MySavior- Western Easter only. The countdown does not follow the Orthodox date of Easter (Pascha). In 2027, Orthodox Easter is May 2, 2027, five weeks after Western Easter on March 28.
- Traditional dates. Epiphany is always January 6, and Ascension and Corpus Christi fall on their Thursdays. Where your church keeps them on a Sunday instead, the widget’s day can differ from your parish’s by a few days.
- US Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is the fourth Thursday of November, the US date.
- Whole days. The number changes at midnight in your iPhone’s time zone, not at the time of a service.
- No custom dates. The widget counts down to the 30 feasts in the app; you cannot add a birthday or another event.
Christian Countdown · Home Screen and Lock Screen
Christian countdown widget for iPhone
The Christian Countdown widget in MySavior shows how many days are left until the next feast: Advent, Christmas, Ash Wednesday, Easter, Pentecost or any of 30 Christian feasts. It works on the Home Screen and the Lock Screen, and the app calculates every date itself, year after year.
Leave it on Auto to follow the nearest feast, or give each widget its own: an Advent countdown on the Lock Screen and an Easter countdown on the Home Screen, for example.
- 30 feasts
- 4 widget sizes
- Changes at midnight
52days until Advent
Thu 8Christmas · 78 days
9:41
Easteris in 171 days
125dAsh Wed
Illustration · day counts as of October 8, 2026
At a glance
The countdown widget in facts
A Christian countdown widget is a small iPhone widget that counts the days to a feast of the Church year and changes by itself each day. Here are the facts about MySavior’s Christian Countdown, checked against the app itself.
| Feasts | 30, from Mary, Mother of God (January 1) to Christmas (December 25). See the list |
|---|---|
| Home Screen | Small |
| Lock Screen | Rectangular, circular and inline |
| What it shows | The days left and the feast’s name; on the day itself, that the feast is today |
| Modes | Auto (the nearest feast that is switched on) or one feast that you pick |
| Auto at first | 16 major feasts; the other 14 can be added |
| Updates | Every midnight, in your iPhone’s time zone |
| Dates | Calculated on your iPhone for every year, with Western (Gregorian) Easter |
| Home Screen look | A photo design for each feast, its liturgical colors or any Unsplash photo; font, size, color and alignment |
| How many | As many countdown widgets as you like, each with its own feast |
| Needs | iPhone with iOS 18.6 or later; the app is in English |
Four sizes
One countdown, four widget sizes
The Christian Countdown comes in four sizes: small on the Home Screen, and rectangular, circular and inline on the Lock Screen. The smaller the widget, the shorter the text, but the count is the same.
-
52days until Advent
Home Screen
Small
A big number over the feast’s photo, with “days until Advent” below it. The day before, it reads “Advent is tomorrow”; on the day, “Advent is today”. When another switched-on feast falls the next day, it names both, such as “Today: Mardi Gras” and “Tomorrow: Ash Wednesday”.
Thu 89:41Christmasis in 78 daysLock Screen
Rectangular
Two lines below the clock: the feast’s name, then “is in … days”, “is tomorrow” or “is today”.
Thu 89:41171dEaster125dAsh Wed220dPentecostLock Screen
Circular
The days left, such as “30d”, over a short name: “Easter”, “Ash Wed”, “Holy Thu” and “Corpus”. Up to four fit side by side.
Thu 8Advent · 52 days9:41Lock Screen
Inline
One line beside the date above the clock: the feast’s name and the days left, then “Advent · Tomorrow” the day before and “Advent · Today” on the day.
Illustration · day counts as of October 8, 2026
On the Lock Screen, iOS draws widgets in a single tint, so the photos, colors and fonts you choose apply to the Home Screen widget.
Auto or one feast
Follow the next feast, or pin one
Each countdown widget has one setting, its Event. On the Home Screen, touch and hold the widget and tap Edit Widget; on the Lock Screen, tap the widget while you customize.
Auto: always the next feast
With the Event set to “Auto — nearest feast”, the widget counts down to whichever switched-on feast comes next, and rolls on to the following one by itself once the day has passed. Starting from October 8, 2026, an Auto widget counts down to All Saints (November 1), then Christ the King, Thanksgiving, Advent and Immaculate Conception. Reformation Day (October 31) comes first, but it is not in the default rotation.
16 feasts are switched on at first: Epiphany, Mardi Gras, Ash Wednesday, St. Patrick's Day, Palm Sunday, Good Friday, Easter, Ascension, Pentecost, Assumption, All Saints, Thanksgiving, Christ the King, Advent, Immaculate Conception and Christmas.
The other 14 are ready to add: Mary, Mother of God, Candlemas, Annunciation, St. Joseph, Holy Thursday, Holy Saturday, Divine Mercy, Trinity Sunday, Corpus Christi, Sts. Peter & Paul, Transfiguration, Nativity of Mary, Reformation Day and St. Nicholas Day. Tick them under Manage feasts in the app’s Widget Studio.
One feast: a countdown that stays put
Pick any of the 30 feasts as the Event and the widget counts down to it all year. On the day it shows “Today”; the next day it starts again with the following year’s date.
Add as many widgets as you like, each pinned to a different feast: Advent on the Lock Screen, Easter and Christmas on the Home Screen.
Looks, per feast
On the Home Screen, each feast has a ready-made photo design. In the Widget Studio you can switch a feast to its liturgical colors or choose an Unsplash photo for it, and set the font, size, color and alignment for all feasts or one at a time.
Advent, Ash Wednesday, Easter
An Advent, Easter or feast-day countdown
Advent countdown
Pin Advent to count down to the First Sunday of Advent, November 29, 2026, when the Church year begins. Pair it with a Christmas countdown to follow both. When does Advent start, and how is it calculated?
