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{{About|the holiday|the peace deal|Good Friday Agreement|other uses}}
{{pp-move-indef}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2018}}
{{Infobox holiday
|holiday_name = Good Friday
|image = Wüger Kreuzigung.jpg
|caption = A [[Stabat Mater (art)|Stabat Mater]] depiction, 1868
|date = The Friday immediately preceding [[Easter|Easter Sunday]]
|date{{LASTYEAR}} = {{Unbulleted list
| {{Moveable date |holiday=Good Friday |format=infobox |year={{LASTYEAR}}}} (Western)
| {{Moveable date |holiday=Good Friday (Eastern) |format=infobox |year={{LASTYEAR}}}} (Eastern) }}
|date{{CURRENTYEAR}} = {{Unbulleted list
| {{Moveable date |holiday=Good Friday |format=infobox |year={{CURRENTYEAR}} |cite=y}} (Western)
| {{Moveable date |holiday=Good Friday (Eastern) |format=infobox |year={{CURRENTYEAR}}}} (Eastern) }}
|date{{NEXTYEAR}} = {{Unbulleted list
| {{Moveable date |holiday=Good Friday |format=infobox |year={{NEXTYEAR}}}} (Western)
| {{Moveable date |holiday=Good Friday (Eastern) |format=infobox |year={{NEXTYEAR}}}} (Eastern) }}
|date{{NEXTYEAR|2}} = {{Unbulleted list
| {{Moveable date |holiday=Good Friday |format=infobox |year={{NEXTYEAR|2}}}} (Western)
| {{Moveable date |holiday=Good Friday (Eastern) |format=infobox |year={{NEXTYEAR|2}}}} (Eastern) }}
|duration = 1 day
|frequency = Annual
|observances = [[service of worship|Worship services]], [[prayer]] and [[vigil]] services, [[fasting]], [[almsgiving]]
|celebrations = No traditional celebrations
|type = Christian
|significance = Commemorates the [[Crucifixion of Jesus|crucifixion]] and death of [[Jesus|Jesus Christ]]
|relatedto = [[Passover]], [[Christmas]] (which celebrates the [[Nativity of Jesus|birth]] of Jesus), [[Septuagesima]], [[Quinquagesima]], [[Shrove Tuesday]], [[Ash Wednesday]], [[Lent]], [[Palm Sunday]], [[Maundy Thursday]], and [[Holy Saturday]] which lead up to Easter, '''[[Easter Sunday]]''' (primarily), [[Ascension of Jesus Christ|Ascension]], [[Pentecost]], [[Whit Monday]], [[Trinity Sunday]], and [[Corpus Christi (feast)|Corpus Christi]] which follow it. It is related to the Feast of the [[Exaltation of the Holy Cross]], which focuses on the benefits, graces, and merits of the Cross, rather than Jesus's death.
}}
'''Good Friday''' is a Christian [[holiday]] commemorating the [[crucifixion of Jesus]] and his death at [[Calvary]]. It is observed during [[Holy Week]] as part of the [[Paschal Triduum]] on the Friday preceding [[Easter Sunday]], and may coincide with the Jewish observance of [[Passover]]. It is also known as '''Holy Friday''', '''Great Friday''', and '''Black Friday'''.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Chambers Dictionary|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pz2ORay2HWoC&pg=RA1-PA639|accessdate=13 April 2012|publisher=Allied Publishers|isbn=978-81-86062-25-8|page=639}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author1=Elizabeth Webber|author2=Mike Feinsilber|title=Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Allusions|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ACB81ZeNN5sC&pg=PA67|accessdate=13 April 2012|year=1999|publisher=Merriam-Webster|isbn=978-0-87779-628-2|page=67}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author1=Franklin M. Segler|author2=Randall Bradley|title=Christian Worship: Its Theology And Practice|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fSRHbo_RfLoC&pg=PA226|accessdate=13 April 2012|date=1 October 2006|publisher=B&H Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-8054-4067-6|page=226}}</ref>
Members of many [[Christian denominations]], including the [[Oriental Orthodox]], [[Eastern Orthodox]], [[Catholic]], [[Anglican]], [[Lutheran]], [[Methodist]], and [[Reformed]] traditions, observe Good Friday with [[fasting]] and [[church service]]s.<ref name="RipleyDana1883">{{cite book|last1=Ripley|first1=George|last2=Dana|first2=Charles Anderson|title=The American Cyclopaedia: A Popular Dictionary for General Knowledge|accessdate=12 March 2018|year=1883|publisher=D. Appleton and Company|language=English |page=101|quote=The Protestant Episcopal, Lutheran, and Reformed churches, as well as many Methodists, observe the day by fasting and special services.}}</ref><ref name="Pfatteicher1990"/><ref name="JacobsHaas1899"/>
The [[Computus|date of Good Friday]] varies from one year to the next on both the [[Gregorian calendar|Gregorian]] and [[Julian calendar|Julian]] calendars. [[Eastern Christianity|Eastern]] and [[Western Christianity]] disagree over the computation of the date of Easter and therefore of Good Friday. Good Friday is a widely instituted [[public holiday|legal holiday]] around the world, including in most [[Western world|Western countries]] and [[#United States|12 U.S. states]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Harper's New Monthly Magazine, Volume 36, Issue 214|year=1868|publisher=Harper & Brothers|page=521|quote=In England Good-Friday and Christmas are the only close holidays of the year, when the shops are all closed and the churches opened.}}</ref> Some countries, such as Germany, have laws prohibiting certain acts, such as dancing and horse racing, that are seen as profaning the solemn nature of the day.<ref name="Petre">{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1582366/Good-Friday-gambling-angers-churches.html|title=Good Friday gambling angers churches|last=Petre|first=Jonathan|date=21 March 2008|publisher=The Telegraph|quote=Bookmakers estimate that thousands of shops will be operating, even though Good Friday is one of three days in the year when no horse racing takes place.}}</ref><ref name="Stevens">{{cite web|url=https://www.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424127887324685104578387084082724670|title=In Germany, Some Want to Boogie Every Day of the Year|last=Stevens|first=Laura|date=29 March 2013|publisher=The Wall Street Journal|quote=Every year on Good Friday, Germany becomes a little like the fictional town in the movie 'Footloose' – dancing is verboten. The decades old 'Tanzverbot,' or dance ban, applies to all clubs, discos and other forms of organized dancing in all German states.}}</ref>
==Name==
===Etymology===
A common [[folk etymology]] incorrectly claims "Good Friday" is a corruption of "God Friday". The term in fact comes from the sense "pious, holy" of the word ''good''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.yourdictionary.com/good-friday |title=Good Friday – Definition of Good Friday |publisher=Yourdictionary.com |date=4 April 2014 |accessdate=23 April 2014}}</ref> The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' also gives other examples with the sense "of a day or season observed as holy by the church" as an archaic sense of ''good'' (''good'', adj. 8c) as in ''good tide'' meaning "Christmas" or "Shrove Tuesday", and ''Good Wednesday'' meaning the Wednesday in Holy Week.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/79925#eid2855682 |title=Home : Oxford English Dictionary |publisher=Oed.com |date= |accessdate=23 April 2014}}</ref>
===Other languages===
In German-speaking countries, Good Friday is generally referred to as ''Karfreitag'' (''Kar'' from [[Old High German]] ''kara''‚ "bewail", "grieve"‚ "mourn", Freitag for "Friday"): Mourning Friday. The ''Kar'' prefix is a [[cognate]] of the English word "care" in the sense of cares and woes; it meant mourning. The day is also known as ''Stiller Freitag'' ("Silent Friday") and ''Hoher Freitag'' ("High Friday, Holy Friday"). In the Nordic countries it is called "The Long Friday". In Greek, Polish and Hungarian, Good Friday is generally referred to as ''Great Friday'' (''Μεγάλη Περασκευή'', ''Wielki Piątek'', ''Nagypéntek'').
==Biblical accounts==
{{main|Passion (Christianity)|Crucifixion of Jesus|Sayings of Jesus on the cross}}
[[File:Gustave Doré - The Holy Bible - Plate CXLI, The Judas Kiss.jpg|thumb|upright|''The Judas Kiss'' by [[Gustave Doré]], 1866]]
{{Death of Jesus|Holy Week}}
According to the accounts in the Gospels, the royal soldiers, guided by Jesus' disciple [[Judas Iscariot]], [[Arrest of Jesus|arrested]] Jesus in the [[Garden of Gethsemane]]. Judas received money ([[30 pieces of silver]]) ({{Bibleverse||Matthew|26:14–16|KJV}}) for [[Bargain of Judas|betraying Jesus]] and told the guards that whomever [[Kiss of Judas|he kisses]] is the one they are to arrest. Following his arrest, Jesus was taken to the house of [[Annas]], the father-in-law of the [[Cohen Gadol|high priest]], [[Caiaphas]]. There he was interrogated with little result and sent bound to Caiaphas the high priest where the [[Sanhedrin]] had assembled ({{Bibleverse||John|18:1–24|KJV}}).
Conflicting testimony against Jesus was brought forth by many witnesses, to which Jesus answered nothing. Finally the high priest adjured Jesus to respond under solemn oath, saying "I adjure you, by the Living God, to tell us, are you the Anointed One, the Son of God?" Jesus testified ambiguously, "You have said it, and in time you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Almighty, coming on the clouds of Heaven." The high priest condemned Jesus for [[blasphemy]], and the [[Sanhedrin Trial of Jesus|Sanhedrin concurred with a sentence of death]] ({{Bibleverse||Matthew|26:57–66|KJV}}). Peter, waiting in the courtyard, also [[Denial of Peter|denied Jesus]] three times to bystanders while the interrogations were proceeding just as Jesus had predicted.
In the morning, the whole assembly brought Jesus to the Roman governor [[Pontius Pilate]] under charges of subverting the nation, opposing taxes to Caesar, and making himself a king ({{Bibleverse||Luke|23:1–2|KJV}}). Pilate authorized the Jewish leaders to judge Jesus according to their own law and execute sentencing; however, the Jewish leaders replied that they were not allowed by the Romans to carry out a sentence of death ({{Bibleverse||John|18:31|KJV}}).
[[Pilate's court|Pilate questioned]] Jesus and told the assembly that there was no basis for sentencing. Upon learning that Jesus was from Galilee, Pilate referred the case to the ruler of [[Galilee]], [[Herod Antipas|King Herod]], who was in [[Jerusalem]] for the [[Passover]] Feast. [[Jesus at Herod's court|Herod questioned]] Jesus but received no answer; Herod sent Jesus back to Pilate. Pilate told the assembly that neither he nor Herod found Jesus to be guilty; Pilate resolved to have Jesus whipped and released ({{Bibleverse||Luke|23:3–16|KJV}}). Under the guidance of the chief priests, the crowd asked for [[Barabbas]], who had been imprisoned for committing murder during an insurrection. Pilate asked what they would have him do with Jesus, and they demanded, "Crucify him" ({{Bibleverse||Mark|15:6–14|KJV}}). [[Pontius Pilate's wife|Pilate's wife]] had seen Jesus in a dream earlier that day, and she forewarned Pilate to "have nothing to do with this righteous man" ({{Bibleverse||Matthew|27:19|KJV}}). Pilate had Jesus [[Flagellation of Christ|flogged]] and then brought him out to the crowd to release him. The chief priests informed Pilate of a new charge, demanding Jesus be sentenced to death "because he claimed to be God's son." This possibility filled Pilate with fear, and he brought Jesus back inside the palace and demanded to know from where he came ({{Bibleverse||John|19:1–9|KJV|}}).
[[File:Ecce homo by Antonio Ciseri (1).jpg|thumb|left|[[Antonio Ciseri]]'s depiction of ''[[Ecce Homo]]'' with Jesus and [[Pontius Pilate]], 19th century]]
Coming before the crowd one last time, Pilate declared Jesus innocent and washed his own hands in water to show he had no part in this condemnation. Nevertheless, Pilate handed Jesus over to be crucified in order to forestall a riot ({{Bibleverse||Matthew|27:24–26|KJV}}) and ultimately to keep his job. The sentence written was "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews." Jesus carried his cross to the site of execution (assisted by [[Simon of Cyrene]]), called the "place of the Skull", or "[[Golgotha]]" in Hebrew and in Latin "Calvary". There he was crucified along with two criminals ({{Bibleverse||John|19:17–22|KJV}}).
Jesus agonized on the cross for six hours. During his last three hours on the cross, from noon to 3 pm, [[Crucifixion darkness|darkness fell over the whole land]].<ref>{{Bibleverse||Matthew|27:45}}; {{Bibleverse||Mark|15:13}}; {{Bibleverse||Luke|23:44}}</ref> Jesus [[Sayings of Jesus on the cross|spoke from the cross]], quoting the messianic [[Psalm 22]]: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
With a loud cry, Jesus gave up his spirit. There was an earthquake, tombs broke open, and the curtain in the Temple was torn from top to bottom. This tear, according to Christian tradition, signified a removal of restriction of the common Jews from the Temple's "Holiest of Holies", and that God's people now could, themselves, communicate directly with their advocate before God, Jesus the Christ, rather than needing the Temple's High Priest as an intercessor.{{cn|date=October 2018}} The [[centurion]] on guard at the site of crucifixion declared, "Truly this was God's Son!" ({{Bibleverse||Matthew|27:45–54|KJV}})
[[Joseph of Arimathea]], a member of the Sanhedrin and secret follower of Jesus, who had not consented to his condemnation, went to Pilate to request the body of Jesus ({{Bibleverse||Luke|23:50–52|KJV}}). Another secret follower of Jesus and member of the Sanhedrin named [[Nicodemus]] brought about a hundred-pound weight mixture of spices and helped wrap the body of Jesus ({{Bibleverse||John|19:39–40|KJV}}). Pilate asked confirmation from the centurion of whether Jesus was dead ({{Bibleverse||Mark|15:44|KJV}}). A soldier pierced the side of Jesus with a lance causing blood and water to flow out ({{Bibleverse||John|19:34|KJV}}), and the centurion informed Pilate that Jesus was dead ({{Bibleverse||Mark|15:45|KJV}}).
Joseph of Arimathea took Jesus' body, wrapped it in a clean linen shroud, and placed it in his own new tomb that had been carved in the rock ({{Bibleverse||Matthew|27:59–60|KJV}}) in a garden near the site of crucifixion. Nicodemus ({{Bibleverse||John|3:1|KJV}}) also brought 75 pounds of [[myrrh]] and [[aloes]], and placed them in the linen with the body, in keeping with Jewish burial customs ({{Bibleverse||John|19:39–40|KJV}}). They rolled a large rock over the entrance of the tomb ({{Bibleverse||Matthew|27:60|KJV}}). Then they returned home and rested, because [[Shabbat]] had begun at sunset ({{Bibleverse||Luke|23:54–56|KJV}}). Matt. 28:1 "After the Shabbat, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb". i.e. "After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week,.......". "He is not here; he has risen, just as he said..........".(Matt. 28:6) On the third day, which is now known as Easter Sunday (or Pascha), Jesus rose from the dead.
==In Eastern and Oriental Orthodox Christianity==
[[File:Crucifixion by Theophanes the Cretan.jpg|thumb|[[Icon]] of the Crucifixion, 16th century, by [[Theophanes the Cretan]] ([[Stavronikita Monastery]], [[Mount Athos]])]]
Byzantine Christians ([[Eastern Christians]] who follow the [[Rite of Constantinople]]: [[Orthodox Church|Orthodox Christians]] and [[Greek Catholic Church|Greek-Catholics]]) call this day "Great and Holy Friday", or simply "Great Friday".<ref>{{cite book|title=A Concise Dictionary of Theology|author=Gerald O'Collins, Edward G. Farrugia|p=108|publisher=Paulist Press|year=2013|isbn=978-1-587-68236-0}}</ref>
Because the sacrifice of Jesus through his crucifixion is commemorated on this day, the [[Divine Liturgy]] (the sacrifice of bread and wine) is never celebrated on Great Friday, except when this day coincides with the [[Great Feast]] of the [[Annunciation]], which falls on the fixed date of 25 March (for those churches which follow the traditional [[Julian Calendar]], 25 March currently falls on 7 April of the modern [[Gregorian Calendar]]). Also on Great Friday, the clergy no longer wear the purple or red that is customary throughout [[Great Lent]],<ref>There is a wide variety of uses regarding the [[liturgical colors]] worn during Great Lent and Holy Week in the Rite of Constantinople.</ref> but instead don [[black vestments]]. There is no "stripping of the altar" on [[Maundy Thursday|Holy and Great Thursday]] as in the West; instead, all of the [[antipendia|church hangings]] are changed to black, and will remain so until the Divine Liturgy on [[Great Saturday]].
The faithful revisit the events of the day through public reading of specific [[Psalms]] and the [[Gospel]]s, and singing [[hymn]]s about Christ's death. Rich visual imagery and symbolism as well as stirring hymnody are remarkable elements of these observances. In the [[Orthodox theology|Orthodox understanding]], the events of [[Holy Week]] are not simply an annual commemoration of past events, but the faithful actually participate in the death and resurrection of Jesus.
<blockquote>Each hour of this day is the new suffering and the new effort of the expiatory suffering of the Savior. And the echo of this suffering is already heard in every word of our worship service – unique and incomparable both in the power of tenderness and feeling and in the depth of the boundless compassion for the suffering of the Savior. The Holy Church opens before the eyes of believers a full picture of the redeeming suffering of the Lord beginning with the bloody sweat in the Garden of Gethsemane up to the crucifixion on Golgotha. Taking us back through the past centuries in thought, the Holy Church brings us to the foot of the cross of Christ erected on Golgotha, and makes us present among the quivering spectators of all the torture of the Savior.<ref name="Bulg">{{Cite book
|last = Bulgakov
|first = Sergei V.
|year = 1900
|title = Handbook for Church Servers, 2nd ed.
|page = 543
|chapter = Great Friday
|place = Kharkov
|publisher = Tr. Archpriest Eugene D. Tarris
|url = http://transfig.orthodoxws.com/files/Bulgakov/0543.pdf
|format = PDF
|accessdate =6 April 2015
|postscript = <!--None-->}}</ref>
</blockquote>
Great and Holy Friday is observed as a strict [[Fasting|fast]], and adult Byzantine Christians are expected to abstain from all food and drink the entire day to the extent that their health permits. "On this Holy day neither a meal is offered nor do we eat on this day of the crucifixion. If someone is unable or has become very old [or is] unable to fast, he may be given bread and water after sunset. In this way we come to the holy commandment of the Holy Apostles not to eat on Great Friday."<ref name="Bulg"/>
===Matins of Holy and Great Friday===
The Byzantine Christian observance of Holy and Great Friday, which is formally known as '''The Order of Holy and Saving Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ''', begins on Thursday night with the '''''Matins of the Twelve Passion Gospels'''''. Scattered throughout this [[Matins]] service are twelve readings from all four of the Gospels which recount the events of the [[Passion (Christianity)|Passion]] from the [[Last Supper]] through the [[Crucifixion]] and [[Holy Sepulchre|burial]] of Jesus. Some churches have a candelabrum with twelve candles on it, and after each Gospel reading one of the candles is extinguished.
