The United kingdom will witness the peak of April’s full Pink Moon at 03:12 BST on Thursday, 2 April.
Though it promises a stunning spectacle in the night sky, the Moon is unlikely to appear pink. Its name, like many other full Moons, originates from a time when people named them after natural seasonal markers to track the passing months.
In this case, it refers to a pink flower native to North America that blooms around this period.
The April full Moon also plays an important role in determining the dates for Easter and Passover.
On the evening of 1 April, the Moon will rise low on the horizon and is far more likely to appear orange than pink.
“This is because the sunlight it reflects reaches us through a more dense part of the Earth’s atmosphere which scatters blue and violet light, and means only the redder hues reach us,” experts explained.
Across the world, the full Moon in April has been known by several other names, including the Sprouting Grass Moon and Egg Moon, both marking the arrival of spring.
The full Fish Moon references the time when shad fish migrated upstream to spawn, while the Breaking Ice Moon signals the onset of warmer weather.
Such names, rooted in ancient traditions, predate modern calendars. They served as practical ways to mark the changing seasons, often tied to significant events, such as the Hunter, Harvest, and Flower Moons.
For stargazers in the UK, clear skies may be limited. A map of cloud cover shows much of England and all of Wales under cloud, while Northern Ireland and Scotland may enjoy clearer conditions.
Wednesday night’s forecast suggests a cold front will sweep south across England and Wales, bringing rain and cloud. The best chances of seeing the Moon clearly will be in the colder air over Scotland and Northern Ireland.
This year, Easter falls on 5 April, a date determined by astronomical events. It always occurs on the first Sunday after the first full Moon following the spring equinox. Over centuries, different Christian churches used different calendars, the Gregorian and Julian, which meant Easter dates varied globally.
Efforts to standardize the date have led many eastern European countries to adopt the Gregorian calendar for civil purposes while retaining the Julian calendar for Orthodox festivals.
The astronomical equinox naturally fluctuates between 20 and 21 March; in 2026, it occurs on 20 March.
However, the Christian church uses 21 March as a fixed reference to regularize its calculations. Since the first full Moon after 21 March is the Pink Moon on 2 April, Easter will follow on Sunday, 5 April. In years when the full Moon itself falls on a Sunday, Easter is observed the following Sunday.
Similarly, the Jewish calendar uses the new Moon to mark the start of each lunar month, with the full Moon always occurring mid-month. Passover begins halfway through Nisan, the first month of the calendar, coinciding with the April full Moon.
