Celebration of Easter by Orthodox Christians around the world following the Julian calendar. Learn how Easter’s dates are calculated.
Daily Calendar for Sunday, April 20, 2025
Easter in the western Christian church can occur as early as March 22 and as late as April 25. It is observed on the Sunday after the Paschal Full Moon (a fixed spring date set by the church). This Christian holy day celebrates the resurrection of Christ after his Crucifixion and was probably the earliest of the church’s annual festivals. Folk customs attached to the festival date from pre-Christian times. Eggs, traditionally forbidden during Lent, symbolize new life. The Easter Bunny recalls the hare, the Egyptian symbol of fertility. Easter may have derived its name from the Saxon goddess Eostre, whose feast was celebrated each spring at about this time. Or it may have derived from the word oster, meaning “rising.” Learn more about Easter.
Died
- George Clinton (became first U.S. vice president to die in office) –
- Bram Stoker (author) –
- Benny Hill (comedian) –
- Christopher Robin Milne (son of A.A. Milne, basis for the Winnie the Pooh character Christopher Robin) –
- Dorothy Height (civil rights activist; she stood on the platform with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during his historic I Have a Dream” speech”) –
Born
- Daniel Chester French (sculptor) –
- Stanley Marcus (retailer) –
- Lionel Hampton (jazz musician) –
- Ryan O'Neal (actor) –
- Jessica Lange (actress) –
- Don Mattingly (baseball player) –
- Felix Baumgartner (daredevil) –
- Shemar Moore (actor) –
- Joey Lawrence (actor) –
- Funny Cide (thoroughbred race horse, won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes in 2003) –
Events
- Hot Springs Reservation (now National Park) was established in Arkansas –
- French scientists Pierre and Marie Curie isolated radium chloride from pitchblende –
- Boston’s Fenway Park hosted its first professional baseball game. The Boston Red Sox played the New York Highlanders (now the Yankees). –
- Electron microscope demonstrated to public –
- Pierre Elliott Trudeau was sworn in as 15th Prime Minister of Canada –
- 54-pound 8-ounce freshwater drum caught in Nickajack Lake, Tennessee –
- During a fishing trip, an upset swamp rabbit approached President Carter’s boat, Plains, GA –
- Tony Gemignani spun 17.6 ounces of dough for 2 minutes to form pizza base 33.2 inches wide, in Minneapolis, Minnesota –
- New York Yankee’s Aaron Hicks threw 105.5 mph ball from left field, setting baseball record –
Weather
- A San Antonio hailstorm severely injured ten soldiers and killed two horses –
- Six inches of snow in northern New Hampshire –
- Deadly F3 tornado touched down in Utica, Illinois –
- Ice out, Lake Winnipesaukee, NH –