[[File:Agias Triados frescos cross.jpg|thumb|upright|Good Friday cross from the [[Katholikon|Catholicon]] at Holy Trinity Monastery, [[Meteora]], Greece]]
The first of these twelve readings {{Bibleverse||John|13:31–18:1|KJV}} is the longest Gospel reading of the [[Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar|liturgical year]], and is a [[concatenation]] from all [[four Gospels]]. Just before the sixth Gospel reading, which recounts Jesus being nailed to the cross, a large [[Christian cross|cross]] is carried out of the sanctuary by the priest, accompanied by [[incense]] and candles, and is placed in the center of the [[nave]] (where the congregation gathers)''Sēmeron Kremātai Epí Xýlou'':
<blockquote>Today He who hung the earth upon the waters is hung upon the Cross ''(three times)''.<br>He who is King of the angels is arrayed in a crown of thorns.<br>He who wraps the Heavens in clouds is wrapped in the purple of mockery. <br>He who in Jordan set Adam free receives blows upon His face.<br>The Bridegroom of the Church is transfixed with nails. <br>The Son of the Virgin is pierced with a spear.<br>We venerate Thy Passion, O Christ ''(three times)''.<br>Show us also Thy glorious Resurrection.<ref>{{Cite book
|last = Archimandrite Kallistos (Ware) and Mother Mary
|first =
|year = 2002
|title = The Lenten Triodion
|chapter = Service of the Twelve Gospels
|page = 587
|place = South Cannan, Pennsylvania
|publisher = St. Tikhon's Seminary Press
|url =
|accessdate =
|postscript = <!--None-->}}</ref><ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2QNbTDjvJ0 Today He who hung the earth upon the waters ] Chanted by the Byzantine Choir of Athens</ref>
</blockquote>
The readings are:
# {{Bibleverse||John|13:31–18:1|KJV}}-Christ's last sermon, Jesus prays for the [[apostles]].
# {{Bibleverse||John|18:1–18:28|KJV}}-The agony in the [[Garden of Gethsemane|garden]], the mockery and denial of Christ.
# {{Bibleverse||Matthew|26:57–26:75|KJV}}-The mockery of Christ, [[Saint Peter|Peter]] denies Christ.
# {{Bibleverse||John|18:28–19:16|KJV}}-[[Pontius Pilate|Pilate]] questions Jesus, Jesus is condemned, Jesus is mocked by the Romans.
# {{Bibleverse||Matthew|27:3–27:32|KJV}}-[[Judas]] commits suicide, Jesus is condemned, Jesus mocked by the Romans, [[Simon of Cyrene]] compelled to carry the cross.
# {{Bibleverse||Mark|15:16–15:32|KJV}}-[[Crucifixion of Jesus|Jesus dies]].
# {{Bibleverse||Matthew|27:33–27:54|KJV}}-[[Crucifixion of Jesus|Jesus dies]].
# {{Bibleverse||Luke|23:32–23:49|KJV}}-[[Crucifixion of Jesus|Jesus dies]].
# {{Bibleverse||John|19:25–19:37|KJV}}-[[Crucifixion of Jesus|Jesus dies]].
# {{Bibleverse||Mark|15:43–15:47|KJV}}-[[Joseph of Arimathea]] buries Christ.
# {{Bibleverse||John|19:38–19:42|KJV}}-[[Joseph of Arimathea]] buries Christ.
# {{Bibleverse||Matthew|27:62–27:66|KJV}}-The Jews set a guard.
During the service, all come forward to kiss the feet of Christ on the cross. After the [[Canon (hymnography)|Canon]], a brief, moving hymn, ''The Wise Thief'' is chanted by singers who stand at the foot of the cross in the center of the nave. The service does not end with the [[First Hour]], as usual, but with a special [[dismissal (liturgy)|dismissal]] by the priest:
<blockquote>May Christ our true God, Who for the salvation of the world endured spitting, and scourging, and buffeting, and the Cross, and death, through the intercessions of His [[Theotokos|most pure Mother]], of our holy and [[Holy Fathers|God-bearing fathers]], and of all the [[saint]]s, have mercy on us and save us, for He is good and the Lover of mankind.</blockquote>
===Royal Hours===
[[File:Service of the Royal Hours - Great Friday -- Annunciation, Toronto, 2014.JPG|right|thumb|Vigil during the Service of the Royal Hours.]]
{{main|Royal Hours}}
The next day, in the forenoon on Friday, all gather again to pray the '''''Royal Hours''''', a special expanded celebration of the [[Little Hours]] (including the First Hour, [[Third Hour]], [[Sext|Sixth Hour]], [[Ninth Hour]] and [[Typica]]) with the addition of scripture readings ([[Old Testament]], [[Epistle]] and [[Gospel]]) and hymns about the Crucifixion at each of the Hours (some of the material from the previous night is repeated). This is somewhat more festive in character, and derives its name of "Royal" from both the fact that the Hours are served with more solemnity than normal, commemorating Christ the King who humbled himself for the salvation of mankind, and also from the fact that this service was in the past attended by the Emperor and his court.{{cn|date=April 2017}}
===Vespers of Holy and Great Friday===
[[File:Toronto-Apokathylosis-2012-04-13.jpg|left|thumb|The crucified Christ, just before the [[Deposition from the Cross]] and the placing of the [[Epitaphios (liturgical)|Epitaphios]] in the Sepulcher.]]
In the afternoon, around 3 pm, all gather for the '''''Vespers of the Taking-Down from the Cross''''', commemorating the [[Deposition from the Cross]]. The Gospel reading is a [[concatenation]] taken from all four of the Gospels. During the service, the body of Christ (the ''soma'') is removed from the cross, as the words in the Gospel reading mention [[Joseph of Arimathea]], wrapped in a linen shroud, and taken to the [[altar]] in the sanctuary.[[File:Gold embroidery example.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Epitaphios (liturgical)|epitaphios]] ("winding sheet"), depicting the preparation of the body of Jesus for burial]] Near the end of the service an ''[[Epitaphios (liturgical)|epitaphios]]'' or "winding sheet" (a cloth embroidered with the image of Christ prepared for burial) is carried in procession to a low table in the [[nave]] which represents the [[Holy Sepulchre|Tomb of Christ]]; it is often decorated with an abundance of flowers. The epitaphios itself represents the body of Jesus wrapped in a burial shroud, and is a roughly full-size cloth icon of the body of Christ. Then the priest may deliver a [[homily]] and everyone comes forward to venerate the epitaphios. In the [[Slavic peoples|Slavic]] practice, at the end of Vespers, [[Compline]] is immediately served, featuring a special ''Canon of the Crucifixion of our Lord and the Lamentation of the Most Holy [[Theotokos]]'' by Symeon the Logothete.{{cn|date=April 2017}}
===Matins of Holy and Great Saturday===
[[File:Epitaphios Peleka.jpg|thumb|left|The Epitaphios being carried in [[procession]] in a church in Greece.]]
On Friday night, the Matins of [[Holy and Great Saturday]], a unique service known as '''''The Lamentation at the Tomb''''' (''Epitáphios Thrēnos'') is celebrated. This service is also sometimes called ''Jerusalem Matins''. Much of the service takes place around the tomb of Christ in the center of the nave.{{cn|date=April 2017}}
A unique feature of the service is the chanting of the Lamentations or Praises (''[[Encomium|Enkōmia]]''), which consist of verses chanted by the clergy interspersed between the verses of [[Psalm 119]] (which is, by far, the longest [[psalm]] in the Bible). The ''Enkōmia'' are the best-loved hymns of Byzantine hymnography, both their poetry and their music being uniquely suited to each other and to the spirit of the day. They consist of 185 [[tercet]] [[antiphon]]s arranged in three parts (''stáseis'' or "stops"), which are interjected with the verses of Psalm 119, and nine short ''doxastiká'' ("[[Gloria in excelsis Deo|Gloriae]]") and ''Theotókia'' (invocations to the Virgin Mary). The three ''stáseis'' are each set to its own music, and are commonly known by their initial antiphons: {{lang|grc|Ἡ ζωὴ ἐν τάφῳ}}, "Life in a grave", {{lang|grc|Ἄξιον ἐστί}}, "Worthy it is", and {{lang|grc|Αἱ γενεαὶ πᾶσαι}}, "All the generations". Musically they can be classified as [[strophic]], with 75, 62, and 48 tercet [[stanza]]s each, respectively. The climax of the ''Enkōmia'' comes during the third ''stásis'', with the antiphon "''Ō glyký mou Éar''", a lamentation of the Virgin for her dead Child ("O, my sweet spring, my sweetest child, where has your beauty gone?"). The author(s) and date of the ''Enkōmia'' are unknown. Their High Attic linguistic style suggests a dating around the 6th century, possibly before the time of [[St. Romanos the Melodist]].{{cn|date=April 2017}}
[[File:Epitaph Adelaide.jpg|thumb|The Epitaphios mounted upon return of procession, at an Orthodox Church in Adelaide, Australia.]]
At the end of the [[Great Doxology]], while the [[Trisagion]] is sung, the epitaphios is taken in [[crucession|procession]] around the outside the church, and is then returned to the tomb. Some churches observe the practice of holding the epitaphios at the door, above waist level, so the faithful most bow down under it as they come back into the church, symbolizing their entering into the death and resurrection of Christ. The epitaphios will lay in the tomb until the Paschal Service early Sunday morning. In some churches, the epitaphios is never left alone, but is accompanied 24 hours a day by a reader chanting from the Psalter.{{Citation needed|date=March 2011}}
The [[Troparion]] (hymn of the day) of Good Friday is:
<blockquote><poem>
The noble [[Joseph of Arimathea|Joseph]], when he had taken down Thy most pure Body from the [[Tree of Life (Judeo-Christian)|tree]], wrapped it in fine linen, and anointed it with spices, and placed it in a new tomb.
Glory to the [[God the Father|Father]], and to the [[Jesus|Son]], and to the [[Holy Spirit]], both now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.
The angel came to the [[myrrh-bearing women]] at the tomb and said:
[[Myrrh]] is fitting for the dead, but Christ has shown Himself a stranger to corruption.
</poem></blockquote>
==In the Roman Catholic Church==
===Day of Fasting===
[[File:St.Martin-Karfreitag36.JPG|thumb|[[Crucifix]] prepared for veneration]]
The Catholic Church regards Good Friday and [[Holy Saturday]] as the Paschal fast, in accord with Article 110 of [[Sacrosanctum Concilium]].<ref name="vatican.va">{{cite web|url=http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19631204_sacrosanctum-concilium_en.html|title=Sacrosanctum concilium|publisher=|accessdate=17 April 2017}}</ref> In the [[Latin Church]], a [[Fasting and abstinence in the Catholic Church|fast day]] is understood as having only one full meal and two [[Collation (meal)|collations]] (a smaller repast, the two of which together do not equal the one full meal)<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/liturgical-year/lent/catholic-information-on-lenten-fast-and-abstinence.cfm|title=Fast & Abstinence|website=United States Conference of Catholic Bishops|language=en|access-date=14 April 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.liturgyoffice.org.uk/Resources/Penance/Abstinence.pdf|title=Fasting and Abstinence|date=24 January 1985|website=Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales|access-date=14 April 2017}}</ref> – although this may be observed less stringently on Holy Saturday than on Good Friday.<ref name="vatican.va"/>
===Services on the day===
The [[Roman Rite]] has no celebration of [[Mass (liturgy)|Mass]] between the [[Eucharist|Lord's Supper]] on [[Maundy Thursday|Holy Thursday]] evening and the [[Easter Vigil]] unless a special exemption is granted for rare solemn or grave occasions by the [[Holy See|Vatican]] or the [[Ordinary (officer)|local bishop]]. The only [[sacrament]]s celebrated during this time are [[Baptism]] (for those in danger of death), [[Sacrament of Penance (Catholic Church)|Penance]], and [[Anointing of the Sick]].<ref>Roman Missal: Good Friday, 1.</ref> While there is no celebration of the Eucharist, it is distributed to the faithful only in the Service of the Passion of the Lord, but can also be taken at any hour to the sick who are unable to attend this service.<ref>Roman Missal: Good Friday, 2.</ref> After the Lord's Supper any candlesticks and [[altar cloth]]s, cross or crosses are removed leaving it bare so that they may be returned in-ceremony on Easter Sunday which memorialises the day of Christ's resurrection.<ref>Roman Missal, Good Friday, 3.</ref> It is also customary to empty the [[holy water]] [[holy water font|fonts]] in preparation of the blessing of the water at the Easter Vigil.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.catholicliturgy.com/index.cfm/FuseAction/LawText/Index/6/LawIndex/46|title=Removing Holy Water During Lent. Letter of the Congregation for Divine Worship|date= 14 March 2003}}</ref> Traditionally, no bells are rung on Good Friday or Holy Saturday until the [[Easter Vigil]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.catholic.org/lent/friday.php|title=Good Friday – Easter/Lent – Catholic Online|date= 12 January 2018}}</ref>
The Celebration of the Passion of the Lord takes place in the afternoon, ideally at three o'clock; however, for pastoral reasons (especially in countries where Good Friday is not a public holiday), it is permissible to celebrate the liturgy earlier, even shortly after midday, or at a later hour up until 9pm.<ref>Roman Missal: Good Friday, 4.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.catholicliturgy.com/index.cfm/FuseAction/documentText/Index/2/SubIndex/38/ContentIndex/325/Start/319|title= V. Good Friday - The Catholic Liturgical Library |access-date= 28 July 2018}}</ref>
The vestments used are [[liturgical colours|red (more commonly) or black (more traditionally)]].<ref>Roman Missal: Good Friday, 5.</ref> Before 1970, vestments were black except for the Communion part of the rite when violet was used.<ref>[http://www.musicasacra.com/pdf/missale62.pdf 1962 edition of the Roman Missal].</ref> Before 1955 black was used throughout.<ref name="sanctamissa.org">[http://www.sanctamissa.org/EN/resources/missale-romanum-pdf.html 1920 typical edition of the Roman Missal].</ref> If a bishop or [[abbot]] celebrates, he wears a plain [[mitre]] (''mitra simplex'').<ref>''Caeremoniale Episcoporum'', 315.</ref>
===Liturgy===
{{see also|Good Friday prayer for the Jews}}
[[File:Ecce Mass, Good Friday, Our Lady of Lourdes, Philadelphia.jpg|thumb|right|Communion from the [[Blessed Sacrament]] on Good Friday (Our Lady of Lourdes, Philadelphia)]]
The Good Friday liturgy consists of three parts: the [[Liturgy of the Word]], the [[Veneration of the Cross]], and [[Holy Communion]].
* The '''Liturgy of the Word''' consists of the clergy and assisting ministers entering in complete silence, without any singing. They then silently make a full [[prostration]]. This signifies the abasement ([[Fall of man|the fall]]) of (earthly) humans.<ref name="Pope Francis prostrating">{{cite web|url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3509799/Pope-Francis-lies-prostrate-floor-St-Peter-s-Basilica-Vatican-pray-silently-Good-Friday-service-sharing-picture-kissing-crucifix-Instagram.html|title=Pope Francis slams Europe's attitude to migrants|publisher=|accessdate=17 April 2017}}</ref><ref>''Roman Missal'', "Good Friday", Celebration of the Lord's Passion, n. 5.</ref> It also symbolizes the grief and sorrow of the Church.<ref>''Circular Letter Concerning the Preparation and Celebration of the Easter Feasts'', [http://www.catholicliturgy.com/index.cfm/FuseAction/documentText/Index/6/SubIndex/97/ContentIndex/325/Start/319 V. Good Friday], 16 January 1988, Sacred Congregation for Divine Worship.</ref> Then follows the [[Collect]] prayer, and the reading or chanting of {{Bibleverse||Isaiah|52:13–53:12}}, {{Bibleverse||Hebrews|4:14–16}}, {{Bibleverse-nb||Hebrews|5:7–9}}, and the [[Passion (Christianity)|Passion]] account from the [[Gospel of John]], traditionally divided between three deacons,<ref>Congregation of Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments, ''Paschale Solemnitatis'', III, n.66 (cf. n. 33)</ref> yet usually divided between the celebrant, one or two singers or readers, and the congregation which speaks the part of the "crowd". This part of the liturgy concludes with the ''orationes sollemnes'', a series of prayers for the Church, the Pope, the clergy and laity of the Church, those preparing for baptism, the unity of Christians, the Jewish people, those who do not believe in Christ, those who do not believe in God, those in public office, those in special need.<ref>Roman Missal: Good Friday, 7–13.</ref> After each prayer intention, the deacon calls the faithful to kneel for a short period of private prayer; the celebrant then sums up the prayer intention with a Collect-style prayer.
