Good Friday 2026

About Good Friday

Good Friday is the most solemn day in the Christian calendar, commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his death at Calvary. It falls two days before Easter Sunday, always on a Friday between late March and late April. Despite the sorrowful subject, the day is called good in the sense of holy and pious, marking an act of sacrifice that Christians believe opened the door to salvation and resurrection.

Christians around the world observe the day, from Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox congregations in Europe and the Americas to communities across Africa, Asia, and Oceania. In many countries, including Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Germany, Good Friday is an official public holiday with closed businesses and quiet streets. In the United States it is not a federal holiday, though about a dozen states observe it and many schools and businesses close.

Observances center on reflection rather than festivity. Churches hold solemn services, often between noon and three in the afternoon, the traditional hours of the crucifixion. Some worshippers participate in Stations of the Cross processions, and in many places church bells fall silent. Hot cross buns, spiced buns marked with a cross, appear in bakeries, and families often gather quietly, keeping the tone subdued until the joy of Easter Sunday.

When is Good Friday?

History of Good Friday

The events commemorated on Good Friday took place, according to the Gospels, during the Roman administration of Judea in the early first century. Jesus was arrested after the Last Supper, tried before Pontius Pilate, condemned, crucified alongside two thieves at Golgotha, and buried in a sealed tomb. His followers, who believed he rose from the dead two days later, began observing the anniversary of his death with fasting and penitence from the earliest years of the church.

By the fourth century, pilgrims to Jerusalem were following a formal route of commemoration through the city, a practice that evolved into the Stations of the Cross. The name varied across cultures: Holy Friday in many Romance languages, Great Friday in Greek and Slavic traditions, and Long Friday in Scandinavian countries. Over the centuries the day acquired its characteristic customs, including three-hour liturgies, veneration of the cross, and the eating of hot cross buns, which became popular in England by the eighteenth century.

How to Celebrate Good Friday

• ✦ Attend a Good Friday church service or Stations of the Cross procession.
• ✦ Observe a period of quiet reflection, fasting, or prayer between noon and 3 p.m.
• ✦ Bake or buy hot cross buns and share them with family.
• ✦ Read the Passion narrative from one of the Gospels.
• ✦ Visit relatives or volunteer quietly, keeping the day simple and reflective.