PHP easter_date() Function

The PHP easter_date() function returns the Unix timestamp corresponding to midnight on Easter of the given year.

Note: This function will generate a warning if the year is outside of the range for Unix timestamps (i.e. typically before 1970 or after 2037 on 32bit systems).

Syntax

easter_date(year, mode)

Parameters

`year`	`Optional.` Specify the year as a number between 1970 an 2037. If omitted or null, defaults to the current year according to the local time.
`mode`	`Optional.` Allows Easter dates to be calculated based on the Julian calendar when set to CAL_EASTER_ALWAYS_JULIAN. Default is CAL_EASTER_DEFAULT.

Return Value

Returns the easter date as a unix timestamp.

Exceptions

NA.

Example:

The example below shows the usage of easter_date() function.

<?php
//Easter date for current year
echo date("M-d-Y", easter_date())."\n";
 
//Easter date for year 2015
echo date("M-d-Y", easter_date(2015))."\n";

//Easter date for year 2010
echo date("M-d-Y", easter_date(2010))."\n";

echo "\n";

//Easter date for year 2015 
//based on Julian calendar
echo date("M-d-Y", easter_date(2015, 
          CAL_EASTER_ALWAYS_JULIAN))."\n";

//Easter date for year 2010 
//based on Julian calendar
echo date("M-d-Y", easter_date(2010, 
          CAL_EASTER_ALWAYS_JULIAN))."\n";
?>

The output of the above code will be:

Apr-04-2021
Apr-05-2015
Apr-04-2010

Mar-30-2015
Mar-22-2010

Example:

Consider one more example which demonstrates the situation when passed parameter is out of range.

<?php
//Easter date for year 2050
echo date("M-d-Y", easter_date(2050))."\n";
?>

The output of the above code will be:

PHP Fatal error:  Uncaught ValueError: easter_date(): Argument #1 ($year) must be between 1970 and 2037 (inclusive) in Main.php:3
Stack trace:
#0 Main.php(3): easter_date()
#1 {main}
  thrown in Main.php on line 3

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