* The '''Adoration of the Cross''' has a [[crucifix]], not necessarily the one that is normally on or near the altar at other times of the year, solemnly unveiled and displayed to the congregation, and then venerated by them, individually if possible and usually by kissing the wood of the cross, while hymns and the [[Improperia]] ("Reproaches") with the [[Trisagion]] hymn are chanted.<ref>Roman Missal: Good Friday, 14–21.</ref>
* '''Holy Communion''' is done according to a rite based on that of the final part of Mass, beginning with the [[Lord's Prayer|Our Father]], but omitting the ceremony of "[[Fraction (religion)|Breaking of the Bread]]" and its related chant, the "[[Agnus Dei (liturgy)|Agnus Dei]]". The [[Eucharist]], consecrated at the Evening Mass of the Lord's Supper on [[Maundy Thursday|Holy Thursday]], is distributed at this service.<ref>Roman Missal: Good Friday, 22–31.</ref> Before the reform of [[Pope Pius XII]], only the priest received Communion in the framework of what was called the "[[Mass of the Presanctified]]", which included the usual Offertory prayers, with the placing of wine in the chalice, but which omitted the [[Canon of the Mass]].<ref name="sanctamissa.org"/> The priest and people then depart in silence, and the altar cloth is removed, leaving the altar bare except for the crucifix and two or four candlesticks.<ref>Roman Missal: Good Friday, 32–33.</ref>
===Stations of the Cross===
[[File:GoodFr CroosWay Colloseo.jpg|thumb|upright|The [[Way of the Cross]], celebrated at the [[Colosseum]] in Rome on Good Friday]]
[[File:Canopy erected at the Temple of Venus and Rome during Good Friday ceremonies.JPG|thumb|Rome: canopy erected at the "Temple of Venus and Rome" during the "Way of the Cross" ceremony]]
In addition to the prescribed [[liturgy|liturgical]] service, the [[Stations of the Cross]] are often prayed either in the church or outside, and a prayer service may be held from midday to 3.00 pm, known as the [[Three Hours' Agony]]. In countries such as Malta, Italy, Philippines, Puerto Rico and Spain, processions with statues representing the Passion of Christ are held.{{cn|date=April 2017}}
In Rome, since the papacy of Saint [[John Paul II]], the heights of the [[Temple of Venus and Roma]] and their position opposite the main entrance to the Colosseum have been used to good effect as a public address platform. This may be seen in the photograph below where a red canopy has been erected to shelter the Pope as well as an illuminated cross, on the occasion of the '''Way of the Cross''' ceremony. The Pope, either personally or through a representative, leads the faithful through meditations on the stations of the cross while a cross is carried from there to the Colosseum.{{cn|date=April 2017}}
In Polish churches, a tableau of Christ's Tomb is unveiled in the sanctuary. Many of the faithful spend long hours into the night grieving at the Tomb, where it is customary to kiss the wounds on the Lord's body. A life-size figure of Jesus lying in his tomb is widely visited by the faithful, especially on Holy Saturday. The tableaux may include flowers, candles, figures of angels standing watch, and the three crosses atop Mt Calvary, and much more. Each parish strives to come up with the most artistically and religiously evocative arrangement in which the Blessed Sacrament, draped in a filmy veil, is prominently displayed.{{cn|date=April 2017}}
===Acts of Reparation to Jesus Christ===
{{main|Acts of Reparation to Jesus Christ}}
[[File:Christ Carrying the Cross 1580.jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[El Greco]]'s ''Jesus Carrying the Cross'', 1580]]
The Roman Catholic tradition includes specific prayers and devotions as ''[[acts of reparation]]'' for the sufferings and insults that Jesus suffered during his Passion on Good Friday. These Acts of Reparation to Jesus Christ do not involve a petition for a beneficiary, but aim to "repair the sins" against Jesus. Some such prayers are provided in the [[Raccolta]] Catholic prayer book (approved by a Decree of 1854, and published by the [[Holy See]] in 1898) which also includes prayers as [[Acts of Reparation to the Virgin Mary]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12775a.htm|title=CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Reparation|publisher=|accessdate=17 April 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12620a.htm|title=CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Raccolta|publisher=|accessdate=17 April 2017}}</ref><ref>Joseph P. Christopher et al., 2003 ''The Raccolta'' St Athanasius Press {{ISBN|978-0-9706526-6-9}}.</ref><ref>Ann Ball, 2003 ''Encyclopedia of Catholic Devotions and Practices ''{{ISBN|0-87973-910-X}}</ref>
In his encyclical ''[[Miserentissimus Redemptor]]'' on reparations, [[Pope Pius XI]] called Acts of Reparation to Jesus Christ a duty for Catholics and referred to them as "some sort of compensation to be rendered for the injury" with respect to the sufferings of Jesus.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/pius_xi/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-xi_enc_08051928_miserentissimus-redemptor_en.html |title=Pius XI, Miserentissimus Redemptor (08/05/1928) |work=vatican.va |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140812031528/http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/pius_xi/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-xi_enc_08051928_miserentissimus-redemptor_en.html |archivedate=12 August 2014 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>
[[Pope John Paul II]] referred to [[Acts of Reparation]] as the "unceasing effort to stand beside the endless crosses on which the Son of God continues to be crucified".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/letters/2000/documents/hf_jp-ii_let_20001021_riparatrici_en.html |title=Letter of the Holy Father John Paul II to Cardinal Fiorenzo Angelini for the 50th Anniversary of the Benedictine Sisters of Reparation of the Holy Face |website=Vatican archives |date=27 September 2000 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080502234831/http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/letters/2000/documents/hf_jp-ii_let_20001021_riparatrici_en.html |archivedate=2 May 2008 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>
==Anglican Communion==
The 1662 [[Book of Common Prayer]] did not specify a particular rite to be observed on Good Friday but local custom came to mandate an assortment of services, including the [[Seven Last Words from the Cross]] and a three-hour service consisting of [[Matins]], [[Eucharist|Ante-communion]] (using the [[Reserved Sacrament]] in [[high church]] parishes) and [[Evening Prayer (Book of Common Prayer)|Evensong]]. In recent times,{{When|date=April 2017}} revised editions of the [[Book of Common Prayer|Prayer Book]] and [[Common Worship]] have re-introduced pre-[[Protestant Reformation|Reformation]] forms of observance of Good Friday corresponding to those in today's Roman Catholic Church, with special nods to the rites that had been observed in the Church of England prior to the [[English Reformation|Henrican, Edwardian and Elizabethan reforms]], including Creeping to the Cross.{{cn|date=April 2017}}
==Lutheran Church==
[[File:Chancel of Grace Lutheran Church on Good Friday.jpg|thumb|The [[chancel]] of this Lutheran church is adorned with black [[parament]]s on Good Friday, the liturgical colour associated with Good Friday in the Lutheran Churches.]]
In [[Lutheranism|Lutheran]] tradition from the 16th to the 20th century, Good Friday was the most important religious holiday, and abstention from all worldly works was expected. During that time, Lutheranism had no restrictions on the celebration of the [[Eucharist]] on Good Friday; on the contrary, it was a prime day on which to receive the Eucharist, and services were often accentuated by special music such as the ''[[St Matthew Passion]]'' by [[Johann Sebastian Bach]].<ref name="GassmannOldenburg2011"/>
More recently, Lutheran liturgical practice has recaptured Good Friday as part of the larger sweep of the great Three Days: Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and the Vigil of Easter. The Three Days remain one liturgy which celebrates the death and resurrection of Jesus. As part of the liturgy of the Three Days, Lutherans generally fast from the Eucharist on Good Friday. Rather, it is celebrated in remembrance of the [[Last Supper]] on [[Maundy Thursday]] and at the [[Vigil of Easter]]. One practice among Lutheran churches is to celebrate a [[tenebrae]] service on Good Friday, typically conducted in candlelight and consisting of a collection of passion accounts from the four gospels. While being called "Tenebrae" it holds little resemblance to the now-suppressed Catholic monastic rite of the same name.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.historiclectionary.com/2010/03/a-word-about-tenebrae/ |title=A Word About Tenebrae | |publisher=Historiclectionary.com |date=22 March 2010 |accessdate=23 April 2014}}</ref> The Good Friday liturgy appointed in ''[[Evangelical Lutheran Worship]]'', the worship book of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, specifies a liturgy similar to the revised Roman Catholic liturgy. A rite for adoration of the crucified Christ includes the optional singing of the Solemn Reproaches in an updated and revised translation which eliminates some of the anti-Jewish overtones in previous versions. Influenced by the ecumenical liturgical renewal movement and in an attempt to recover patterns of worship from the early church, many Lutheran congregations are moving away from long preaching services centered on a dramatic and sentimentalized remembrance of the "Seven Last Words," sayings of Jesus assembled from the four gospels, toward a more devotional practice that places an emphasis on the triumph of the cross, and a singular biblical account of the Passion narrative from the Gospel of John.{{cn|date=April 2017}}
Along with observing a general Lenten fast,<ref name="GassmannOldenburg2011">{{cite book|last1=Gassmann|first1=Günther|last2=Oldenburg|first2=Mark W.|title=Historical Dictionary of Lutheranism|date=10 October 2011|publisher=Scarecrow Press|language=English|isbn=9780810874824|page=229|quote=In many Lutheran churches, the Sundays during the Lenten season are called by the first word of their respective Latin Introitus (with the exception of Palm/Passion Sunday): Invocavit, Reminiscere, Oculi, Laetare, and Judica. Many Lutheran church orders of the 16th century retained the observation of the Lenten fast, and Lutherans have observed this season with a serene, earnest attitude. Special days of eucharistic communion were set aside on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday.}}</ref> many Lutherans emphasize the importance of Good Friday as a day of fasting within the kalendar.<ref name="Pfatteicher1990">{{cite book|last=Pfatteicher|first=Philip H.|title=Commentary on the Lutheran Book of Worship: Lutheran Liturgy in Its Ecumenical Context|year=1990|publisher=Augsburg Fortress Publishers|language=English |isbn=9780800603922|pages=223–244, 260|quote=The Good Friday fast became the principal fast in the calendar, and even after the Reformation in Germany many Lutherans who observed no other fast scrupulously kept Good Friday with strict fasting.}}</ref><ref name="JacobsHaas1899">{{cite book|last1=Jacobs|first1=Henry Eyster|last2=Haas|first2=John Augustus William|title=The Lutheran Cyclopedia|accessdate=12 March 2018|year=1899|publisher=Scribner|language=English|page=110|quote=By many Lutherans Good Friday is observed as a strict fast. The lessons on Ash Wednesday emphasize the proper idea of the fast. The Sundays in Lent receive their names from the first words of their Introits in the Latin service, Invocavit, Reminiscere, Oculi, Lcetare, Judica.}}</ref> ''A Handbook for the Discipline of Lent'' recommends the Lutheran guideline to "Fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday with only one simple meal during the day, usually without meat".<ref name="ELCA1978">{{cite web|url=http://www.ststephenlutheranchurch.org/pdf/Disciplines%20of%20Lent-%20Handbook.pdf|title=A Handbook for the Discipline of Lent|last=Weitzel|first=Thomas L.|year=1978|publisher=Evangelical Lutheran Church in America|language=English|accessdate=17 March 2018}}</ref>
==Other mainstream Protestant traditions==
[[File:Minister prostrates at the start of United Methodist Good Friday liturgy.jpg|thumb|A United Methodist minister [[Prostration|prostrates]] at the start of the Good Friday liturgy at Holy Family Church, in accordance with the rubrics in the [[The United Methodist Book of Worship (1992)|Book of Worship]]. The [[processional cross]] is veiled in black, the liturgical colour associated with Good Friday in Methodist Churches.]]
[[File:Chancel of Houston Memorial UMC on Good Friday.jpg|thumb|upright=1.6|On Maundy Thursday, the [[Stripping of the Altar|altar of this Methodist church was stripped]] and the crucifix of this Methodist church has been veiled in black for Good Friday (black is the liturgical colour for Good Friday in the United Methodist Church). A wooden cross sits in front of the bare chancel for the veneration of the cross ceremony, which occurs during the United Methodist Good Friday liturgy.]]
Many other mainstream [[Protestant]] communities hold special services on this day as well. [[Moravian Church|Moravians]] hold a [[Lovefeast]] on Good Friday as they receive Holy Communion on [[Maundy Thursday]]. The [[Methodism|Methodist Church]] commemorates Good Friday with [[fasting]],<ref name="BaysWacker2010">{{cite book|last1=Bays|first1=Daniel H|last2=Wacker|first2=Grant|title=The Foreign Missionary Enterprise at Home: Explorations in North American Cultural History|date=14 March 2010|publisher=University of Alabama Press|isbn=9780817356408|page=277}}</ref> as well as a [[service of worship]], often based on the [[Seven Last Words from the Cross]].<ref name="Reflector-Good Friday">{{cite web|url=http://www.reflector.com/local/content/news/stories/2008/03/21/GoodFriday.html |title=Christians mark Good Friday |publisher=The Daily Reflector |accessdate=21 March 2007 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080330184414/http://www.reflector.com/local/content/news/stories/2008/03/21/GoodFriday.html |archivedate=30 March 2008 }}</ref><ref name="UMC-Good Friday">{{cite web|url = http://archives.umc.org/interior.asp?mid=258&GID=179&GMOD=VWD&GCAT=G| title = Good Friday |publisher = United Methodist Church|accessdate =21 March 2007}}</ref> It is not uncommon for some communities to hold interdenominational services on Good Friday.
In the [[Reformed]] tradition, Good Friday is one of the [[evangelical feast]]s and is thus widely observed with [[church service]]s, which feature the Solemn Reproaches in the pattern of [[Psalm 78]], towards the end of the liturgy.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rca.org/resources/good-friday|title=Good Friday|publisher=[[Reformed Church in America]]|accessdate=8 March 2018}}</ref>
==Associated customs==
[[File:Good Friday in St. Pius X Church.jpg|thumb|left|Good Friday service in Ireland]]
In many countries with a strong Christian tradition such as Australia, Bermuda, Brazil, Canada, the countries of the Caribbean, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Ecuador, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Malta, Mexico, New Zealand,<ref>Holidays Act 2003 (New Zealand), Section 17 [http://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2003/0129/latest/DLM237120.html Days that are public holidays]</ref><ref>Shop Trading Hours Act Repeal Act 1990 (New Zealand), Section 3 [http://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1990/0057/latest/DLM212363.html Shops to be closed on Anzac Day morning, Good Friday, Easter Sunday, and Christmas Day]</ref><ref>Broadcasting Act 1989 (New Zealand), Section 79A [http://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1989/0025/latest/DLM158495.html Hours during which election programmes prohibited], Section 81 [http://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1989/0025/latest/DLM158916.html Advertising hours]</ref> Peru, the Philippines, the Scandinavian countries, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and Venezuela, the day is observed as a [[List of holidays by country|public or federal holiday]]. In the United States, 12 states observe Good Friday as state holiday: Connecticut, Texas, Delaware, Hawaii, Indiana, Tennessee, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, New Jersey, North Carolina and North Dakota. Germany and some other countries have laws prohibiting certain acts, such as dancing and horse racing, that are seen as profaning the solemn nature of the day.<ref name="Petre"/><ref name="Stevens"/>
===Australia and New Zealand===
Good Friday is a holiday under state and territory laws in all states and territories in Australia.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.australia.gov.au/about-australia/special-dates-and-events/public-holidays|title=Public holidays – australia.gov.au|publisher=}}</ref> Generally speaking, shops in all Australian states (but not in the two territories of the [[Northern Territory]] and the [[Australian Capital Territory]]) are required to remain closed for the duration of Good Friday, although there are certain shops which are permitted to open and other shops can apply for exemptions. All schools and universities close on Good Friday in Australia, and Good Friday falls within the school holidays in most years in all states and territories except the [[Northern Territory]], although many states now commence their school holidays in early April regardless of Easter. In 2018, for example, when Good Friday fell on 30 March, only [[Queensland]] and [[Victoria (Australia)|Victoria]] had school holidays which coincided with Good Friday.<ref name="australia.gov.au/about-australia/special-dates-and-events/school-term-dates">{{Cite web |url= https://www.australia.gov.au/about-australia/special-dates-and-events/school-term-dates |title= School Term Dates |website= australia.gov.au |access-date= 4 February 2018}}</ref> The vast majority of businesses are closed on Good Friday, although many recreational businesses, such as the [[Sydney Royal Easter Show]], open on Good Friday as among non-religious families Good Friday is a popular day to indulge in such activities. In New Zealand, Good Friday is a legal holiday<ref>{{Cite web |url= https://www.govt.nz/browse/work/public-holidays-and-work/public-holidays-and-anniversary-dates |title= Public holidays and anniversary dates {{!}} NZ Government |access-date= 17 March 2018}}</ref> and is a day of mandatory school closure for all New Zealand state and integrated schools.<ref>{{Cite web |url= https://education.govt.nz/ministry-of-education/school-terms-and-holidays/more-information-about-setting-term-dates/#must|title= PMore information on setting term dates, holidays and closing days|access-date= 17 March 2018}}</ref> Good Friday is also a restricted trading day in New Zealand, which means that unexempted shops are not permitted to open on this day.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.employment.govt.nz/leave-and-holidays/public-holidays/restricted-shop-trading-days/|title= Restricted shop trading days » Employment New Zealand |access-date= 17 March 2018}}</ref>
===Canada===
[[File:Apokathylosis - Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral Toronto (2010).jpg|thumb|[[Good Friday#Vespers of Holy and Great Friday|Vespers of Good Friday afternoon]], Greek Orthodox Cathedral in [[Toronto]]]]
In Canada, Good Friday is a [[public holidays in Canada|federal statutory holiday]]. In the province of Quebec "employers can choose to give the day off either on Good Friday or Easter Monday."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.statutoryholidays.com|title=Statutory holidays in Canada both national and provincial.|publisher=}}</ref>
===Cuba===
In an online article posted on [[Catholic News Agency]] by Alejandro Bermúdez on 31 March 2012, [[President of Cuba|Cuban President]] [[Raúl Castro]], with the [[Communist Party of Cuba|Communist Party]] and his advisers, decreed that Good Friday that year would be a holiday. This was Castro's response to a request made personally to him by [[Pope Benedict XVI]] during the latter's Apostolic Visitation to the island and [[Leon, Mexico|León]], [[Mexico]] that month. The move followed the pattern of small advances in Cuba's relations with the Vatican, mirroring [[Pope John Paul II]]'s success in getting [[Fidel Castro]] to declare [[Christmas Day]] a holiday.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/cuban-authorities-declare-good-friday-2012-a-holiday/ |title=Cuban authorities declare Good Friday 2012 a holiday |publisher=Catholic News Agency |date= |accessdate=23 April 2014}}</ref> Both Good Friday and Christmas are now [[Public holidays in Cuba|annual holidays in Cuba]].
===Hong Kong===
In [[Hong Kong]], despite the transfer of sovereignty from the UK to China in 1997, Good Friday continues to be a public holiday.<ref>[https://www.gov.hk/en/about/abouthk/holiday/]</ref> Government offices, banks, post offices and most offices are closed on Good Friday.
