Good Friday is when Christians remember the crucifixion and death of Jesus. But what is nice about Good Friday?
Good Friday holiday
Good Friday commemorates the day that Jesus was crucified, so it may appear strange that the day is named ‘good’, although for many individuals the day could also be good since it is a public holiday. Good Friday and Christmas Day had long been public holidays in Great Britain, even before the institution of bank holidays within the 1870s. Good Friday is a public holiday in lots of countries internationally, but within the United States it is barely a public holiday in a dozen states of the Union.
When is Good Friday?
In the Church calendar, Good Friday is all the time the Friday before Easter. Most years eastern Orthodox Easter and western Easter fall on different dates. In 2024, Good Friday is 29 March within the western tradition, but on 3 May within the eastern Orthodox tradition, where it is named Holy Friday.
Origin of the term Good Friday
In Old English, Good Friday was called Long Friday, or “langa frigedæg” in Anglo-Saxon. Later it got here to be Good Friday, and the earliest recorded reference of this name is from the thirteenth century. Other languages seek advice from it with names which mean things like Great Friday, Suffering Friday or Holy Friday. In Welsh it is named Dydd Gwener y Groglith.
The meaning of the word “good” in Good Friday
In English, the word “good” has different meanings depending upon context. For example, it may mean positive or desirable as in “it’s good that he’s well again”; or it may mean well-behaved as in “the youngsters were good”; or it may infer quality as in “that was good work”; or it may mean enjoyable as in “we had an excellent time”.
The word good, also can have a way of righteous, pious or holy as in “he lived an excellent life” or calling the Bible “the nice book”. It is on this sense that the word “good” is utilized in “Good Friday”. This sense of holiness can be seen within the Orthodox tradition, where Good Friday is named “Holy and Great Friday”. In the Netherlands, the day can be called Good Friday as “Goede Vrijdag” in Dutch, and “Goedfreed” in Frisian.
Good Friday falls within the week before Easter often known as Holy Week or Passiontide. In addition to Good Friday, the Wednesday before Easter, can be sometimes called Good Wednesday.
When was Good Friday?
We do not know of course the actual day that Jesus was crucified on, but many individuals for various reasons reckon it to have been on 3 April AD 33, although another people think it was 7 April AD 30, and even in AD 29 or AD 31 depending on which commentary you read. Whichever yr it was, the 2 thousandth anniversary is soon.
Lectionary readings
The readings for Good Friday within the Revised Common Lectionary, are Isaiah 52:13-53:12, often known as the suffering servant passages, that are read by Christians as messianic prophecies; Psalm 22, which Jesus quotes from the cross; Hebrews 10:16-25, or Hebrews 4.14-16 and 5.7-9, which unpack the theology of the cross; and John 18:1-19:42, which tells the story of the crucifixion.
What was good about Good Friday?
Christians don’t claim that crucifixion is nice. However, there’s the concept that Good Friday was good, within the sense of holy. Good Friday commemorates that Jesus died, so that everybody could possibly be forgiven. This implies that it’s what the crucifixion achieved which is nice, fairly than the execution itself. Good Friday will also be considered to be good, since it led to the resurrection of Jesus. Jesus’s overcome death and sin is a key a part of the Christian message often called the gospel or the “excellent news”.
Hot cross buns
A curious tradition is to eat warm ‘hot cross buns’ on Good Friday. These buns have sweet and fruity flavours. The custom involves serving the sweet buns with pieces of fruit in, seasoned with spices similar to clove or nutmeg, and decorated on top with a pastry cross. The tradition is to eat them on Good Friday, after they are sometimes cut or split, after which toasted after which buttered.
One suggestion is that the origin of the new cross bun may stem from a 1592 decree issued by the London clerk of markets, in the course of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, when there have been regulations on the scale, shape and price of bread, in order that no bakers were allowed to ‘make, utter, or sell’ … ‘spice cakes, bus, biscuits, or other spice bread’ apart from funerals, Christmas and Good Friday.
The bread is a reminder of the bread eaten on the Last Supper (Matthew 26:26-29), and the spices are a reminder of the spices used to wrap the body within the tomb (John 19:39-40). Two pieces of pastry on top of the bun are made in the form of a cross, which symbolises and reminds us of the cross that Jesus was crucified on.
Good Friday services
On Good Friday some Christians also participate in a Walk of Witness. These are sometimes organised by local Churches Together groups. They typically start with a united service when Christians gather together, often from across local denominations, who then walk through the streets of their town together. They do that to do not forget that Jesus needed to carry his cross publicly through the streets of Jerusalem.
The story of the crucifixion and death of Jesus is told in all 4 Gospel accounts in Matthew 27, Mark 15, Luke 23 and John 19. In Mark 15:34 we read that Jesus died “on the ninth hour”. In the Jewish reckoning, this meant the ninth hour since dawn, which we’d call three o’clock. For this reason, many churches hold a special Good Friday afternoon service which either starts or finishes at 3 p.m.