Ash Wednesday and Holy Week
There is no separate Lent entry: Lent starts on Ash Wednesday, so pin Ash Wednesday (February 10, 2027). Mardi Gras, Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday each have their own countdown too.
Easter countdown
Easter moves every year, so the app works out its date with the Western (Gregorian) method: March 28 in 2027 and April 16 in 2028, for example. The feasts that depend on Easter move with it: Divine Mercy, Ascension, Pentecost, Trinity Sunday and Corpus Christi.
Feast days of saints and of Mary
You can also count down to the feast days of Saint Patrick, Saint Joseph, Saints Peter and Paul and Saint Nicholas, to All Saints, and to five feasts of Mary: Mary, Mother of God, the Annunciation, the Assumption, her Nativity and the Immaculate Conception. For a different saint every day, see the Saint of the Day widget.
125days until Ash Wednesday
171days until Easter
220days until Pentecost
Illustration · day counts as of October 8, 2026
30 feasts
All 30 feasts and their next dates
Sorted by date, as of October 8, 2026. Easter and the feasts that move with it follow the Western (Gregorian) calendar. Feasts marked “Auto” are in the Auto rotation at first.
| Feast and how its date is set | Next date and countdown |
|---|---|
| Reformation DayOctober 31 every year | in 23 days |
| All SaintsAutoNovember 1 every year | in 24 days |
| Christ the KingAutoSunday before the First Sunday of Advent | in 45 days |
| ThanksgivingAutoFourth Thursday of November (US) | in 49 days |
| AdventAutoFourth Sunday before Christmas | in 52 days |
| St. Nicholas DayDecember 6 every year | in 59 days |
| Immaculate ConceptionAutoDecember 8 every year | in 61 days |
| ChristmasAutoDecember 25 every year | in 78 days |
| Mary, Mother of GodJanuary 1 every year | in 85 days |
| EpiphanyAutoJanuary 6 every year | in 90 days |
| CandlemasFebruary 2 every year | in 117 days |
| Mardi GrasAuto47 days before Easter | in 124 days |
| Ash WednesdayAuto46 days before Easter | in 125 days |
| St. Patrick's DayAutoMarch 17 every year | in 160 days |
| St. JosephMarch 19, moved before Palm Sunday when it falls between Palm Sunday and the Sunday after Easter | in 162 days |
| Palm SundayAuto7 days before Easter | in 164 days |
| Holy Thursday3 days before Easter | in 168 days |
| Good FridayAuto2 days before Easter | in 169 days |
| Holy SaturdayThe day before Easter | in 170 days |
| EasterAutoEaster Sunday (Western date, computed each year) | in 171 days |
| Divine Mercy7 days after Easter | in 178 days |
| AnnunciationMarch 25, moved after the Easter octave when it falls between Palm Sunday and the Sunday after Easter | in 179 days |
| AscensionAuto39 days after Easter | in 210 days |
| PentecostAuto49 days after Easter | in 220 days |
| Trinity Sunday56 days after Easter | in 227 days |
| Corpus Christi60 days after Easter | in 231 days |
| Sts. Peter & PaulJune 29 every year | in 264 days |
| TransfigurationAugust 6 every year | in 302 days |
| AssumptionAutoAugust 15 every year | in 311 days |
| Nativity of MarySeptember 8 every year | in 335 days |
Dates by season for 2026, 2027 and 2028: Christian holidays 2027.
Set it up
How to add the countdown widget
Install MySavior and open it once. Then add the widget like any other iPhone widget.
On the Home Screen
- Touch and hold an empty area of the Home Screen until the apps jiggle, then tap Edit and Add Widget.
- Search for MySavior, swipe to Christian Countdown and tap Add Widget.
- Touch and hold the new widget, tap Edit Widget and choose its Event: “Auto — nearest feast” or one feast.
- Add more countdowns the same way, one for each feast you want to follow.
On the Lock Screen
- Touch and hold the Lock Screen, tap Customize, then choose the Lock Screen.
- Tap the area below the clock, or the date above it for the inline size.
- Choose MySavior, then the Christian Countdown in the size you want.
- Tap the countdown you added to choose its Event, then tap Done.
If MySavior is not in the widget list yet, open the app once and try again. Step-by-step guide with pictures for the Lock Screen
Good to know
What the countdown does not do
Questions and answers
Is there a Christian countdown widget for iPhone?
Yes. MySavior’s Christian Countdown widget counts down to 30 Christian feasts, including Advent, Christmas, Ash Wednesday, Easter and Pentecost. It comes in the small Home Screen size and in the rectangular, circular and inline Lock Screen sizes, on iPhone with iOS 18.6 or later.
Can I put an Advent countdown on my Lock Screen?
Yes. Add the Christian Countdown widget to your Lock Screen, tap it while you customize, and choose Advent as its Event. The next First Sunday of Advent is Sunday, November 29, 2026.
Does the countdown work every year?
Yes. MySavior calculates each date itself, including Western Easter and the feasts that move with it, so nothing needs updating. The day after a feast, a widget pinned to it starts counting down to the next year’s date.
Which feasts does Auto mode count down to?
In Auto mode, the countdown follows the nearest feast that is switched on in the app, then moves to the next one by itself. At first these are 16 major feasts, such as Advent, Christmas, Ash Wednesday, Easter and Pentecost. You can switch on any of the other 14, such as Corpus Christi or St. Nicholas Day, in the app’s Widget Studio.
Does it count down to Orthodox Easter?
No. MySavior’s countdown follows the Western (Gregorian) date of Easter, which in 2027 is March 28. Orthodox Easter that year is May 2.
Count down to the next feast
Add the Christian Countdown widget to your Home Screen or Lock Screen and keep Advent, Ash Wednesday, Easter and Christmas in view. For iPhone with iOS 18.6 or later.