===Ireland===
In the [[Republic of Ireland]], Good Friday is not an official public holiday, but most non-retail businesses close for the day. Up until 2018 it was illegal to sell alcoholic beverages on Good Friday, with some exceptions, so pubs and off-licences generally closed.<ref name="ie-wheretolook">{{cite news|title=You can have a pint today – if you know where to look|url=http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/you-can-have-a-pint-today-if-you-know-where-to-look-26646201.html|first=Colin|last=Gleeson|accessdate=3 April 2015|work=Irish Independent|date=2 April 2010}}</ref> Critics of the ban included the catering and tourism sector, but surveys showed that the general public were divided on the issue.<ref name="independent-goodfridayalcohol">{{cite news|last1=Hade|first1=Emma Jane|title=Good Friday alcohol ban still splits public as only half want it abolished|url=http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/good-friday-alcohol-ban-still-splits-public-as-only-half-want-it-abolished-31112720.html|accessdate=3 April 2015|work=Irish Independent|date=2 April 2015}}</ref><ref>[https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/news/times-have-changed-a-lot-one-of-irelands-oldest-barmaids-98-pulls-pints-for-the-first-time-on-good-friday-36759366.html 'Times have changed a lot' – one of Ireland's oldest barmaids (98) pulls pints for the first time on Good Friday] independent.ie, 30 March 2018</ref><!-- This is not, strictly speaking, wrong, but it is not a fair summary of what the source actually says -- how many of those who said they think it should stay in place also said they planned on drinking pre-purchased alcohol on the day? --> In [[Northern Ireland]], a similar ban operates until 5 pm on Good Friday.<ref name="bbc-restrictionsni">{{cite news|first=Peter|last=Coulter|title=Pub owners frustrated at assembly failure to change Easter opening hours|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-35877628|work=BBC News|date=23 March 2016|accessdate=25 March 2016}}</ref>
===Malaysia===
Although Malaysia is a [[Muslim world|Muslim majority country]], Good Friday is declared as a public holiday in the states of [[Sabah]] and [[Sarawak]] in [[East Malaysia]] as there is a significant Christian indigenous population in both states.<ref>{{cite book|author=Michael Ipgrave|title=Building a Better Bridge: Muslims, Christians, and the Common Good : a Record of the Fourth Building Bridges Seminar Held in Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina, May 15–18, 2005|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O109P8UHP2wC&pg=PA109|year=2008|publisher=Georgetown University Press|isbn=1-58901-731-5|pages=109–}}</ref>
===Malta===
The Holy Week commemorations reach their peak on Good Friday as the Roman Catholic Church celebrates the passion of Jesus. Solemn celebrations take place in all churches together with processions in different villages around [[Malta]] and [[Gozo]]. During the celebration, the narrative of the passion is read in some localities, while the Adoration of the Cross follows. Good Friday processions take place in [[Birgu]], [[Bormla]], [[Għaxaq]], [[Luqa]], [[Mosta]], [[Naxxar]], [[Paola, Malta|Paola]], [[Qormi]], [[Rabat]], [[Senglea]], [[Valletta]], [[Żebbuġ, Malta|Żebbuġ (Città Rohan)]] and [[Żejtun]]. Processions in Gozo will be in [[Nadur]], [[Victoria, Gozo|Victoria]] (St. George and Cathedral), [[Xagħra]] and [[Żebbuġ, Gozo]].{{cn|date=April 2017}}
===Philippines===
In the predominantly [[Roman Catholicism in the Philippines|Roman Catholic]] [[Philippines]], the day is commemorated with street processions, the [[Way of the Cross]], the chanting of the ''[[Pasyon|Pasyón]]'', and performances of the ''Senákulo'' or [[Passion play]]. Some devotees engage in self-[[Flagellant|flagellation]] and even have themselves [[Crucifixion in the Philippines|crucified]] as expressions of penance despite health risks and strong disapproval from the Church.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/australasia/dozens-ignore-warnings-to-reenact-crucifixion-799322.html|title=Dozens ignore warnings to re-enact crucifixion|date=22 March 2008|accessdate=23 March 2008|work=[[The Independent]] | location=London | first1=Kathy | last1=Marks}}</ref>
Church bells are not rung and Masses are not celebrated, while television features movies, documentaries and other shows focused on the religious event and other topics related to the Catholic faith, broadcasting mostly religious content. Malls and shops are generally closed, as are restaurants as it is the second of three public holidays within the week.{{cn|date=April 2017}}
After three o'clock in the afternoon (the time at which Jesus is traditionally believed to have died), the faithful venerate the cross in the local church and follow the procession of the Burial of Jesus. The image of the dead Christ is then laid in state to be venerated, and sometimes treated in accordance with local burial customs.{{cn|date=April 2017}}
In [[Cebu]] and many parts of the [[Visayan Islands]], people usually eat ''[[binignit]]'' and ''[[Cuisine of the Philippines#Merienda|biko]]'' as a form of [[fasting]].<ref>Izobelle T. Pulgo, "[http://cebudailynews.inquirer.net/90044/90044 Binignit: A Good Friday Cebuano soul food]", ''Cebu Daily News'', 23 March 2016.</ref><ref>Deralyn Ramos, "[http://www.thici.com/sites/default/files/news/thibalita_march2013.pdf Holy Week in tne Philippines]", ''Tsuneishi Balita'', March 2013, p. 4.</ref>
===Spain===
[[File:Nazarenosblancos.jpg|thumb|upright|Nazarenos wearing [[capirote]]s, in [[Málaga]], Spain]]
{{main|Holy Week in Spain|Holy Week in Málaga|Holy Week in Seville|Holy Week in Valladolid|Holy Week in Viveiro|Holy Week in Zamora}}
{{Empty section|date=February 2017}}
===United Kingdom===
[[File:Hot cross bun.jpg|thumb|[[Hot cross bun]]s are traditionally toasted and eaten on Good Friday in Britain and Australia.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/8598312.stm|title=How did hot cross buns become two a penny?|first=Finlo|last=Rohrer|work=BBC News magazine|date=1 April 2010|accessdate=6 April 2012}}</ref>]]
In the [[UK]], Good Friday was historically a common law holiday and is recognised as an official public holiday<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Governmentcitizensandrights/LivingintheUK/DG_073741| title =Bank holidays and British Summer Time |publisher = Directgov|accessdate =19 April 2011}}</ref> (also known as a [[Bank Holiday]]). All state schools are closed and most businesses treat it as a holiday for staff; however, many retail stores now remain open. [[Northern Ireland Civil Service|Government]] services in Northern Ireland operate as normal on Good Friday, substituting [[Easter Tuesday]] for the holiday.
There has traditionally been no horse racing on Good Friday in the UK. However, in 2008, betting shops and stores opened for the first time on this day<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1582366/Good-Friday-gambling-angers-churches.html|title=Good Friday gambling angers churches|work=The Telegraph|first=Jonathan|last=Petre|date=21 March 2008|accessdate=6 April 2012}}</ref> and in 2014 Lingfield Park and Musselburgh staged the UK's first Good Friday race meetings.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/horse-racing/24458664|title=Lingfield: £1m Good Friday fixture to be held at Surrey racecourse|work=BBC news|date=9 October 2013|accessdate=14 October 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.scotsman.com/news/scotland/top-stories/musselburgh-to-host-historic-good-friday-racing-1-3136748|work=The Scotsman|title=Musselburgh to host historic Good Friday racing|first=Craig|last=Brown|date=11 October 2013|accessdate=14 October 2013}}</ref> The [[BBC]] has for many years introduced its 7 am News broadcast on [[BBC Radio 4|Radio 4]] on Good Friday with a verse from [[Isaac Watts]]' hymn "[[When I Survey the Wondrous Cross]]".
===United States===
In the [[United States]], Good Friday is not a government holiday at the federal level; however, individual states, counties and municipalities may observe the holiday. Good Friday is a state holiday in [[Connecticut]],<ref>{{cite web|author=Government of Connecticut|url=https://portal.ct.gov/About/Legal-Holidays-in-the-State/ |title=Legal State Holidays |publisher=CT.gov |date= |accessdate=30 March 2018}}</ref> [[Delaware]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://delawarepersonnel.com/labor/holidays/2012.shtml |title=Delaware – Office of Management and Budget – State of Delaware Holidays |publisher=Delawarepersonnel.com |date= |accessdate=23 April 2014}}</ref> [[Florida]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://law2.onecle.com/florida/commercial-relations/683.01.html |title=Title XXXIX Commercial Relations Section 683.01 Legal holidays. |work=onecle.com |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140202113002/http://law2.onecle.com/florida/commercial-relations/683.01.html |archivedate= 2 February 2014 |df= }}</ref> [[Hawaii]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.miraclesalad.com/webtools/holidays.php |title=Hawaii State Holidays for 2014 |publisher=Miraclesalad.com |date= |accessdate=23 April 2014}}</ref> [[Indiana]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.in.gov/sos/2369.htm |title=Secretary of State: 2011 Indiana State Holidays |publisher=In.gov |date= |accessdate=23 April 2014}}</ref> [[Kentucky]] (half day),<ref>{{cite web|url=https://personnel.ky.gov/pages/leave.aspx |title=Holidays |publisher=Personnel.ky.gov |date= |accessdate=23 April 2014}}</ref> [[Louisiana]],<ref>{{cite web |author=Sandra G. Gillen, CPPB |url=http://doa.louisiana.gov/osp/aboutus/holidays.htm |title=2014 State Holidays Calendar Observed by OSP |publisher=Doa.louisiana.gov |date= |accessdate=23 April 2014 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140201220849/http://doa.louisiana.gov/osp/aboutus/holidays.htm |archivedate=1 February 2014 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> [[New Jersey]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nj.gov/nj/about/facts/holidays/ |title=The Official Web Site for The State of New Jersey | State Holidays |publisher=Nj.gov |date= |accessdate=23 April 2014}}</ref> [[North Carolina]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ic.nc.gov/ncic/pages/holiday.htm |title=N.C. State Government Holiday Schedule for 2013 and 2014 |publisher=Ic.nc.gov |date= |accessdate=23 April 2014}}</ref> [[North Dakota]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theholidayschedule.com/north-dakota-state-holidays.html |title=North Dakota State Holidays 2014 |publisher=The Holiday Schedule |date= |accessdate=23 April 2014}}</ref> [[Tennessee]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tn.gov/state-holidays.html |title=Official State Holidays |publisher=TN.gov |date= |accessdate=23 April 2014 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130529191633/http://www.tn.gov/state-holidays.html |archivedate=29 May 2013 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> and [[Texas]].<ref>In addition to holidays where offices are closed, Texas also has "partial staffing holidays" (where offices are required to be open for public business, but where employees may take it off as a holiday) and "optional holidays" (where an employee may take off in lieu of taking off on a partial staffing holiday; Good Friday is an optional holiday).</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tsl.texas.gov/ref/abouttx/holidays.html |title=Texas State Holidays |publisher=The State of Texas |date= |accessdate=19 January 2018}}</ref> State and local government offices and courts are closed, as well as some banks and post offices in these states, and in those counties and municipalities where Good Friday is observed as a holiday. Good Friday is also a holiday in the U.S. territories of [[Guam]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.qppstudio.net/publicholidays2012/guam.htm |title=Guam Public Holidays 2012 (Oceania) |publisher=Qppstudio.net |date= |accessdate=23 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924083620/http://www.qppstudio.net/publicholidays2012/guam.htm |archive-date=24 September 2015 |dead-url=yes |df=dmy-all }}</ref> [[U.S. Virgin Islands]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.qppstudio.net/publicholidays2012/virgin_islands__u_s_.htm |title=US Virgin Islands Public Holidays 2012 (Americas/Caribbean) |publisher=Qppstudio.net |date= |accessdate=23 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924083622/http://www.qppstudio.net/publicholidays2012/virgin_islands__u_s_.htm |archive-date=24 September 2015 |dead-url=yes |df=dmy-all }}</ref> and [[Puerto Rico]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.topuertorico.org/reference/holi.shtml |title=Puerto Rican Holidays |publisher=Topuertorico.org |date= |accessdate=23 April 2014}}</ref>
The stock markets are closed on Good Friday<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nyse.com/markets/hours-calendars#holidays|title=NYSE: Holidays and Trading Hours|work=nyse.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.money-zine.com/Investing/Stocks/Stock-Market-Holidays/ |title=Stock Market Holidays |publisher=Money-zine.com |date= |accessdate=23 April 2014}}</ref> but the foreign exchange and bond trading markets open for a partial business day.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cmegroup.com/tools-information/holiday-calendar/files/2015-chicago-trading-floor-holiday-schedule.pdf |title=CME Group Chicago Trading Floor Holiday Schedule for 2015|work=CME Group }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sifma.org/services/holiday-schedule/#us2015|title=Holiday Schedule|work=sifma.org}}</ref> Most retail stores remain open, while some of them may close early. Public schools and universities are often closed on Good Friday, either as a holiday of its own, or as part of [[spring break]]. The postal service operates, and banks regulated by the federal government do not close for Good Friday.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.opm.gov/operating_status_schedules/fedhol/2012.asp |title=Federal Holidays |publisher=Opm.gov |date= |accessdate=23 April 2014}}</ref>
In some governmental contexts Good Friday has been referred to by a generic name such as "spring holiday".<ref>[http://www.co.rock.wi.us/current-news/1195-spring-holiday-office-closing-friday-april-18] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140414081148/http://www.co.rock.wi.us/current-news/1195-spring-holiday-office-closing-friday-april-18|date=14 April 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://abcnews.go.com/US/iowa-town-renames-good-friday/story?id=10233061 |title=Iowa Town Renames Good Friday to 'Spring Holiday'|work=ABC News |first=Russell|last=Goldman|date=29 March 2010|accessdate=23 April 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Villarreal |first=Abe |url=http://wnmu.edu/events/spring-holiday/ |title=Spring Holiday – Western New Mexico University |publisher=Wnmu.edu |date=17 April 2014 |accessdate=23 April 2014}}</ref> In 1999, in the case of ''Bridenbaugh v. O'Bannon'', an Indiana state employee sued the governor for giving state employees Good Friday as a day off. The US Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against the plaintiff, stating that the government could give state employees a paid day off when that day is a religious holiday, including Good Friday, but only so long as the state can provide a valid secular purpose that coincides with the obvious religious purpose of the holiday.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/us/good-friday|title=Good Friday in the United States|publisher=}}</ref>
==Calculating the date==
{{see also|Date of Easter}}
{| border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" style="float:right; margin-left:15px;"
|-
|+style="padding-left: 1.5em;"align=center|'''Dates for Good Friday, {{LASTYEAR|3}}–{{NEXTYEAR|12}}'''
|-
! '''Year''' !! '''[[Western Christianity|Western]]''' !! '''[[Eastern Christianity|Eastern]]'''
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|}
Good Friday is the Friday before Easter, which is calculated differently in [[Eastern Christianity]] and [[Western Christianity]] (see [[Computus]] for details). Easter falls on the first Sunday following the [[Paschal Full Moon]], the full moon on or after 21 March, taken to be the date of the vernal [[equinox]]. The Western calculation uses the [[Gregorian calendar]], while the Eastern calculation uses the [[Julian calendar]], whose 21 March now corresponds to the Gregorian calendar's 3 April. The calculations for identifying the date of the full moon also differ. See [[Computus]].{{cn|date=April 2017}}
In Eastern Christianity, Easter can fall between 22 March and 25 April on Julian Calendar (thus between 4 April and 8 May in terms of the Gregorian calendar, during the period 1900 and 2099), so Good Friday can fall between 20 March and 23 April, inclusive (or between 2 April and 6 May in terms of the Gregorian calendar).{{cn|date=April 2017}}
{{Lent_calendar.svg|none{{!}}400px}}
==Cultural references==
Good Friday assumes a particular importance in the plot of [[Richard Wagner]]'s music drama ''[[Parsifal]]'', which contains an orchestral interlude known as the "Good Friday Music".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/good-friday-music|title=Good Friday Music – Dictionary definition of Good Friday Music – Encyclopedia.com: FREE online dictionary|publisher=|accessdate=17 April 2017}}</ref>
==Criticism from non-observers==
Some [[Baptist]] congregations,<ref>{{cite web|first=L. K.|last=Landis |url=http://www.kjbbc.com/wednesdaycrucifix.html |title=Proof for a Wednesday Crucifixion |publisher=King James Bible Baptist Church, Ladson, South Carolina |date=8 June 1998 |accessdate=23 April 2014}}</ref> the [[Philadelphia Church of God]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thetrumpet.com/index.php?q=4758.3049.102.0 |title=The Resurrection Was Not on Sunday |website=thetrumpet.com |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090418010828/http://www.thetrumpet.com/index.php?q=4758.3049.102.0 |archivedate=18 April 2009 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> and some [[Non-denominational Christianity|non-denominational]] churches oppose the observance of Good Friday, regarding it as a [[papist]] tradition, and instead observe the [[Crucifixion]] on Wednesday to coincide with the Jewish sacrifice of the [[Passover]] Lamb (which Christians believe is an Old Testament pointer to Jesus Christ). A Wednesday Crucifixion of Jesus allows for him to be in the tomb ("heart of the earth") for three days and three nights as he told the Pharisees he would be ([[Gospel of Matthew|Matthew]] 12:40), rather than two nights and a day (by [[Counting#Inclusive counting|inclusive counting]], as was the norm at that time) if he had died on a Friday.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thebereancall.org/node/5889 |title=The Cradle & the Cross (original) |publisher=thebereancall.org |date=1 December 1992 |accessdate=23 April 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.factnet.org/discus/messages/3/19941.html |website=factnet.org |title=Cult, Cults, Abuse by Religions, Abuse Recovery Discussion & Resources, Peer-Support, Legal support |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090416103539/http://www.factnet.org/discus/messages/3/19941.html |archivedate=16 April 2009 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> Preparation Day (14 [[Nisan]] on the [[Hebrew calendar]]) – which is the day before Passover (15 Nisan), instead of the Friday morning as the [[Synoptic Gospel]]s refer to the sabbath and they believe this refers to a "high sabbath" which occurs on feast days, and not the ordinary weekly sabbath.
