April Holidays 2027: A Family Calendar of Holidays, Observances and Fun Days (With Kid Activities)

The biggest April holidays in 2027 are April Fools’ Day (April 1), Passover (April 21 to 29), Earth Day (Thursday, April 22) and Arbor Day (Friday, April 30), while Western Easter falls early, on March 28, and Orthodox Easter comes on May 2.

Looking for April holidays to plan around? April 2027 has a twist: Easter is not in it. Instead, the month is built around Passover, two days for the planet, a silly start on April Fools’ Day and two month-long celebrations of poetry and autism acceptance.

We checked every 2027 date against official sources in November 2026 and calculated each weekday. Below: a day by day calendar, one activity per holiday, planting ideas for Earth Day and Arbor Day, sleep tips for spring break and a printable summary.

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April Holidays 2027 at a Glance

Dates checked in November 2026 against the U.S. Naval Observatory, Hebcal, the American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese and the organizers of each observance (EARTHDAY.ORG, the Arbor Day Foundation, the Academy of American Poets and the Autism Society of America). Weekdays were calculated, not copied.

April 2027 Holiday Calendar, Day by Day

Use this table as your family calendar. The “Type” column shows whether a day is a religious observance, an environmental day, a month-long celebration or an unofficial fun day.

A note on “national days”: many online lists give every April date a “national day” for a food or hobby. Most are unofficial, so we only list days we could trace to an official calendar or a named organizer.

Easter 2027: Why It Is in March, and When Orthodox Easter Falls

If you are searching for Easter on an April calendar, here is the short answer: in 2027, Western Easter comes early. The U.S. Naval Observatory lists Palm Sunday on March 21, Good Friday on March 26 and Easter Sunday on March 28, 2027. Egg hunts, Easter baskets and church services will mostly happen in late March this year. Our March holidays calendar covers Holy Week and Easter activities.

Orthodox Easter is in May. Orthodox Easter, called Pascha, falls on a different Sunday this year. The American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese lists Pascha on Sunday, May 2, 2027, with Palm Sunday on April 25. That puts Orthodox Holy Week, including Holy (Good) Friday on April 30, at the very end of April. In 2027, the two Easters are five weeks apart.

• Spring break: with Western Easter in March and Passover in late April, spring break dates will vary widely. Some districts tie the break to Easter and others do not, so check your district calendar before booking anything.
• If you missed the egg hunt: April is still great for an outdoor egg or nature scavenger hunt.
• Movie night: if your family likes a holiday film on a rainy evening, our list of Easter movies works any time this spring.

Passover and Other Religious Holidays in April 2027

Here is what each faith date in April means, so you can answer kids’ questions or send a kind word to friends and neighbors.

• Passover, sundown Wednesday, April 21 to nightfall Thursday, April 29: Hebcal lists Passover (Pesach) 2027 from the evening of April 21, when families hold the first seder, through nightfall on April 29 for communities outside Israel. That covers 15 to 22 Nisan on the Hebrew calendar. Hebcal explains that Passover commemorates the Exodus of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, and that at the seder, a ceremonial meal, families read from the Haggadah to retell the story.
• Orthodox Palm Sunday, Sunday, April 25: the start of Orthodox Holy Week, one week before Pascha.
• Orthodox Holy Friday, Friday, April 30: two days before Orthodox Easter on May 2. It shares a date with Arbor Day this year.
• Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr: these do not fall in April in 2027. Our February and March holiday calendars list their expected dates.

For young kids, simple words work best: “Our friends are starting Passover tonight with a special dinner that tells a very old story,” If you are invited to a seder, ask your host what to expect.

April Holidays for Kids: One Simple Activity for Each

This list mixes outdoor ideas with kitchen-table ones for rainy days.

For toddlers, one activity is plenty. On wet days, our list of rainy day activities for kids fills the afternoon, and on dry ones, try these outdoor games for kids.

April Fools’ Day: Gentle Pranks for Little Kids

April Fools’ Day, Thursday, April 1, is not an official holiday, but kids love it. For toddlers and preschoolers, the best April Fools’ fun is silly, obvious and never scary or mean:

• Backwards dinner: serve breakfast foods at dinner, or eat dessert first (a small one).
• Googly eyes: stick a pair of googly eyes on the milk jug or the fruit bowl and wait for the giggles.
• Joke swap: trade simple riddles at the table. Our jokes for kids list has plenty that preschoolers can actually tell.

One house rule helps: a good prank makes everybody laugh, including the person it was played on. If someone feels upset or tricked, say “April Fools’!” right away and give a hug.

Earth Day and Arbor Day: Planting Something Together

April has two days that are all about the planet, and in 2027 they are just eight days apart.

