Easter is just around the corner — bringing with it pastel eggs, chocolate bunnies, candy-filled baskets, and bright spring flowers lining grocery store aisles. With the holiday only days away, it’s clear that the season is in full swing.
Amid all the decorating and preparation, it’s easy to overlook a few essentials. Whether you need plastic eggs for an Easter egg hunt, ingredients for deviled eggs, or the right seasonings for your meal, you might find yourself making a last-minute trip to the store. While major retailers like Publix and Target will be closed on Easter Sunday, several grocery store options will still be open to cover any last-minute needs.
Here’s which date Easter Sunday falls on in 2026 and a list of stores that will be open and closed on the holiday in Jacksonville.
When is Easter Sunday 2026?
Easter Sunday will fall on April 5 in 2026. In 2025, Easter fell much later in the month, on April 20. Eastern Orthodox Easter will fall on Sunday, April 12, 2026.
Why does Easter change every year?
Easter’s date changes because it is based on the lunar calendar, much like Lunar New Year. According to The Old Farmer’s Almanac, Easter Sunday always falls on the first full moon after the spring equinox.
“While Christmas is fixed to a solar calendar (and near the winter solstice), Easter is based on the lunar cycles of the Jewish calendar,” the almanac says.
“In the Christian religion, the Last Supper (the final meal Jesus shared with his apostles before his crucifixion) was a Passover feast. Because Easter is based on a lunar month (which is 29.5 days), the date of Easter can vary.”
Is Publix open on Easter Sunday in Jacksonville?
No. Publix is never open on Easter Sunday.
There are three holidays a year that all Publix locations close for: Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day and Easter.
What stores close for Easter Sunday 2026 in Jacksonville?
These retailers will be closed on Easter:
What stores are open on Easter Sunday 2026 in Jacksonville?
These retailers will be open on Easter:
Note that some of these retailers may have reduced hours at all or some of their locations due to the holiday. Check your nearest location’s hours before you head to the store.
When is Passover? Is there a connection between Passover and Easter?
Passover, or Pesach, is an eight-day Jewish holiday that commemorates the Israelites’ emancipation from slavery in ancient Egypt. And it often overlaps with Easter in Western Christianity and Catholicism.
In Exodus 12:23, Moses told the Israelites to slaughter a Passover lamb and paint its blood on their doors, to be protected from certain death. In the Torah, the Passover story is also found in the 12th chapter of Exodus.
The holiday is called “Passover,” because it commemorates when the angel of death passed over the Hebrew people who had lamb’s blood on their doors, according to the Bible and the Torah.
“The Lord protected the Israelites from death by passing over their doors and would not ‘allow the destroyer to enter your houses to strike you down,” according to the Old Farmer’s Almanac.
Passover’s date is determined by the Hebrew lunisolar calendar, always beginning on the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Nissan. Passover 2026 will begin before sundown on Wednesday, April 1, and end after nightfall on Thursday, April 9, according to Chabad.org.
In the Christian religion, the Last Supper — the final meal Jesus shared with his apostles before his crucifixion — was a Passover feast. The Hebrew calendar uses lunar months, which also determine Easter’s date.
This is why in Western Christianity and Catholicism, Easter and Passover often overlap, as they will this year. Passover is much less likely to overlap with Eastern Orthodox Easter.
Doris Alvarez is a Breaking and Trending Reporter for The Florida Times-Union. You can get all of Jacksonville’s best content directly in your inbox each weekday by signing up for the free Daily Briefing and News Alerts newsletters at jacksonville.com/newsletters.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: What grocery stores are open on Easter Sunday 2026 in Jacksonville?
Reporting by Doris Alvarez Cea and Lianna Norman, Jacksonville Florida Times-Union / Florida Times-Union
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