==See also==
{{portal|Christianity|Holidays}}
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
* [[Ascension of Jesus]]
* [[Divine Mercy Sunday]]
* [[Easter Monday]]
* [[Easter season]]
* [[Good Friday Prayer]]
* [[Good Friday Prayer for the Jews]]
* [[Good Friday processions in Baliuag]]
* [[Islamic view of Jesus' death]]
* [[Life of Jesus in the New Testament]]
* [[Salvation in Christianity]]
{{div col end}}
{{clear}}
==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}
==Further reading==
*{{Cite web|url=http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/politics/mayor-wants-draconian-good-friday-booze-ban-lifted-before-1916-centenary-31098746.html|title=Mayor wants 'draconian' Good Friday booze ban lifted before 1916 centenary – Independent.ie|website=Independent.ie|access-date=25 March 2016}}
==External links==
{{Commons category|Good Friday}}
{{Wikiquote}}
* [http://www.oca.org/OCchapter.asp?SID=2&ID=74 The Eastern Orthodox commemoration of Holy Friday]
* [http://transfig.orthodoxws.com/files/Bulgakov/0543.pdf Great Friday] instructions from S. V. Bulgakov's ''Handbook for Church Servers'' ([[Russian Orthodox Church]])
* [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06643a.htm "Good Friday"] article from ''[[The Catholic Encyclopedia]]''
* [http://www.liturgies.net/Lent/GoodFriday.htm Episcopal Good Friday Service]
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[[Category:Spring holidays (Northern Hemisphere)]]
[[Category:Autumn holidays (Southern Hemisphere)]]
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{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2018}}
{{Infobox holiday
|holiday_name = Good Friday
|image = Wüger Kreuzigung.jpg
|caption = A [[Stabat Mater (art)|Stabat Mater]] depiction, 1868
|date = The Friday immediately preceding [[Easter|Easter Sunday]]
|date{{LASTYEAR}} = {{Unbulleted list
| {{Moveable date |holiday=Good Friday |format=infobox |year={{LASTYEAR}}}} (Western)
| {{Moveable date |holiday=Good Friday (Eastern) |format=infobox |year={{LASTYEAR}}}} (Eastern) }}
|date{{CURRENTYEAR}} = {{Unbulleted list
| {{Moveable date |holiday=Good Friday |format=infobox |year={{CURRENTYEAR}} |cite=y}} (Western)
| {{Moveable date |holiday=Good Friday (Eastern) |format=infobox |year={{CURRENTYEAR}}}} (Eastern) }}
|date{{NEXTYEAR}} = {{Unbulleted list
| {{Moveable date |holiday=Good Friday |format=infobox |year={{NEXTYEAR}}}} (Western)
| {{Moveable date |holiday=Good Friday (Eastern) |format=infobox |year={{NEXTYEAR}}}} (Eastern) }}
|date{{NEXTYEAR|2}} = {{Unbulleted list
| {{Moveable date |holiday=Good Friday |format=infobox |year={{NEXTYEAR|2}}}} (Western)
| {{Moveable date |holiday=Good Friday (Eastern) |format=infobox |year={{NEXTYEAR|2}}}} (Eastern) }}
|duration = 1 day
|frequency = Annual
|observances = [[service of worship|Worship services]], [[prayer]] and [[vigil]] services, [[fasting]], [[almsgiving]]
|celebrations = No traditional celebrations
|type = Christian
|significance = Commemorates the [[Crucifixion of Jesus|crucifixion]] and death of [[Jesus|Jesus Christ]]
|relatedto = [[Passover]], [[Christmas]] (which celebrates the [[Nativity of Jesus|birth]] of Jesus), [[Septuagesima]], [[Quinquagesima]], [[Shrove Tuesday]], [[Ash Wednesday]], [[Lent]], [[Palm Sunday]], [[Maundy Thursday]], and [[Holy Saturday]] which lead up to Easter, '''[[Easter Sunday]]''' (primarily), [[Ascension of Jesus Christ|Ascension]], [[Pentecost]], [[Whit Monday]], [[Trinity Sunday]], and [[Corpus Christi (feast)|Corpus Christi]] which follow it. It is related to the Feast of the [[Exaltation of the Holy Cross]], which focuses on the benefits, graces, and merits of the Cross, rather than Jesus's death.
}}
'''Good Friday''' is a Christian [[holiday]] commemorating the [[crucifixion of Jesus]] and his death at [[Calvary]]. It is observed during [[Holy Week]] as part of the [[Paschal Triduum]] on the Friday preceding [[Easter Sunday]], and may coincide with the Jewish observance of [[Passover]]. It is also known as '''Holy Friday''', '''Great Friday''', and '''Black Friday'''.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Chambers Dictionary|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pz2ORay2HWoC&pg=RA1-PA639|accessdate=13 April 2012|publisher=Allied Publishers|isbn=978-81-86062-25-8|page=639}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author1=Elizabeth Webber|author2=Mike Feinsilber|title=Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Allusions|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ACB81ZeNN5sC&pg=PA67|accessdate=13 April 2012|year=1999|publisher=Merriam-Webster|isbn=978-0-87779-628-2|page=67}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author1=Franklin M. Segler|author2=Randall Bradley|title=Christian Worship: Its Theology And Practice|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fSRHbo_RfLoC&pg=PA226|accessdate=13 April 2012|date=1 October 2006|publisher=B&H Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-8054-4067-6|page=226}}</ref>
Members of many [[Christian denominations]], including the [[Oriental Orthodox]], [[Eastern Orthodox]], [[Catholic]], [[Anglican]], [[Lutheran]], [[Methodist]], and [[Reformed]] traditions, observe Good Friday with [[fasting]] and [[church service]]s.<ref name="RipleyDana1883">{{cite book|last1=Ripley|first1=George|last2=Dana|first2=Charles Anderson|title=The American Cyclopaedia: A Popular Dictionary for General Knowledge|accessdate=12 March 2018|year=1883|publisher=D. Appleton and Company|language=English |page=101|quote=The Protestant Episcopal, Lutheran, and Reformed churches, as well as many Methodists, observe the day by fasting and special services.}}</ref><ref name="Pfatteicher1990"/><ref name="JacobsHaas1899"/>
The [[Computus|date of Good Friday]] varies from one year to the next on both the [[Gregorian calendar|Gregorian]] and [[Julian calendar|Julian]] calendars. [[Eastern Christianity|Eastern]] and [[Western Christianity]] disagree over the computation of the date of Easter and therefore of Good Friday. Good Friday is a widely instituted [[public holiday|legal holiday]] around the world, including in most [[Western world|Western countries]] and [[#United States|12 U.S. states]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Harper's New Monthly Magazine, Volume 36, Issue 214|year=1868|publisher=Harper & Brothers|page=521|quote=In England Good-Friday and Christmas are the only close holidays of the year, when the shops are all closed and the churches opened.}}</ref> Some countries, such as Germany, have laws prohibiting certain acts, such as dancing and horse racing, that are seen as profaning the solemn nature of the day.<ref name="Petre">{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1582366/Good-Friday-gambling-angers-churches.html|title=Good Friday gambling angers churches|last=Petre|first=Jonathan|date=21 March 2008|publisher=The Telegraph|quote=Bookmakers estimate that thousands of shops will be operating, even though Good Friday is one of three days in the year when no horse racing takes place.}}</ref><ref name="Stevens">{{cite web|url=https://www.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424127887324685104578387084082724670|title=In Germany, Some Want to Boogie Every Day of the Year|last=Stevens|first=Laura|date=29 March 2013|publisher=The Wall Street Journal|quote=Every year on Good Friday, Germany becomes a little like the fictional town in the movie 'Footloose' – dancing is verboten. The decades old 'Tanzverbot,' or dance ban, applies to all clubs, discos and other forms of organized dancing in all German states.}}</ref>
==Name==
===Etymology===
A common [[folk etymology]] incorrectly claims "Good Friday" is a corruption of "God Friday". The term in fact comes from the sense "pious, holy" of the word ''good''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.yourdictionary.com/good-friday |title=Good Friday – Definition of Good Friday |publisher=Yourdictionary.com |date=4 April 2014 |accessdate=23 April 2014}}</ref> The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' also gives other examples with the sense "of a day or season observed as holy by the church" as an archaic sense of ''good'' (''good'', adj. 8c) as in ''good tide'' meaning "Christmas" or "Shrove Tuesday", and ''Good Wednesday'' meaning the Wednesday in Holy Week.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/79925#eid2855682 |title=Home : Oxford English Dictionary |publisher=Oed.com |date= |accessdate=23 April 2014}}</ref>
===Other languages===
In German-speaking countries, Good Friday is generally referred to as ''Karfreitag'' (''Kar'' from [[Old High German]] ''kara''‚ "bewail", "grieve"‚ "mourn", Freitag for "Friday"): Mourning Friday. The ''Kar'' prefix is a [[cognate]] of the English word "care" in the sense of cares and woes; it meant mourning. The day is also known as ''Stiller Freitag'' ("Silent Friday") and ''Hoher Freitag'' ("High Friday, Holy Friday"). In the Nordic countries it is called "The Long Friday". In Greek, Polish and Hungarian, Good Friday is generally referred to as ''Great Friday'' (''Μεγάλη Περασκευή'', ''Wielki Piątek'', ''Nagypéntek'').
==Biblical accounts==
{{main|Passion (Christianity)|Crucifixion of Jesus|Sayings of Jesus on the cross}}
[[File:Gustave Doré - The Holy Bible - Plate CXLI, The Judas Kiss.jpg|thumb|upright|''The Judas Kiss'' by [[Gustave Doré]], 1866]]
{{Death of Jesus|Holy Week}}
According to the accounts in the Gospels, the royal soldiers, guided by Jesus' disciple [[Judas Iscariot]], [[Arrest of Jesus|arrested]] Jesus in the [[Garden of Gethsemane]]. Judas received money ([[30 pieces of silver]]) ({{Bibleverse||Matthew|26:14–16|KJV}}) for [[Bargain of Judas|betraying Jesus]] and told the guards that whomever [[Kiss of Judas|he kisses]] is the one they are to arrest. Following his arrest, Jesus was taken to the house of [[Annas]], the father-in-law of the [[Cohen Gadol|high priest]], [[Caiaphas]]. There he was interrogated with little result and sent bound to Caiaphas the high priest where the [[Sanhedrin]] had assembled ({{Bibleverse||John|18:1–24|KJV}}).
Conflicting testimony against Jesus was brought forth by many witnesses, to which Jesus answered nothing. Finally the high priest adjured Jesus to respond under solemn oath, saying "I adjure you, by the Living God, to tell us, are you the Anointed One, the Son of God?" Jesus testified ambiguously, "You have said it, and in time you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Almighty, coming on the clouds of Heaven." The high priest condemned Jesus for [[blasphemy]], and the [[Sanhedrin Trial of Jesus|Sanhedrin concurred with a sentence of death]] ({{Bibleverse||Matthew|26:57–66|KJV}}). Peter, waiting in the courtyard, also [[Denial of Peter|denied Jesus]] three times to bystanders while the interrogations were proceeding just as Jesus had predicted.
In the morning, the whole assembly brought Jesus to the Roman governor [[Pontius Pilate]] under charges of subverting the nation, opposing taxes to Caesar, and making himself a king ({{Bibleverse||Luke|23:1–2|KJV}}). Pilate authorized the Jewish leaders to judge Jesus according to their own law and execute sentencing; however, the Jewish leaders replied that they were not allowed by the Romans to carry out a sentence of death ({{Bibleverse||John|18:31|KJV}}).
[[Pilate's court|Pilate questioned]] Jesus and told the assembly that there was no basis for sentencing. Upon learning that Jesus was from Galilee, Pilate referred the case to the ruler of [[Galilee]], [[Herod Antipas|King Herod]], who was in [[Jerusalem]] for the [[Passover]] Feast. [[Jesus at Herod's court|Herod questioned]] Jesus but received no answer; Herod sent Jesus back to Pilate. Pilate told the assembly that neither he nor Herod found Jesus to be guilty; Pilate resolved to have Jesus whipped and released ({{Bibleverse||Luke|23:3–16|KJV}}). Under the guidance of the chief priests, the crowd asked for [[Barabbas]], who had been imprisoned for committing murder during an insurrection. Pilate asked what they would have him do with Jesus, and they demanded, "Crucify him" ({{Bibleverse||Mark|15:6–14|KJV}}). [[Pontius Pilate's wife|Pilate's wife]] had seen Jesus in a dream earlier that day, and she forewarned Pilate to "have nothing to do with this righteous man" ({{Bibleverse||Matthew|27:19|KJV}}). Pilate had Jesus [[Flagellation of Christ|flogged]] and then brought him out to the crowd to release him. The chief priests informed Pilate of a new charge, demanding Jesus be sentenced to death "because he claimed to be God's son." This possibility filled Pilate with fear, and he brought Jesus back inside the palace and demanded to know from where he came ({{Bibleverse||John|19:1–9|KJV|}}).
[[File:Ecce homo by Antonio Ciseri (1).jpg|thumb|left|[[Antonio Ciseri]]'s depiction of ''[[Ecce Homo]]'' with Jesus and [[Pontius Pilate]], 19th century]]
Coming before the crowd one last time, Pilate declared Jesus innocent and washed his own hands in water to show he had no part in this condemnation. Nevertheless, Pilate handed Jesus over to be crucified in order to forestall a riot ({{Bibleverse||Matthew|27:24–26|KJV}}) and ultimately to keep his job. The sentence written was "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews." Jesus carried his cross to the site of execution (assisted by [[Simon of Cyrene]]), called the "place of the Skull", or "[[Golgotha]]" in Hebrew and in Latin "Calvary". There he was crucified along with two criminals ({{Bibleverse||John|19:17–22|KJV}}).
Jesus agonized on the cross for six hours. During his last three hours on the cross, from noon to 3 pm, [[Crucifixion darkness|darkness fell over the whole land]].<ref>{{Bibleverse||Matthew|27:45}}; {{Bibleverse||Mark|15:13}}; {{Bibleverse||Luke|23:44}}</ref> Jesus [[Sayings of Jesus on the cross|spoke from the cross]], quoting the messianic [[Psalm 22]]: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
With a loud cry, Jesus gave up his spirit. There was an earthquake, tombs broke open, and the curtain in the Temple was torn from top to bottom. This tear, according to Christian tradition, signified a removal of restriction of the common Jews from the Temple's "Holiest of Holies", and that God's people now could, themselves, communicate directly with their advocate before God, Jesus the Christ, rather than needing the Temple's High Priest as an intercessor.{{cn|date=October 2018}} The [[centurion]] on guard at the site of crucifixion declared, "Truly this was God's Son!" ({{Bibleverse||Matthew|27:45–54|KJV}})
[[Joseph of Arimathea]], a member of the Sanhedrin and secret follower of Jesus, who had not consented to his condemnation, went to Pilate to request the body of Jesus ({{Bibleverse||Luke|23:50–52|KJV}}). Another secret follower of Jesus and member of the Sanhedrin named [[Nicodemus]] brought about a hundred-pound weight mixture of spices and helped wrap the body of Jesus ({{Bibleverse||John|19:39–40|KJV}}). Pilate asked confirmation from the centurion of whether Jesus was dead ({{Bibleverse||Mark|15:44|KJV}}). A soldier pierced the side of Jesus with a lance causing blood and water to flow out ({{Bibleverse||John|19:34|KJV}}), and the centurion informed Pilate that Jesus was dead ({{Bibleverse||Mark|15:45|KJV}}).
Joseph of Arimathea took Jesus' body, wrapped it in a clean linen shroud, and placed it in his own new tomb that had been carved in the rock ({{Bibleverse||Matthew|27:59–60|KJV}}) in a garden near the site of crucifixion. Nicodemus ({{Bibleverse||John|3:1|KJV}}) also brought 75 pounds of [[myrrh]] and [[aloes]], and placed them in the linen with the body, in keeping with Jewish burial customs ({{Bibleverse||John|19:39–40|KJV}}). They rolled a large rock over the entrance of the tomb ({{Bibleverse||Matthew|27:60|KJV}}). Then they returned home and rested, because [[Shabbat]] had begun at sunset ({{Bibleverse||Luke|23:54–56|KJV}}). Matt. 28:1 "After the Shabbat, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb". i.e. "After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week,.......". "He is not here; he has risen, just as he said..........".(Matt. 28:6) On the third day, which is now known as Easter Sunday (or Pascha), Jesus rose from the dead.
==In Eastern and Oriental Orthodox Christianity==
[[File:Crucifixion by Theophanes the Cretan.jpg|thumb|[[Icon]] of the Crucifixion, 16th century, by [[Theophanes the Cretan]] ([[Stavronikita Monastery]], [[Mount Athos]])]]
Byzantine Christians ([[Eastern Christians]] who follow the [[Rite of Constantinople]]: [[Orthodox Church|Orthodox Christians]] and [[Greek Catholic Church|Greek-Catholics]]) call this day "Great and Holy Friday", or simply "Great Friday".<ref>{{cite book|title=A Concise Dictionary of Theology|author=Gerald O'Collins, Edward G. Farrugia|p=108|publisher=Paulist Press|year=2013|isbn=978-1-587-68236-0}}</ref>
Because the sacrifice of Jesus through his crucifixion is commemorated on this day, the [[Divine Liturgy]] (the sacrifice of bread and wine) is never celebrated on Great Friday, except when this day coincides with the [[Great Feast]] of the [[Annunciation]], which falls on the fixed date of 25 March (for those churches which follow the traditional [[Julian Calendar]], 25 March currently falls on 7 April of the modern [[Gregorian Calendar]]). Also on Great Friday, the clergy no longer wear the purple or red that is customary throughout [[Great Lent]],<ref>There is a wide variety of uses regarding the [[liturgical colors]] worn during Great Lent and Holy Week in the Rite of Constantinople.</ref> but instead don [[black vestments]]. There is no "stripping of the altar" on [[Maundy Thursday|Holy and Great Thursday]] as in the West; instead, all of the [[antipendia|church hangings]] are changed to black, and will remain so until the Divine Liturgy on [[Great Saturday]].
The faithful revisit the events of the day through public reading of specific [[Psalms]] and the [[Gospel]]s, and singing [[hymn]]s about Christ's death. Rich visual imagery and symbolism as well as stirring hymnody are remarkable elements of these observances. In the [[Orthodox theology|Orthodox understanding]], the events of [[Holy Week]] are not simply an annual commemoration of past events, but the faithful actually participate in the death and resurrection of Jesus.
