches are filled with white flowers, and the bells and music silent since Thursday return.

How Easter is celebrated in India

India has a Christian population of about 2.3% according to the 2011 Census, around 2.8 crore people, with large communities in Kerala, Goa, Tamil Nadu and the northeastern states of Nagaland, Mizoram and Meghalaya, where Christians are a majority.

• Kerala: Long Holy Week services in the Syrian Christian, Catholic and Protestant churches, Pesaha on Maundy Thursday, and Easter feasts with appam and stew after the long Lenten fast.
• Goa: Good Friday processions and passion plays, and Easter Sunday Masses followed by family lunches.
• Northeast: Easter is one of the biggest festivals of the year in Nagaland, Mizoram and Meghalaya, with church services, choirs and community gatherings.
• Cities: Churches in Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, Kolkata and Delhi hold services in English and regional languages, often with overflowing crowds on Good Friday and Easter.

Easter eggs, hot cross buns and marzipan eggs have also become popular in bakeries across India around Easter.

Easter food in India

After weeks of Lenten fasting, Easter Sunday is a day for feasting, and every region has its own table.

• Kerala: Appam with chicken or mutton stew, duck roast, and beef or fish curries in many Syrian Christian homes.
• Goa: Sorpotel, vindaloo, xacuti and sannas, followed by bebinca and marzipan Easter eggs.
• Northeast: Community feasts after church, often with smoked pork dishes in Nagaland and Mizoram.
• Cities: Plum cake, hot cross buns and chocolate eggs from local bakeries.

Easter 2027 for Indians abroad

Indian Christians in the Gulf, the UK, the US, Canada and Australia usually join local parish services or Indian-language congregations, such as Malayalam, Tamil and Konkani Masses, many of which hold their own Holy Week services. In the Gulf, churches are often very crowded on Good Friday and Easter, so arrive early.

Easter and Holi in the same week

In 2027, Holy Week coincides with Holi. Palm Sunday on 21 March is the same day as Holika Dahan by most panchangs, and Holi's colours follow on 22 March, with the government's Holi holiday on 23 March. Good Friday follows on 26 March. For many families, especially in mixed communities and cities, the last week of March will be a week of back-to-back festivals.

Read more in our Holi 2027 guide.

Holidays and planning

• Good Friday (26 March): A gazetted holiday for central government offices, and a holiday in almost every state and for banks. With Easter on Sunday, it creates a three-day weekend from 26 to 28 March.
• Easter Sunday (28 March): A restricted holiday for central government staff, though it already falls on a Sunday.
• Travel: Goa and Kerala are popular for the Easter weekend. Book early, especially as the Holi long weekend comes just before it in the same week.

See every festival of the year in our full festival calendar for 2027.

From the ashes of 10 February to the lilies of 28 March, the Easter season of 2027 comes early. Good Friday on 26 March also gives many people across India a long weekend, coming straight after the Holi holidays.