Good Friday is a Christian holiday commemorating the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ at Calvary. Observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum, it's a solemn day marked by various names, including Black Friday, Holy Friday, and Great Friday. The day is central to Christian belief, representing Jesus' sacrifice for humanity's sins. It is a day of mourning and reflection on the events leading to Jesus' death, observed with special church services, prayer, fasting, and acts of penitence.
Before the reforms of the Holy Week liturgies in 1955, black was used throughout for the vestments.
In 1955, the Catholic Church renamed Good Friday from Feria sexta in Parasceve to Feria sexta in Passione et Morte Domini as part of the Holy Week reform.
In 1960 Eastertime performance of Good Friday: A Play in Verse (1916) was played. Artists Ursula O'Leary (Procula), and William Devlin as Pontius Pilate, perform with the atmospheric sound effects of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop.
In 1970, the liturgical color of the vestments used for Good Friday was red.
In 1970, the rite introduced shortened the name to Feria sexta in Passione Domini.
In 1999, the US Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the government could give state employees a paid day off for Good Friday, provided there is a valid secular purpose.
In 2008, betting shops and stores opened for the first time on Good Friday in the UK.
In March 2012, Cuban President Raúl Castro declared Good Friday a holiday in response to a request from Pope Benedict XVI.
In 2014, Lingfield Park and Musselburgh staged the UK's first Good Friday horse race meetings.
Up until 2018, it was illegal to sell alcoholic beverages on Good Friday in the Republic of Ireland, with some exceptions. The ban led to pubs and off-licences generally closing.
In 2024, Good Friday fell on 29 March, coinciding with school holidays in Queensland, Victoria, and Western Australia.
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