<blockquote>Each hour of this day is the new suffering and the new effort of the expiatory suffering of the Savior. And the echo of this suffering is already heard in every word of our worship service – unique and incomparable both in the power of tenderness and feeling and in the depth of the boundless compassion for the suffering of the Savior. The Holy Church opens before the eyes of believers a full picture of the redeeming suffering of the Lord beginning with the bloody sweat in the Garden of Gethsemane up to the crucifixion on Golgotha. Taking us back through the past centuries in thought, the Holy Church brings us to the foot of the cross of Christ erected on Golgotha, and makes us present among the quivering spectators of all the torture of the Savior.<ref name="Bulg">{{Cite book
|last = Bulgakov
|first = Sergei V.
|year = 1900
|title = Handbook for Church Servers, 2nd ed.
|page = 543
|chapter = Great Friday
|place = Kharkov
|publisher = Tr. Archpriest Eugene D. Tarris
|url = http://transfig.orthodoxws.com/files/Bulgakov/0543.pdf
|format = PDF
|accessdate =6 April 2015
|postscript = <!--None-->}}</ref>
</blockquote>
Great and Holy Friday is observed as a strict [[Fasting|fast]], and adult Byzantine Christians are expected to abstain from all food and drink the entire day to the extent that their health permits. "On this Holy day neither a meal is offered nor do we eat on this day of the crucifixion. If someone is unable or has become very old [or is] unable to fast, he may be given bread and water after sunset. In this way we come to the holy commandment of the Holy Apostles not to eat on Great Friday."<ref name="Bulg"/>
===Matins of Holy and Great Friday===
The Byzantine Christian observance of Holy and Great Friday, which is formally known as '''The Order of Holy and Saving Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ''', begins on Thursday night with the '''''Matins of the Twelve Passion Gospels'''''. Scattered throughout this [[Matins]] service are twelve readings from all four of the Gospels which recount the events of the [[Passion (Christianity)|Passion]] from the [[Last Supper]] through the [[Crucifixion]] and [[Holy Sepulchre|burial]] of Jesus. Some churches have a candelabrum with twelve candles on it, and after each Gospel reading one of the candles is extinguished.
[[File:Agias Triados frescos cross.jpg|thumb|upright|Good Friday cross from the [[Katholikon|Catholicon]] at Holy Trinity Monastery, [[Meteora]], Greece]]
The first of these twelve readings {{Bibleverse||John|13:31–18:1|KJV}} is the longest Gospel reading of the [[Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar|liturgical year]], and is a [[concatenation]] from all [[four Gospels]]. Just before the sixth Gospel reading, which recounts Jesus being nailed to the cross, a large [[Christian cross|cross]] is carried out of the sanctuary by the priest, accompanied by [[incense]] and candles, and is placed in the center of the [[nave]] (where the congregation gathers)''Sēmeron Kremātai Epí Xýlou'':
<blockquote>Today He who hung the earth upon the waters is hung upon the Cross ''(three times)''.<br>He who is King of the angels is arrayed in a crown of thorns.<br>He who wraps the Heavens in clouds is wrapped in the purple of mockery. <br>He who in Jordan set Adam free receives blows upon His face.<br>The Bridegroom of the Church is transfixed with nails. <br>The Son of the Virgin is pierced with a spear.<br>We venerate Thy Passion, O Christ ''(three times)''.<br>Show us also Thy glorious Resurrection.<ref>{{Cite book
|last = Archimandrite Kallistos (Ware) and Mother Mary
|first =
|year = 2002
|title = The Lenten Triodion
|chapter = Service of the Twelve Gospels
|page = 587
|place = South Cannan, Pennsylvania
|publisher = St. Tikhon's Seminary Press
|url =
|accessdate =
|postscript = <!--None-->}}</ref><ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2QNbTDjvJ0 Today He who hung the earth upon the waters ] Chanted by the Byzantine Choir of Athens</ref>
</blockquote>
The readings are:
# {{Bibleverse||John|13:31–18:1|KJV}}-Christ's last sermon, Jesus prays for the [[apostles]].
# {{Bibleverse||John|18:1–18:28|KJV}}-The agony in the [[Garden of Gethsemane|garden]], the mockery and denial of Christ.
# {{Bibleverse||Matthew|26:57–26:75|KJV}}-The mockery of Christ, [[Saint Peter|Peter]] denies Christ.
# {{Bibleverse||John|18:28–19:16|KJV}}-[[Pontius Pilate|Pilate]] questions Jesus, Jesus is condemned, Jesus is mocked by the Romans.
# {{Bibleverse||Matthew|27:3–27:32|KJV}}-[[Judas]] commits suicide, Jesus is condemned, Jesus mocked by the Romans, [[Simon of Cyrene]] compelled to carry the cross.
# {{Bibleverse||Mark|15:16–15:32|KJV}}-[[Crucifixion of Jesus|Jesus dies]].
# {{Bibleverse||Matthew|27:33–27:54|KJV}}-[[Crucifixion of Jesus|Jesus dies]].
# {{Bibleverse||Luke|23:32–23:49|KJV}}-[[Crucifixion of Jesus|Jesus dies]].
# {{Bibleverse||John|19:25–19:37|KJV}}-[[Crucifixion of Jesus|Jesus dies]].
# {{Bibleverse||Mark|15:43–15:47|KJV}}-[[Joseph of Arimathea]] buries Christ.
# {{Bibleverse||John|19:38–19:42|KJV}}-[[Joseph of Arimathea]] buries Christ.
# {{Bibleverse||Matthew|27:62–27:66|KJV}}-The Jews set a guard.
During the service, all come forward to kiss the feet of Christ on the cross. After the [[Canon (hymnography)|Canon]], a brief, moving hymn, ''The Wise Thief'' is chanted by singers who stand at the foot of the cross in the center of the nave. The service does not end with the [[First Hour]], as usual, but with a special [[dismissal (liturgy)|dismissal]] by the priest:
<blockquote>May Christ our true God, Who for the salvation of the world endured spitting, and scourging, and buffeting, and the Cross, and death, through the intercessions of His [[Theotokos|most pure Mother]], of our holy and [[Holy Fathers|God-bearing fathers]], and of all the [[saint]]s, have mercy on us and save us, for He is good and the Lover of mankind.</blockquote>
===Royal Hours===
[[File:Service of the Royal Hours - Great Friday -- Annunciation, Toronto, 2014.JPG|right|thumb|Vigil during the Service of the Royal Hours.]]
{{main|Royal Hours}}
The next day, in the forenoon on Friday, all gather again to pray the '''''Royal Hours''''', a special expanded celebration of the [[Little Hours]] (including the First Hour, [[Third Hour]], [[Sext|Sixth Hour]], [[Ninth Hour]] and [[Typica]]) with the addition of scripture readings ([[Old Testament]], [[Epistle]] and [[Gospel]]) and hymns about the Crucifixion at each of the Hours (some of the material from the previous night is repeated). This is somewhat more festive in character, and derives its name of "Royal" from both the fact that the Hours are served with more solemnity than normal, commemorating Christ the King who humbled himself for the salvation of mankind, and also from the fact that this service was in the past attended by the Emperor and his court.{{cn|date=April 2017}}
===Vespers of Holy and Great Friday===
[[File:Toronto-Apokathylosis-2012-04-13.jpg|left|thumb|The crucified Christ, just before the [[Deposition from the Cross]] and the placing of the [[Epitaphios (liturgical)|Epitaphios]] in the Sepulcher.]]
In the afternoon, around 3 pm, all gather for the '''''Vespers of the Taking-Down from the Cross''''', commemorating the [[Deposition from the Cross]]. The Gospel reading is a [[concatenation]] taken from all four of the Gospels. During the service, the body of Christ (the ''soma'') is removed from the cross, as the words in the Gospel reading mention [[Joseph of Arimathea]], wrapped in a linen shroud, and taken to the [[altar]] in the sanctuary.[[File:Gold embroidery example.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Epitaphios (liturgical)|epitaphios]] ("winding sheet"), depicting the preparation of the body of Jesus for burial]] Near the end of the service an ''[[Epitaphios (liturgical)|epitaphios]]'' or "winding sheet" (a cloth embroidered with the image of Christ prepared for burial) is carried in procession to a low table in the [[nave]] which represents the [[Holy Sepulchre|Tomb of Christ]]; it is often decorated with an abundance of flowers. The epitaphios itself represents the body of Jesus wrapped in a burial shroud, and is a roughly full-size cloth icon of the body of Christ. Then the priest may deliver a [[homily]] and everyone comes forward to venerate the epitaphios. In the [[Slavic peoples|Slavic]] practice, at the end of Vespers, [[Compline]] is immediately served, featuring a special ''Canon of the Crucifixion of our Lord and the Lamentation of the Most Holy [[Theotokos]]'' by Symeon the Logothete.{{cn|date=April 2017}}
===Matins of Holy and Great Saturday===
[[File:Epitaphios Peleka.jpg|thumb|left|The Epitaphios being carried in [[procession]] in a church in Greece.]]
On Friday night, the Matins of [[Holy and Great Saturday]], a unique service known as '''''The Lamentation at the Tomb''''' (''Epitáphios Thrēnos'') is celebrated. This service is also sometimes called ''Jerusalem Matins''. Much of the service takes place around the tomb of Christ in the center of the nave.{{cn|date=April 2017}}
A unique feature of the service is the chanting of the Lamentations or Praises (''[[Encomium|Enkōmia]]''), which consist of verses chanted by the clergy interspersed between the verses of [[Psalm 119]] (which is, by far, the longest [[psalm]] in the Bible). The ''Enkōmia'' are the best-loved hymns of Byzantine hymnography, both their poetry and their music being uniquely suited to each other and to the spirit of the day. They consist of 185 [[tercet]] [[antiphon]]s arranged in three parts (''stáseis'' or "stops"), which are interjected with the verses of Psalm 119, and nine short ''doxastiká'' ("[[Gloria in excelsis Deo|Gloriae]]") and ''Theotókia'' (invocations to the Virgin Mary). The three ''stáseis'' are each set to its own music, and are commonly known by their initial antiphons: {{lang|grc|Ἡ ζωὴ ἐν τάφῳ}}, "Life in a grave", {{lang|grc|Ἄξιον ἐστί}}, "Worthy it is", and {{lang|grc|Αἱ γενεαὶ πᾶσαι}}, "All the generations". Musically they can be classified as [[strophic]], with 75, 62, and 48 tercet [[stanza]]s each, respectively. The climax of the ''Enkōmia'' comes during the third ''stásis'', with the antiphon "''Ō glyký mou Éar''", a lamentation of the Virgin for her dead Child ("O, my sweet spring, my sweetest child, where has your beauty gone?"). The author(s) and date of the ''Enkōmia'' are unknown. Their High Attic linguistic style suggests a dating around the 6th century, possibly before the time of [[St. Romanos the Melodist]].{{cn|date=April 2017}}
[[File:Epitaph Adelaide.jpg|thumb|The Epitaphios mounted upon return of procession, at an Orthodox Church in Adelaide, Australia.]]
At the end of the [[Great Doxology]], while the [[Trisagion]] is sung, the epitaphios is taken in [[crucession|procession]] around the outside the church, and is then returned to the tomb. Some churches observe the practice of holding the epitaphios at the door, above waist level, so the faithful most bow down under it as they come back into the church, symbolizing their entering into the death and resurrection of Christ. The epitaphios will lay in the tomb until the Paschal Service early Sunday morning. In some churches, the epitaphios is never left alone, but is accompanied 24 hours a day by a reader chanting from the Psalter.{{Citation needed|date=March 2011}}
The [[Troparion]] (hymn of the day) of Good Friday is:
<blockquote><poem>
The noble [[Joseph of Arimathea|Joseph]], when he had taken down Thy most pure Body from the [[Tree of Life (Judeo-Christian)|tree]], wrapped it in fine linen, and anointed it with spices, and placed it in a new tomb.
Glory to the [[God the Father|Father]], and to the [[Jesus|Son]], and to the [[Holy Spirit]], both now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.
The angel came to the [[myrrh-bearing women]] at the tomb and said:
[[Myrrh]] is fitting for the dead, but Christ has shown Himself a stranger to corruption.
</poem></blockquote>
==In the Roman Catholic Church==
===Day of Fasting===
[[File:St.Martin-Karfreitag36.JPG|thumb|[[Crucifix]] prepared for veneration]]
The Catholic Church regards Good Friday and [[Holy Saturday]] as the Paschal fast, in accord with Article 110 of [[Sacrosanctum Concilium]].<ref name="vatican.va">{{cite web|url=http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19631204_sacrosanctum-concilium_en.html|title=Sacrosanctum concilium|publisher=|accessdate=17 April 2017}}</ref> In the [[Latin Church]], a [[Fasting and abstinence in the Catholic Church|fast day]] is understood as having only one full meal and two [[Collation (meal)|collations]] (a smaller repast, the two of which together do not equal the one full meal)<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/liturgical-year/lent/catholic-information-on-lenten-fast-and-abstinence.cfm|title=Fast & Abstinence|website=United States Conference of Catholic Bishops|language=en|access-date=14 April 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.liturgyoffice.org.uk/Resources/Penance/Abstinence.pdf|title=Fasting and Abstinence|date=24 January 1985|website=Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales|access-date=14 April 2017}}</ref> – although this may be observed less stringently on Holy Saturday than on Good Friday.<ref name="vatican.va"/>
===Services on the day===
The [[Roman Rite]] has no celebration of [[Mass (liturgy)|Mass]] between the [[Eucharist|Lord's Supper]] on [[Maundy Thursday|Holy Thursday]] evening and the [[Easter Vigil]] unless a special exemption is granted for rare solemn or grave occasions by the [[Holy See|Vatican]] or the [[Ordinary (officer)|local bishop]]. The only [[sacrament]]s celebrated during this time are [[Baptism]] (for those in danger of death), [[Sacrament of Penance (Catholic Church)|Penance]], and [[Anointing of the Sick]].<ref>Roman Missal: Good Friday, 1.</ref> While there is no celebration of the Eucharist, it is distributed to the faithful only in the Service of the Passion of the Lord, but can also be taken at any hour to the sick who are unable to attend this service.<ref>Roman Missal: Good Friday, 2.</ref> After the Lord's Supper any candlesticks and [[altar cloth]]s, cross or crosses are removed leaving it bare so that they may be returned in-ceremony on Easter Sunday which memorialises the day of Christ's resurrection.<ref>Roman Missal, Good Friday, 3.</ref> It is also customary to empty the [[holy water]] [[holy water font|fonts]] in preparation of the blessing of the water at the Easter Vigil.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.catholicliturgy.com/index.cfm/FuseAction/LawText/Index/6/LawIndex/46|title=Removing Holy Water During Lent. Letter of the Congregation for Divine Worship|date= 14 March 2003}}</ref> Traditionally, no bells are rung on Good Friday or Holy Saturday until the [[Easter Vigil]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.catholic.org/lent/friday.php|title=Good Friday – Easter/Lent – Catholic Online|date= 12 January 2018}}</ref>
The Celebration of the Passion of the Lord takes place in the afternoon, ideally at three o'clock; however, for pastoral reasons (especially in countries where Good Friday is not a public holiday), it is permissible to celebrate the liturgy earlier, even shortly after midday, or at a later hour up until 9pm.<ref>Roman Missal: Good Friday, 4.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.catholicliturgy.com/index.cfm/FuseAction/documentText/Index/2/SubIndex/38/ContentIndex/325/Start/319|title= V. Good Friday - The Catholic Liturgical Library |access-date= 28 July 2018}}</ref>
The vestments used are [[liturgical colours|red (more commonly) or black (more traditionally)]].<ref>Roman Missal: Good Friday, 5.</ref> Before 1970, vestments were black except for the Communion part of the rite when violet was used.<ref>[http://www.musicasacra.com/pdf/missale62.pdf 1962 edition of the Roman Missal].</ref> Before 1955 black was used throughout.<ref name="sanctamissa.org">[http://www.sanctamissa.org/EN/resources/missale-romanum-pdf.html 1920 typical edition of the Roman Missal].</ref> If a bishop or [[abbot]] celebrates, he wears a plain [[mitre]] (''mitra simplex'').<ref>''Caeremoniale Episcoporum'', 315.</ref>
===Liturgy===
{{see also|Good Friday prayer for the Jews}}
[[File:Ecce Mass, Good Friday, Our Lady of Lourdes, Philadelphia.jpg|thumb|right|Communion from the [[Blessed Sacrament]] on Good Friday (Our Lady of Lourdes, Philadelphia)]]
The Good Friday liturgy consists of three parts: the [[Liturgy of the Word]], the [[Veneration of the Cross]], and [[Holy Communion]].
* The '''Liturgy of the Word''' consists of the clergy and assisting ministers entering in complete silence, without any singing. They then silently make a full [[prostration]]. This signifies the abasement ([[Fall of man|the fall]]) of (earthly) humans.<ref name="Pope Francis prostrating">{{cite web|url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3509799/Pope-Francis-lies-prostrate-floor-St-Peter-s-Basilica-Vatican-pray-silently-Good-Friday-service-sharing-picture-kissing-crucifix-Instagram.html|title=Pope Francis slams Europe's attitude to migrants|publisher=|accessdate=17 April 2017}}</ref><ref>''Roman Missal'', "Good Friday", Celebration of the Lord's Passion, n. 5.</ref> It also symbolizes the grief and sorrow of the Church.<ref>''Circular Letter Concerning the Preparation and Celebration of the Easter Feasts'', [http://www.catholicliturgy.com/index.cfm/FuseAction/documentText/Index/6/SubIndex/97/ContentIndex/325/Start/319 V. Good Friday], 16 January 1988, Sacred Congregation for Divine Worship.</ref> Then follows the [[Collect]] prayer, and the reading or chanting of {{Bibleverse||Isaiah|52:13–53:12}}, {{Bibleverse||Hebrews|4:14–16}}, {{Bibleverse-nb||Hebrews|5:7–9}}, and the [[Passion (Christianity)|Passion]] account from the [[Gospel of John]], traditionally divided between three deacons,<ref>Congregation of Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments, ''Paschale Solemnitatis'', III, n.66 (cf. n. 33)</ref> yet usually divided between the celebrant, one or two singers or readers, and the congregation which speaks the part of the "crowd". This part of the liturgy concludes with the ''orationes sollemnes'', a series of prayers for the Church, the Pope, the clergy and laity of the Church, those preparing for baptism, the unity of Christians, the Jewish people, those who do not believe in Christ, those who do not believe in God, those in public office, those in special need.<ref>Roman Missal: Good Friday, 7–13.</ref> After each prayer intention, the deacon calls the faithful to kneel for a short period of private prayer; the celebrant then sums up the prayer intention with a Collect-style prayer.