Earth Day, Thursday, April 22. According to EARTHDAY.ORG, the first Earth Day on April 22, 1970 was proposed by Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson after a major 1969 oil spill in Santa Barbara, California. About 20 million Americans, roughly 10 percent of the population at the time, took part. By the end of 1970, it had helped lead to the creation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Earth Day went global in 1990, with about 200 million people in 141 countries.

Arbor Day, Friday, April 30. The Arbor Day Foundation says the first Arbor Day was held on April 10, 1872, in Nebraska, after newspaper editor J. Sterling Morton proposed it. An estimated 1 million or more trees were planted that day. National Arbor Day is now the last Friday in April, which is April 30 in 2027, though many states hold their own Arbor Day at a different time to match local planting weather.

Easy ways to celebrate both with kids:

• Plant a seed in a cup: beans and sunflowers sprout fast. Use a clear cup so kids can see the roots grow, and add a drawing of the plant each day.
• Adopt a tree: pick a tree nearby, photograph it every week this spring and watch the leaves come in.
• Litter walk: bring gloves and a bag on a short walk around your block or a park. Count the pieces together.
• Kitchen science: sort a day’s trash into what can be recycled, composted or thrown away, then see what our science experiments for kids can do with the recycling.

National Poetry Month and Autism Acceptance Month at Home and School

Two month-long observances make April a good time to slow down, listen and include everyone.

National Poetry Month. The Academy of American Poets launched National Poetry Month in April 1996, modeling it on Black History Month and Women’s History Month, and calls it the largest literary celebration in the world. You do not need to be a poetry family to join in:

• A poem a night: read one short poem at bedtime instead of (or along with) a story. Nursery rhymes count.
• Make a family poem: each person adds one line about spring. Little ones can say a word and you write it down.

Autism Acceptance Month. The Autism Society of America observes April as Autism Acceptance Month and describes the goal as moving beyond awareness toward acceptance and action. Its suggestions include inviting people who think differently into groups and activities, offering accommodations and creating calm, sensory-friendly spaces. Ideas for families:

• Talk about differences: explain that every brain works a little differently, and that some kids need quiet, extra time or a different way to play.
• Make a calm space: set up a cozy, quiet corner with a soft cushion and a few calming toys. A calm-down corner helps every child.
• Try sensory play: our sensory activities for toddlers are a fun, inclusive way to play together at home or at a playdate.

Classroom ideas: a poem-of-the-day board, a class seed-cup garden for Earth Day and Arbor Day, and a quiet corner open to everyone.

Keeping Sleep on Track During April Celebrations

April brings spring break trips, Passover seders that run past bedtime and long, light evenings. A few habits keep sleep on track:

• Expect lighter evenings. After the switch to daylight saving time in March, the sun sets later in April, which can make bedtime harder. Room-darkening shades help, and our daylight saving time and baby sleep guide has more tips.
• Keep the bedtime routine the same, even on holiday nights or in a hotel room. Our toddler bedtime routine guide shows how to keep it short and portable.
• For a late seder or family dinner, plan a calm nap that afternoon and bring pajamas so a little one can fall asleep in the car on the way home.
• After a late night, keep the next morning’s wake time close to normal so your child’s body clock does not drift.

Whatever the occasion, babies under 12 months should always sleep on their back, alone, on a firm, flat surface with no pillows, blankets, bumpers or toys, including in a travel crib or play yard at a relative’s house.

Holidays in April: Month at a Glance (Printable Summary)

Print this page or copy this summary onto the fridge:

• All month: National Poetry Month and Autism Acceptance Month.
• Week 1 (April 1 to 4): April Fools’ Day (Thu., April 1).
• Weeks 2 and 3 (April 5 to 18): no major holidays: a good stretch for spring cleaning, a park day or a poem jar.
• Week 4 (April 19 to 25): Passover begins (sundown Wed., April 21); Earth Day (Thu., April 22); Orthodox Palm Sunday (Sun., April 25).
• Week 5 (April 26 to 30): Passover ends (nightfall Thu., April 29); Arbor Day and Orthodox Holy Friday (Fri., April 30).
• Already passed: Western Easter was Sunday, March 28.
• Next up: Orthodox Easter (May 2), Mother’s Day and Memorial Day are in our May holidays calendar.

Related Betteroo Guides

• March Holidays 2027
• May Holidays 2027
• January Holidays 2027
• Outdoor Games for Kids
• Easter Movies
• Jokes for Kids

The Bottom Line

April 2027 is a spring month full of fresh starts: April Fools’ Day on April 1, Passover from April 21 to 29, Earth Day on April 22, Orthodox Holy Week from April 25, and Arbor Day on April 30, with National Poetry Month and Autism Acceptance Month running all month. Western Easter already happened on March 28, and Orthodox Easter waits until May 2. Pick two or three days that matter to your family, plant something together, and keep bedtime steady as the evenings get lighter.

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