Easter, Passover and Ramadan Leave Their Mark on Internet Traffic
Spring in the Northern Hemisphere typically brings warmer weather and, for many, a cluster of religious holidays. In 2023, Easter, Orthodox Easter, Passover and Ramadan converged within a few weeks of each other — an alignment that last occurred 33 years earlier. Using data from Cloudflare Radar, which draws on traffic from over 20% of websites globally, it's possible to see how these celebrations influence Internet usage patterns across different countries.
While the charts are presented in UTC, the analysis below references local time for clarity. For several predominantly Christian countries, the Easter long weekend produced some of the lowest traffic days of 2023 — in some cases, more impactful than Easter Sunday itself.
European Easter Weekends: A Clear Traffic Dip
Italy: Easter Sunday Leads the Drop
Italy saw its lowest traffic day of 2023 so far on Easter Sunday, April 9, with traffic down 18% compared with the previous week. Easter Monday ("Pasquetta"), also a national holiday, ranked third with a similar 18% drop. The impact was most pronounced between 13:00 and 15:00 local time, when traffic fell roughly 37% versus the prior week; Easter Monday saw a comparable 36% decrease around 13:00.
Poland: The Strongest Easter Effect
Poland showed the most dramatic Easter decline among the countries examined. Easter Sunday, April 9, was the day with the least Internet traffic in 2023 so far, down 22% from the previous week. The preceding Saturday, April 8, ranked second with an 11% drop. The downturn was most visible between 10:00 and 17:00 local time, when traffic was roughly 30% lower than the week before.
Germany: A Notable Weekend Falloff
In Germany, Easter Sunday, April 9, was the lowest-traffic day of the year to date, with 13% fewer requests than the previous Sunday. Easter Saturday, April 8, ranked second (down 9%), and Maundy Thursday, April 6, was third (down 5%). The most significant dip occurred between 13:00 and 16:00 local time, with traffic about 21% below the prior week's levels. Notably, mobile device traffic exceeded desktop traffic from Good Friday through Easter Monday.
France: Easter Weekend Tops the List
France's two lowest-traffic days of 2023 so far were Easter Saturday and Easter Sunday. April 9 saw 16% fewer requests than the previous Sunday. The sharpest decline came between 13:00 and 17:00 local time — roughly 24% below the prior week, with the single biggest drop (27%) at 15:00. As in Germany, mobile traffic overtook desktop from Good Friday, April 7, through Easter Monday, April 10.
Portugal and Spain: Different Easter Patterns
Portugal's Easter Saturday, April 8, was the second-lowest traffic day of 2023 after January 1, with an 8% drop from the previous week; Easter Sunday saw a matching 8% decline. Traffic was consistently low across the Easter weekend, with a clear 20% drop at around 13:00 local time on Easter Sunday. Mobile traffic surpassed desktop on Easter Sunday itself.
Spain tells a different story: Good Friday, April 7, was the country's lowest-traffic day of the year so far (down 16% from the previous week), and Easter Saturday ranked second. Easter Sunday did not make the top five. The "Semana Santa" (Holy Week) period, beginning April 2, drove a 28% drop in traffic at around 13:00 local time on Good Friday. Mobile traffic exceeded desktop from Wednesday, April 5, through Monday, April 10.
The UK: A Quiet Weekend, Then a Busy Tuesday
In the UK, Easter Saturday, April 8, was the second-lowest traffic day of 2023, after January 1 (down 9% from the prior week). Easter Sunday and Good Friday also featured in the top five. The Easter Sunday effect was most visible between 13:00 and 15:00 local time (down ~7%), while Saturday saw a larger 14% drop at around 14:00. Curiously, Tuesday, April 11 — the day after the Easter Monday holiday — was the UK's highest-traffic day of 2023 so far.
The Americas: Holy Week's Broad Reach
Mexico: Semana Santa Matters More Than Easter Sunday
In Mexico, "Semana Santa" (April 2–8) proved more significant than Easter Sunday. After January 1, Easter Saturday, April 8, was the next-lowest traffic day, and the entire week showed reduced activity: Thursday, April 6, had 13% fewer requests than the previous week. The Good Friday holiday had the most pronounced daytime impact, with traffic 16% lower than usual at around 12:00 local time.
The US and Its Neighbors
Easter Sunday, April 9, ranked as the third-lowest traffic day in the US in 2023 so far (down 5% from the previous week), trailing only January 1 and January 7. The clearest effect appeared between 14:00 and 16:00 EST, when traffic dropped about 12% compared with the previous week. Canada also saw an Easter dip — Easter Saturday, April 8, was its lowest-traffic day since mid-February, though not a top-five day for the year.
In South America, results varied. Brazil's lowest-traffic days of 2023 were its Carnival days in February, not Easter weekend. Colombia likewise did not rank Easter among its top five lowest-traffic days, but Good Friday, April 7, was the country's least-traffic day in the past month and ranked #8 for the year. Traffic on April 6 and 7 ("Semana Santa" days) fell around 20% versus the previous week.