* The '''Adoration of the Cross''' has a [[crucifix]], not necessarily the one that is normally on or near the altar at other times of the year, solemnly unveiled and displayed to the congregation, and then venerated by them, individually if possible and usually by kissing the wood of the cross, while hymns and the [[Improperia]] ("Reproaches") with the [[Trisagion]] hymn are chanted.<ref>Roman Missal: Good Friday, 14–21.</ref>
* '''Holy Communion''' is done according to a rite based on that of the final part of Mass, beginning with the [[Lord's Prayer|Our Father]], but omitting the ceremony of "[[Fraction (religion)|Breaking of the Bread]]" and its related chant, the "[[Agnus Dei (liturgy)|Agnus Dei]]". The [[Eucharist]], consecrated at the Evening Mass of the Lord's Supper on [[Maundy Thursday|Holy Thursday]], is distributed at this service.<ref>Roman Missal: Good Friday, 22–31.</ref> Before the reform of [[Pope Pius XII]], only the priest received Communion in the framework of what was called the "[[Mass of the Presanctified]]", which included the usual Offertory prayers, with the placing of wine in the chalice, but which omitted the [[Canon of the Mass]].<ref name="sanctamissa.org"/> The priest and people then depart in silence, and the altar cloth is removed, leaving the altar bare except for the crucifix and two or four candlesticks.<ref>Roman Missal: Good Friday, 32–33.</ref>
===Stations of the Cross===
[[File:GoodFr CroosWay Colloseo.jpg|thumb|upright|The [[Way of the Cross]], celebrated at the [[Colosseum]] in Rome on Good Friday]]
[[File:Canopy erected at the Temple of Venus and Rome during Good Friday ceremonies.JPG|thumb|Rome: canopy erected at the "Temple of Venus and Rome" during the "Way of the Cross" ceremony]]
In addition to the prescribed [[liturgy|liturgical]] service, the [[Stations of the Cross]] are often prayed either in the church or outside, and a prayer service may be held from midday to 3.00 pm, known as the [[Three Hours' Agony]]. In countries such as Malta, Italy, Philippines, Puerto Rico and Spain, processions with statues representing the Passion of Christ are held.{{cn|date=April 2017}}
In Rome, since the papacy of Saint [[John Paul II]], the heights of the [[Temple of Venus and Roma]] and their position opposite the main entrance to the Colosseum have been used to good effect as a public address platform. This may be seen in the photograph below where a red canopy has been erected to shelter the Pope as well as an illuminated cross, on the occasion of the '''Way of the Cross''' ceremony. The Pope, either personally or through a representative, leads the faithful through meditations on the stations of the cross while a cross is carried from there to the Colosseum.{{cn|date=April 2017}}
In Polish churches, a tableau of Christ's Tomb is unveiled in the sanctuary. Many of the faithful spend long hours into the night grieving at the Tomb, where it is customary to kiss the wounds on the Lord's body. A life-size figure of Jesus lying in his tomb is widely visited by the faithful, especially on Holy Saturday. The tableaux may include flowers, candles, figures of angels standing watch, and the three crosses atop Mt Calvary, and much more. Each parish strives to come up with the most artistically and religiously evocative arrangement in which the Blessed Sacrament, draped in a filmy veil, is prominently displayed.{{cn|date=April 2017}}
===Acts of Reparation to Jesus Christ===
{{main|Acts of Reparation to Jesus Christ}}
[[File:Christ Carrying the Cross 1580.jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[El Greco]]'s ''Jesus Carrying the Cross'', 1580]]
The Roman Catholic tradition includes specific prayers and devotions as ''[[acts of reparation]]'' for the sufferings and insults that Jesus suffered during his Passion on Good Friday. These Acts of Reparation to Jesus Christ do not involve a petition for a beneficiary, but aim to "repair the sins" against Jesus. Some such prayers are provided in the [[Raccolta]] Catholic prayer book (approved by a Decree of 1854, and published by the [[Holy See]] in 1898) which also includes prayers as [[Acts of Reparation to the Virgin Mary]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12775a.htm|title=CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Reparation|publisher=|accessdate=17 April 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12620a.htm|title=CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Raccolta|publisher=|accessdate=17 April 2017}}</ref><ref>Joseph P. Christopher et al., 2003 ''The Raccolta'' St Athanasius Press {{ISBN|978-0-9706526-6-9}}.</ref><ref>Ann Ball, 2003 ''Encyclopedia of Catholic Devotions and Practices ''{{ISBN|0-87973-910-X}}</ref>
In his encyclical ''[[Miserentissimus Redemptor]]'' on reparations, [[Pope Pius XI]] called Acts of Reparation to Jesus Christ a duty for Catholics and referred to them as "some sort of compensation to be rendered for the injury" with respect to the sufferings of Jesus.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/pius_xi/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-xi_enc_08051928_miserentissimus-redemptor_en.html |title=Pius XI, Miserentissimus Redemptor (08/05/1928) |work=vatican.va |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140812031528/http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/pius_xi/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-xi_enc_08051928_miserentissimus-redemptor_en.html |archivedate=12 August 2014 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>
[[Pope John Paul II]] referred to [[Acts of Reparation]] as the "unceasing effort to stand beside the endless crosses on which the Son of God continues to be crucified".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/letters/2000/documents/hf_jp-ii_let_20001021_riparatrici_en.html |title=Letter of the Holy Father John Paul II to Cardinal Fiorenzo Angelini for the 50th Anniversary of the Benedictine Sisters of Reparation of the Holy Face |website=Vatican archives |date=27 September 2000 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080502234831/http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/letters/2000/documents/hf_jp-ii_let_20001021_riparatrici_en.html |archivedate=2 May 2008 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>
==Anglican Communion==
The 1662 [[Book of Common Prayer]] did not specify a particular rite to be observed on Good Friday but local custom came to mandate an assortment of services, including the [[Seven Last Words from the Cross]] and a three-hour service consisting of [[Matins]], [[Eucharist|Ante-communion]] (using the [[Reserved Sacrament]] in [[high church]] parishes) and [[Evening Prayer (Book of Common Prayer)|Evensong]]. In recent times,{{When|date=April 2017}} revised editions of the [[Book of Common Prayer|Prayer Book]] and [[Common Worship]] have re-introduced pre-[[Protestant Reformation|Reformation]] forms of observance of Good Friday corresponding to those in today's Roman Catholic Church, with special nods to the rites that had been observed in the Church of England prior to the [[English Reformation|Henrican, Edwardian and Elizabethan reforms]], including Creeping to the Cross.{{cn|date=April 2017}}
==Lutheran Church==
[[File:Chancel of Grace Lutheran Church on Good Friday.jpg|thumb|The [[chancel]] of this Lutheran church is adorned with black [[parament]]s on Good Friday, the liturgical colour associated with Good Friday in the Lutheran Churches.]]
In [[Lutheranism|Lutheran]] tradition from the 16th to the 20th century, Good Friday was the most important religious holiday, and abstention from all worldly works was expected. During that time, Lutheranism had no restrictions on the celebration of the [[Eucharist]] on Good Friday; on the contrary, it was a prime day on which to receive the Eucharist, and services were often accentuated by special music such as the ''[[St Matthew Passion]]'' by [[Johann Sebastian Bach]].<ref name="GassmannOldenburg2011"/>
More recently, Lutheran liturgical practice has recaptured Good Friday as part of the larger sweep of the great Three Days: Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and the Vigil of Easter. The Three Days remain one liturgy which celebrates the death and resurrection of Jesus. As part of the liturgy of the Three Days, Lutherans generally fast from the Eucharist on Good Friday. Rather, it is celebrated in remembrance of the [[Last Supper]] on [[Maundy Thursday]] and at the [[Vigil of Easter]]. One practice among Lutheran churches is to celebrate a [[tenebrae]] service on Good Friday, typically conducted in candlelight and consisting of a collection of passion accounts from the four gospels. While being called "Tenebrae" it holds little resemblance to the now-suppressed Catholic monastic rite of the same name.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.historiclectionary.com/2010/03/a-word-about-tenebrae/ |title=A Word About Tenebrae | |publisher=Historiclectionary.com |date=22 March 2010 |accessdate=23 April 2014}}</ref> The Good Friday liturgy appointed in ''[[Evangelical Lutheran Worship]]'', the worship book of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, specifies a liturgy similar to the revised Roman Catholic liturgy. A rite for adoration of the crucified Christ includes the optional singing of the Solemn Reproaches in an updated and revised translation which eliminates some of the anti-Jewish overtones in previous versions. Influenced by the ecumenical liturgical renewal movement and in an attempt to recover patterns of worship from the early church, many Lutheran congregations are moving away from long preaching services centered on a dramatic and sentimentalized remembrance of the "Seven Last Words," sayings of Jesus assembled from the four gospels, toward a more devotional practice that places an emphasis on the triumph of the cross, and a singular biblical account of the Passion narrative from the Gospel of John.{{cn|date=April 2017}}
Along with observing a general Lenten fast,<ref name="GassmannOldenburg2011">{{cite book|last1=Gassmann|first1=Günther|last2=Oldenburg|first2=Mark W.|title=Historical Dictionary of Lutheranism|date=10 October 2011|publisher=Scarecrow Press|language=English|isbn=9780810874824|page=229|quote=In many Lutheran churches, the Sundays during the Lenten season are called by the first word of their respective Latin Introitus (with the exception of Palm/Passion Sunday): Invocavit, Reminiscere, Oculi, Laetare, and Judica. Many Lutheran church orders of the 16th century retained the observation of the Lenten fast, and Lutherans have observed this season with a serene, earnest attitude. Special days of eucharistic communion were set aside on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday.}}</ref> many Lutherans emphasize the importance of Good Friday as a day of fasting within the kalendar.<ref name="Pfatteicher1990">{{cite book|last=Pfatteicher|first=Philip H.|title=Commentary on the Lutheran Book of Worship: Lutheran Liturgy in Its Ecumenical Context|year=1990|publisher=Augsburg Fortress Publishers|language=English |isbn=9780800603922|pages=223–244, 260|quote=The Good Friday fast became the principal fast in the calendar, and even after the Reformation in Germany many Lutherans who observed no other fast scrupulously kept Good Friday with strict fasting.}}</ref><ref name="JacobsHaas1899">{{cite book|last1=Jacobs|first1=Henry Eyster|last2=Haas|first2=John Augustus William|title=The Lutheran Cyclopedia|accessdate=12 March 2018|year=1899|publisher=Scribner|language=English|page=110|quote=By many Lutherans Good Friday is observed as a strict fast. The lessons on Ash Wednesday emphasize the proper idea of the fast. The Sundays in Lent receive their names from the first words of their Introits in the Latin service, Invocavit, Reminiscere, Oculi, Lcetare, Judica.}}</ref> ''A Handbook for the Discipline of Lent'' recommends the Lutheran guideline to "Fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday with only one simple meal during the day, usually without meat".<ref name="ELCA1978">{{cite web|url=http://www.ststephenlutheranchurch.org/pdf/Disciplines%20of%20Lent-%20Handbook.pdf|title=A Handbook for the Discipline of Lent|last=Weitzel|first=Thomas L.|year=1978|publisher=Evangelical Lutheran Church in America|language=English|accessdate=17 March 2018}}</ref>
==Other mainstream Protestant traditions==
[[File:Minister prostrates at the start of United Methodist Good Friday liturgy.jpg|thumb|A United Methodist minister [[Prostration|prostrates]] at the start of the Good Friday liturgy at Holy Family Church, in accordance with the rubrics in the [[The United Methodist Book of Worship (1992)|Book of Worship]]. The [[processional cross]] is veiled in black, the liturgical colour associated with Good Friday in Methodist Churches.]]
[[File:Chancel of Houston Memorial UMC on Good Friday.jpg|thumb|upright=1.6|On Maundy Thursday, the [[Stripping of the Altar|altar of this Methodist church was stripped]] and the crucifix of this Methodist church has been veiled in black for Good Friday (black is the liturgical colour for Good Friday in the United Methodist Church). A wooden cross sits in front of the bare chancel for the veneration of the cross ceremony, which occurs during the United Methodist Good Friday liturgy.]]
Many other mainstream [[Protestant]] communities hold special services on this day as well. [[Moravian Church|Moravians]] hold a [[Lovefeast]] on Good Friday as they receive Holy Communion on [[Maundy Thursday]]. The [[Methodism|Methodist Church]] commemorates Good Friday with [[fasting]],<ref name="BaysWacker2010">{{cite book|last1=Bays|first1=Daniel H|last2=Wacker|first2=Grant|title=The Foreign Missionary Enterprise at Home: Explorations in North American Cultural History|date=14 March 2010|publisher=University of Alabama Press|isbn=9780817356408|page=277}}</ref> as well as a [[service of worship]], often based on the [[Seven Last Words from the Cross]].<ref name="Reflector-Good Friday">{{cite web|url=http://www.reflector.com/local/content/news/stories/2008/03/21/GoodFriday.html |title=Christians mark Good Friday |publisher=The Daily Reflector |accessdate=21 March 2007 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080330184414/http://www.reflector.com/local/content/news/stories/2008/03/21/GoodFriday.html |archivedate=30 March 2008 }}</ref><ref name="UMC-Good Friday">{{cite web|url = http://archives.umc.org/interior.asp?mid=258&GID=179&GMOD=VWD&GCAT=G| title = Good Friday |publisher = United Methodist Church|accessdate =21 March 2007}}</ref> It is not uncommon for some communities to hold interdenominational services on Good Friday.
In the [[Reformed]] tradition, Good Friday is one of the [[evangelical feast]]s and is thus widely observed with [[church service]]s, which feature the Solemn Reproaches in the pattern of [[Psalm 78]], towards the end of the liturgy.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rca.org/resources/good-friday|title=Good Friday|publisher=[[Reformed Church in America]]|accessdate=8 March 2018}}</ref>
==Associated customs==
[[File:Good Friday in St. Pius X Church.jpg|thumb|left|Good Friday service in Ireland]]
In many countries with a strong Christian tradition such as Australia, Bermuda, Brazil, Canada, the countries of the Caribbean, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Ecuador, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Malta, Mexico, New Zealand,<ref>Holidays Act 2003 (New Zealand), Section 17 [http://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2003/0129/latest/DLM237120.html Days that are public holidays]</ref><ref>Shop Trading Hours Act Repeal Act 1990 (New Zealand), Section 3 [http://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1990/0057/latest/DLM212363.html Shops to be closed on Anzac Day morning, Good Friday, Easter Sunday, and Christmas Day]</ref><ref>Broadcasting Act 1989 (New Zealand), Section 79A [http://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1989/0025/latest/DLM158495.html Hours during which election programmes prohibited], Section 81 [http://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1989/0025/latest/DLM158916.html Advertising hours]</ref> Peru, the Philippines, the Scandinavian countries, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and Venezuela, the day is observed as a [[List of holidays by country|public or federal holiday]]. In the United States, 12 states observe Good Friday as state holiday: Connecticut, Texas, Delaware, Hawaii, Indiana, Tennessee, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, New Jersey, North Carolina and North Dakota. Germany and some other countries have laws prohibiting certain acts, such as dancing and horse racing, that are seen as profaning the solemn nature of the day.<ref name="Petre"/><ref name="Stevens"/>
===Australia and New Zealand===
Good Friday is a holiday under state and territory laws in all states and territories in Australia.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.australia.gov.au/about-australia/special-dates-and-events/public-holidays|title=Public holidays – australia.gov.au|publisher=}}</ref> Generally speaking, shops in all Australian states (but not in the two territories of the [[Northern Territory]] and the [[Australian Capital Territory]]) are required to remain closed for the duration of Good Friday, although there are certain shops which are permitted to open and other shops can apply for exemptions. All schools and universities close on Good Friday in Australia, and Good Friday falls within the school holidays in most years in all states and territories except the [[Northern Territory]], although many states now commence their school holidays in early April regardless of Easter. In 2018, for example, when Good Friday fell on 30 March, only [[Queensland]] and [[Victoria (Australia)|Victoria]] had school holidays which coincided with Good Friday.<ref name="australia.gov.au/about-australia/special-dates-and-events/school-term-dates">{{Cite web |url= https://www.australia.gov.au/about-australia/special-dates-and-events/school-term-dates |title= School Term Dates |website= australia.gov.au |access-date= 4 February 2018}}</ref> The vast majority of businesses are closed on Good Friday, although many recreational businesses, such as the [[Sydney Royal Easter Show]], open on Good Friday as among non-religious families Good Friday is a popular day to indulge in such activities. In New Zealand, Good Friday is a legal holiday<ref>{{Cite web |url= https://www.govt.nz/browse/work/public-holidays-and-work/public-holidays-and-anniversary-dates |title= Public holidays and anniversary dates {{!}} NZ Government |access-date= 17 March 2018}}</ref> and is a day of mandatory school closure for all New Zealand state and integrated schools.<ref>{{Cite web |url= https://education.govt.nz/ministry-of-education/school-terms-and-holidays/more-information-about-setting-term-dates/#must|title= PMore information on setting term dates, holidays and closing days|access-date= 17 March 2018}}</ref> Good Friday is also a restricted trading day in New Zealand, which means that unexempted shops are not permitted to open on this day.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.employment.govt.nz/leave-and-holidays/public-holidays/restricted-shop-trading-days/|title= Restricted shop trading days » Employment New Zealand |access-date= 17 March 2018}}</ref>
===Canada===
[[File:Apokathylosis - Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral Toronto (2010).jpg|thumb|[[Good Friday#Vespers of Holy and Great Friday|Vespers of Good Friday afternoon]], Greek Orthodox Cathedral in [[Toronto]]]]
In Canada, Good Friday is a [[public holidays in Canada|federal statutory holiday]]. In the province of Quebec "employers can choose to give the day off either on Good Friday or Easter Monday."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.statutoryholidays.com|title=Statutory holidays in Canada both national and provincial.|publisher=}}</ref>
===Cuba===
In an online article posted on [[Catholic News Agency]] by Alejandro Bermúdez on 31 March 2012, [[President of Cuba|Cuban President]] [[Raúl Castro]], with the [[Communist Party of Cuba|Communist Party]] and his advisers, decreed that Good Friday that year would be a holiday. This was Castro's response to a request made personally to him by [[Pope Benedict XVI]] during the latter's Apostolic Visitation to the island and [[Leon, Mexico|León]], [[Mexico]] that month. The move followed the pattern of small advances in Cuba's relations with the Vatican, mirroring [[Pope John Paul II]]'s success in getting [[Fidel Castro]] to declare [[Christmas Day]] a holiday.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/cuban-authorities-declare-good-friday-2012-a-holiday/ |title=Cuban authorities declare Good Friday 2012 a holiday |publisher=Catholic News Agency |date= |accessdate=23 April 2014}}</ref> Both Good Friday and Christmas are now [[Public holidays in Cuba|annual holidays in Cuba]].