Asia and Oceania: Easter in the Philippines and Australia
Australia's Easter weekend produced its lowest-traffic days of 2023 so far after three January dates. Easter Saturday, April 8, dropped 4% from the previous week, while Easter Sunday, April 9, fell 7% — the largest decline. The effect was most evident around 13:00 local time (AEST), with traffic down about 10%. The Philippines, with its predominantly Christian population, also saw April 8 and 9 as its lowest-traffic days since mid-February, though they did not make the country's top five for the year.
Beyond Easter: Orthodox Easter, Ramadan and Passover
Greece, where Orthodox Easter is a major observance, saw notable traffic declines. The data also reflects that this convergence of religious holidays — Easter, Orthodox Easter, Passover and Ramadan — occurring within a similar timeframe is uncommon, having last happened in 2022 and, before that, 33 years prior. These patterns collectively illustrate how major religious observances continue to shape global Internet usage in measurable ways, regardless of the specific tradition or region.
Orthodox Easter: A Different Calendar, a Clear Signal
Orthodox Christian communities, which follow the Julian calendar rather than the Gregorian one, celebrated Easter on April 16 this year. In countries where this is the dominant tradition—such as Greece, Ukraine, Russia, Cyprus, and Serbia—the holiday’s effect on daily Internet traffic patterns is measurable.
In Ukraine, overall traffic on April 16 was 5% lower than on the previous Sunday. The drop was particularly noticeable around meal times, with a 10% decrease at approximately 15:00 and 20:00 local time compared to the prior week. While not the lowest day of the year, it ranked as the second least-trafficked Sunday since January, tied with March 26. It is worth noting that ongoing attacks on energy infrastructure have also contributed to traffic dips in the region.
Greece shows the most dramatic impact. April 16 stands as the single lowest-traffic day of 2023 so far, and three other days from Holy Week—April 13, 14, and 15—also make the country’s top five list of quietest days. Compared to the previous Sunday, traffic on Orthodox Easter was down 26% overall, with a striking 42% drop at around 14:00 local time and a 31% decrease at roughly 21:00.
Serbia’s pattern was more muted but still evident. Traffic on Orthodox Easter was 3% lower than the prior Sunday, with a 10% dip around 15:00 local time. The entire week leading up to the holiday also saw less traffic than the week before.
Passover: Israel’s Seder Evenings Stand Out
Passover, or Pesach, commemorates the liberation of the Israelites from slavery in ancient Egypt. This year, the holiday began at sundown on April 5 and ran through April 13. The impact on Israel’s Internet traffic was immediate: April 5 was the day with the least traffic in the country for 2023 so far, showing a 24% decline compared with the previous week.
Israel: Top 5 days with the least traffic in 2023 (so far)
#1. Passover, April 5 (-24%, compared with the previous week)
#2. January 20
#3. March 31
#4. February 17
#5. January 13
The Seder, the ritual meal held on the first one or two nights of the holiday, falls on April 5 and 6 this year. The first evening saw the greatest effect, though the second night also landed within Israel’s top 15 quietest days of the year. The most pronounced drop occurred between 19:00 and 20:00 local time on the first Seder night, when traffic fell by roughly 56% compared with the previous week. Typically, Fridays are the country’s lowest-traffic days.
Ramadan: Shifts Around Mealtimes
Ramadan began on the evening of March 22 and runs until April 21. During this period, Muslims fast from dawn to sunset, with meals and communal gatherings taking place at night. The first meal after sunset (Iftar) and the pre-dawn meal (Suhur) consistently reshape daily Internet usage patterns in affected countries, a trend observed last year and again in 2023.
In Turkey, traffic on March 23 was 23% lower than the previous week at around 19:00 local time, coinciding with Iftar, and 74% higher at approximately 05:00, as people woke for Suhur. A similar shape appears in Syria, where daytime traffic is noticeably reduced.
Turkey’s data also reflects the impact of the magnitude 7.8 earthquake that struck on the night of February 5. Traffic from that Sunday to the following day fell 26%, and it was 19% lower compared with the same day of the previous week. The same chart shows that March 23—when Ramadan began—was the second least-trafficked day in March.
The United Arab Emirates shows an analogous pattern: on March 23, traffic dropped 18% around 18:00 local time and rose 42% at about 05:00. Sundays tend to be the lowest-traffic days in the country, and evening reductions have been consistent since the holiday began.
Indonesia, home to the world’s largest Muslim population, follows suit. On March 23, traffic fell 20% at 18:00 local time and climbed 31% at 04:00. Daytime traffic has also been slightly lower than usual since the start of Ramadan. Similar shifts are visible in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iran; Cloudflare Radar provides a live view of all these trends.
Human Traditions Still Shape the Internet
Observations through Cloudflare’s network—which handles security, performance, and privacy at scale—show that ancient customs continue to influence how people use the Internet in 2023. Whether it is Easter, Passover, or Ramadan, these observances produce clear, repeatable changes in national traffic patterns.
The Internet remains a human creation, and humans still account for the majority of its use. In the past month, 29.5% of traffic seen by Cloudflare was categorized as bot activity; the remainder was human. Live trends are available on Cloudflare Radar or through the Radar API. Updates also appear on Twitter at @CloudflareRadar and on Mastodon at https://noc.social/@cloudflareradar.