===Hong Kong===
In [[Hong Kong]], despite the transfer of sovereignty from the UK to China in 1997, Good Friday continues to be a public holiday.<ref>[https://www.gov.hk/en/about/abouthk/holiday/]</ref> Government offices, banks, post offices and most offices are closed on Good Friday.
===Ireland===
In the [[Republic of Ireland]], Good Friday is not an official public holiday, but most non-retail businesses close for the day. Up until 2018 it was illegal to sell alcoholic beverages on Good Friday, with some exceptions, so pubs and off-licences generally closed.<ref name="ie-wheretolook">{{cite news|title=You can have a pint today – if you know where to look|url=http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/you-can-have-a-pint-today-if-you-know-where-to-look-26646201.html|first=Colin|last=Gleeson|accessdate=3 April 2015|work=Irish Independent|date=2 April 2010}}</ref> Critics of the ban included the catering and tourism sector, but surveys showed that the general public were divided on the issue.<ref name="independent-goodfridayalcohol">{{cite news|last1=Hade|first1=Emma Jane|title=Good Friday alcohol ban still splits public as only half want it abolished|url=http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/good-friday-alcohol-ban-still-splits-public-as-only-half-want-it-abolished-31112720.html|accessdate=3 April 2015|work=Irish Independent|date=2 April 2015}}</ref><ref>[https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/news/times-have-changed-a-lot-one-of-irelands-oldest-barmaids-98-pulls-pints-for-the-first-time-on-good-friday-36759366.html 'Times have changed a lot' – one of Ireland's oldest barmaids (98) pulls pints for the first time on Good Friday] independent.ie, 30 March 2018</ref><!-- This is not, strictly speaking, wrong, but it is not a fair summary of what the source actually says -- how many of those who said they think it should stay in place also said they planned on drinking pre-purchased alcohol on the day? --> In [[Northern Ireland]], a similar ban operates until 5 pm on Good Friday.<ref name="bbc-restrictionsni">{{cite news|first=Peter|last=Coulter|title=Pub owners frustrated at assembly failure to change Easter opening hours|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-35877628|work=BBC News|date=23 March 2016|accessdate=25 March 2016}}</ref>
===Malaysia===
Although Malaysia is a [[Muslim world|Muslim majority country]], Good Friday is declared as a public holiday in the states of [[Sabah]] and [[Sarawak]] in [[East Malaysia]] as there is a significant Christian indigenous population in both states.<ref>{{cite book|author=Michael Ipgrave|title=Building a Better Bridge: Muslims, Christians, and the Common Good : a Record of the Fourth Building Bridges Seminar Held in Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina, May 15–18, 2005|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O109P8UHP2wC&pg=PA109|year=2008|publisher=Georgetown University Press|isbn=1-58901-731-5|pages=109–}}</ref>
===Malta===
The Holy Week commemorations reach their peak on Good Friday as the Roman Catholic Church celebrates the passion of Jesus. Solemn celebrations take place in all churches together with processions in different villages around [[Malta]] and [[Gozo]]. During the celebration, the narrative of the passion is read in some localities, while the Adoration of the Cross follows. Good Friday processions take place in [[Birgu]], [[Bormla]], [[Għaxaq]], [[Luqa]], [[Mosta]], [[Naxxar]], [[Paola, Malta|Paola]], [[Qormi]], [[Rabat]], [[Senglea]], [[Valletta]], [[Żebbuġ, Malta|Żebbuġ (Città Rohan)]] and [[Żejtun]]. Processions in Gozo will be in [[Nadur]], [[Victoria, Gozo|Victoria]] (St. George and Cathedral), [[Xagħra]] and [[Żebbuġ, Gozo]].{{cn|date=April 2017}}
===Philippines===
In the predominantly [[Roman Catholicism in the Philippines|Roman Catholic]] [[Philippines]], the day is commemorated with street processions, the [[Way of the Cross]], the chanting of the ''[[Pasyon|Pasyón]]'', and performances of the ''Senákulo'' or [[Passion play]]. Some devotees engage in self-[[Flagellant|flagellation]] and even have themselves [[Crucifixion in the Philippines|crucified]] as expressions of penance despite health risks and strong disapproval from the Church.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/australasia/dozens-ignore-warnings-to-reenact-crucifixion-799322.html|title=Dozens ignore warnings to re-enact crucifixion|date=22 March 2008|accessdate=23 March 2008|work=[[The Independent]] | location=London | first1=Kathy | last1=Marks}}</ref>
Church bells are not rung and Masses are not celebrated, while television features movies, documentaries and other shows focused on the religious event and other topics related to the Catholic faith, broadcasting mostly religious content. Malls and shops are generally closed, as are restaurants as it is the second of three public holidays within the week.{{cn|date=April 2017}}
After three o'clock in the afternoon (the time at which Jesus is traditionally believed to have died), the faithful venerate the cross in the local church and follow the procession of the Burial of Jesus. The image of the dead Christ is then laid in state to be venerated, and sometimes treated in accordance with local burial customs.{{cn|date=April 2017}}
In [[Cebu]] and many parts of the [[Visayan Islands]], people usually eat ''[[binignit]]'' and ''[[Cuisine of the Philippines#Merienda|biko]]'' as a form of [[fasting]].<ref>Izobelle T. Pulgo, "[http://cebudailynews.inquirer.net/90044/90044 Binignit: A Good Friday Cebuano soul food]", ''Cebu Daily News'', 23 March 2016.</ref><ref>Deralyn Ramos, "[http://www.thici.com/sites/default/files/news/thibalita_march2013.pdf Holy Week in tne Philippines]", ''Tsuneishi Balita'', March 2013, p. 4.</ref>
===Spain===
[[File:Nazarenosblancos.jpg|thumb|upright|Nazarenos wearing [[capirote]]s, in [[Málaga]], Spain]]
{{main|Holy Week in Spain|Holy Week in Málaga|Holy Week in Seville|Holy Week in Valladolid|Holy Week in Viveiro|Holy Week in Zamora}}
{{Empty section|date=February 2017}}
===United Kingdom===
[[File:Hot cross bun.jpg|thumb|[[Hot cross bun]]s are traditionally toasted and eaten on Good Friday in Britain and Australia.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/8598312.stm|title=How did hot cross buns become two a penny?|first=Finlo|last=Rohrer|work=BBC News magazine|date=1 April 2010|accessdate=6 April 2012}}</ref>]]
In the [[UK]], Good Friday was historically a common law holiday and is recognised as an official public holiday<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Governmentcitizensandrights/LivingintheUK/DG_073741| title =Bank holidays and British Summer Time |publisher = Directgov|accessdate =19 April 2011}}</ref> (also known as a [[Bank Holiday]]). All state schools are closed and most businesses treat it as a holiday for staff; however, many retail stores now remain open. [[Northern Ireland Civil Service|Government]] services in Northern Ireland operate as normal on Good Friday, substituting [[Easter Tuesday]] for the holiday.
There has traditionally been no horse racing on Good Friday in the UK. However, in 2008, betting shops and stores opened for the first time on this day<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1582366/Good-Friday-gambling-angers-churches.html|title=Good Friday gambling angers churches|work=The Telegraph|first=Jonathan|last=Petre|date=21 March 2008|accessdate=6 April 2012}}</ref> and in 2014 Lingfield Park and Musselburgh staged the UK's first Good Friday race meetings.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/horse-racing/24458664|title=Lingfield: £1m Good Friday fixture to be held at Surrey racecourse|work=BBC news|date=9 October 2013|accessdate=14 October 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.scotsman.com/news/scotland/top-stories/musselburgh-to-host-historic-good-friday-racing-1-3136748|work=The Scotsman|title=Musselburgh to host historic Good Friday racing|first=Craig|last=Brown|date=11 October 2013|accessdate=14 October 2013}}</ref> The [[BBC]] has for many years introduced its 7 am News broadcast on [[BBC Radio 4|Radio 4]] on Good Friday with a verse from [[Isaac Watts]]' hymn "[[When I Survey the Wondrous Cross]]".
===United States===
In the [[United States]], Good Friday is not a government holiday at the federal level; however, individual states, counties and municipalities may observe the holiday. Good Friday is a state holiday in [[Connecticut]],<ref>{{cite web|author=Government of Connecticut|url=https://portal.ct.gov/About/Legal-Holidays-in-the-State/ |title=Legal State Holidays |publisher=CT.gov |date= |accessdate=30 March 2018}}</ref> [[Delaware]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://delawarepersonnel.com/labor/holidays/2012.shtml |title=Delaware – Office of Management and Budget – State of Delaware Holidays |publisher=Delawarepersonnel.com |date= |accessdate=23 April 2014}}</ref> [[Florida]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://law2.onecle.com/florida/commercial-relations/683.01.html |title=Title XXXIX Commercial Relations Section 683.01 Legal holidays. |work=onecle.com |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140202113002/http://law2.onecle.com/florida/commercial-relations/683.01.html |archivedate= 2 February 2014 |df= }}</ref> [[Hawaii]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.miraclesalad.com/webtools/holidays.php |title=Hawaii State Holidays for 2014 |publisher=Miraclesalad.com |date= |accessdate=23 April 2014}}</ref> [[Indiana]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.in.gov/sos/2369.htm |title=Secretary of State: 2011 Indiana State Holidays |publisher=In.gov |date= |accessdate=23 April 2014}}</ref> [[Kentucky]] (half day),<ref>{{cite web|url=https://personnel.ky.gov/pages/leave.aspx |title=Holidays |publisher=Personnel.ky.gov |date= |accessdate=23 April 2014}}</ref> [[Louisiana]],<ref>{{cite web |author=Sandra G. Gillen, CPPB |url=http://doa.louisiana.gov/osp/aboutus/holidays.htm |title=2014 State Holidays Calendar Observed by OSP |publisher=Doa.louisiana.gov |date= |accessdate=23 April 2014 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140201220849/http://doa.louisiana.gov/osp/aboutus/holidays.htm |archivedate=1 February 2014 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> [[New Jersey]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nj.gov/nj/about/facts/holidays/ |title=The Official Web Site for The State of New Jersey | State Holidays |publisher=Nj.gov |date= |accessdate=23 April 2014}}</ref> [[North Carolina]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ic.nc.gov/ncic/pages/holiday.htm |title=N.C. State Government Holiday Schedule for 2013 and 2014 |publisher=Ic.nc.gov |date= |accessdate=23 April 2014}}</ref> [[North Dakota]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theholidayschedule.com/north-dakota-state-holidays.html |title=North Dakota State Holidays 2014 |publisher=The Holiday Schedule |date= |accessdate=23 April 2014}}</ref> [[Tennessee]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tn.gov/state-holidays.html |title=Official State Holidays |publisher=TN.gov |date= |accessdate=23 April 2014 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130529191633/http://www.tn.gov/state-holidays.html |archivedate=29 May 2013 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> and [[Texas]].<ref>In addition to holidays where offices are closed, Texas also has "partial staffing holidays" (where offices are required to be open for public business, but where employees may take it off as a holiday) and "optional holidays" (where an employee may take off in lieu of taking off on a partial staffing holiday; Good Friday is an optional holiday).</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tsl.texas.gov/ref/abouttx/holidays.html |title=Texas State Holidays |publisher=The State of Texas |date= |accessdate=19 January 2018}}</ref> State and local government offices and courts are closed, as well as some banks and post offices in these states, and in those counties and municipalities where Good Friday is observed as a holiday. Good Friday is also a holiday in the U.S. territories of [[Guam]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.qppstudio.net/publicholidays2012/guam.htm |title=Guam Public Holidays 2012 (Oceania) |publisher=Qppstudio.net |date= |accessdate=23 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924083620/http://www.qppstudio.net/publicholidays2012/guam.htm |archive-date=24 September 2015 |dead-url=yes |df=dmy-all }}</ref> [[U.S. Virgin Islands]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.qppstudio.net/publicholidays2012/virgin_islands__u_s_.htm |title=US Virgin Islands Public Holidays 2012 (Americas/Caribbean) |publisher=Qppstudio.net |date= |accessdate=23 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924083622/http://www.qppstudio.net/publicholidays2012/virgin_islands__u_s_.htm |archive-date=24 September 2015 |dead-url=yes |df=dmy-all }}</ref> and [[Puerto Rico]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.topuertorico.org/reference/holi.shtml |title=Puerto Rican Holidays |publisher=Topuertorico.org |date= |accessdate=23 April 2014}}</ref>
The stock markets are closed on Good Friday<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nyse.com/markets/hours-calendars#holidays|title=NYSE: Holidays and Trading Hours|work=nyse.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.money-zine.com/Investing/Stocks/Stock-Market-Holidays/ |title=Stock Market Holidays |publisher=Money-zine.com |date= |accessdate=23 April 2014}}</ref> but the foreign exchange and bond trading markets open for a partial business day.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cmegroup.com/tools-information/holiday-calendar/files/2015-chicago-trading-floor-holiday-schedule.pdf |title=CME Group Chicago Trading Floor Holiday Schedule for 2015|work=CME Group }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sifma.org/services/holiday-schedule/#us2015|title=Holiday Schedule|work=sifma.org}}</ref> Most retail stores remain open, while some of them may close early. Public schools and universities are often closed on Good Friday, either as a holiday of its own, or as part of [[spring break]]. The postal service operates, and banks regulated by the federal government do not close for Good Friday.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.opm.gov/operating_status_schedules/fedhol/2012.asp |title=Federal Holidays |publisher=Opm.gov |date= |accessdate=23 April 2014}}</ref>
In some governmental contexts Good Friday has been referred to by a generic name such as "spring holiday".<ref>[http://www.co.rock.wi.us/current-news/1195-spring-holiday-office-closing-friday-april-18] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140414081148/http://www.co.rock.wi.us/current-news/1195-spring-holiday-office-closing-friday-april-18|date=14 April 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://abcnews.go.com/US/iowa-town-renames-good-friday/story?id=10233061 |title=Iowa Town Renames Good Friday to 'Spring Holiday'|work=ABC News |first=Russell|last=Goldman|date=29 March 2010|accessdate=23 April 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Villarreal |first=Abe |url=http://wnmu.edu/events/spring-holiday/ |title=Spring Holiday – Western New Mexico University |publisher=Wnmu.edu |date=17 April 2014 |accessdate=23 April 2014}}</ref> In 1999, in the case of ''Bridenbaugh v. O'Bannon'', an Indiana state employee sued the governor for giving state employees Good Friday as a day off. The US Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against the plaintiff, stating that the government could give state employees a paid day off when that day is a religious holiday, including Good Friday, but only so long as the state can provide a valid secular purpose that coincides with the obvious religious purpose of the holiday.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/us/good-friday|title=Good Friday in the United States|publisher=}}</ref>
==Calculating the date==
{{see also|Date of Easter}}
{| border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" style="float:right; margin-left:15px;"
|-
|+style="padding-left: 1.5em;"align=center|'''Dates for Good Friday, {{LASTYEAR|3}}–{{NEXTYEAR|12}}'''
|-
! '''Year''' !! '''[[Western Christianity|Western]]''' !! '''[[Eastern Christianity|Eastern]]'''
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|}
Good Friday is the Friday before Easter, which is calculated differently in [[Eastern Christianity]] and [[Western Christianity]] (see [[Computus]] for details). Easter falls on the first Sunday following the [[Paschal Full Moon]], the full moon on or after 21 March, taken to be the date of the vernal [[equinox]]. The Western calculation uses the [[Gregorian calendar]], while the Eastern calculation uses the [[Julian calendar]], whose 21 March now corresponds to the Gregorian calendar's 3 April. The calculations for identifying the date of the full moon also differ. See [[Computus]].{{cn|date=April 2017}}
In Eastern Christianity, Easter can fall between 22 March and 25 April on Julian Calendar (thus between 4 April and 8 May in terms of the Gregorian calendar, during the period 1900 and 2099), so Good Friday can fall between 20 March and 23 April, inclusive (or between 2 April and 6 May in terms of the Gregorian calendar).{{cn|date=April 2017}}
{{Lent_calendar.svg|none{{!}}400px}}
==Cultural references==
Good Friday assumes a particular importance in the plot of [[Richard Wagner]]'s music drama ''[[Parsifal]]'', which contains an orchestral interlude known as the "Good Friday Music".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/good-friday-music|title=Good Friday Music – Dictionary definition of Good Friday Music – Encyclopedia.com: FREE online dictionary|publisher=|accessdate=17 April 2017}}</ref>
==Criticism from non-observers==
Some [[Baptist]] congregations,<ref>{{cite web|first=L. K.|last=Landis |url=http://www.kjbbc.com/wednesdaycrucifix.html |title=Proof for a Wednesday Crucifixion |publisher=King James Bible Baptist Church, Ladson, South Carolina |date=8 June 1998 |accessdate=23 April 2014}}</ref> the [[Philadelphia Church of God]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thetrumpet.com/index.php?q=4758.3049.102.0 |title=The Resurrection Was Not on Sunday |website=thetrumpet.com |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090418010828/http://www.thetrumpet.com/index.php?q=4758.3049.102.0 |archivedate=18 April 2009 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> and some [[Non-denominational Christianity|non-denominational]] churches oppose the observance of Good Friday, regarding it as a [[papist]] tradition, and instead observe the [[Crucifixion]] on Wednesday to coincide with the Jewish sacrifice of the [[Passover]] Lamb (which Christians believe is an Old Testament pointer to Jesus Christ). A Wednesday Crucifixion of Jesus allows for him to be in the tomb ("heart of the earth") for three days and three nights as he told the Pharisees he would be ([[Gospel of Matthew|Matthew]] 12:40), rather than two nights and a day (by [[Counting#Inclusive counting|inclusive counting]], as was the norm at that time) if he had died on a Friday.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thebereancall.org/node/5889 |title=The Cradle & the Cross (original) |publisher=thebereancall.org |date=1 December 1992 |accessdate=23 April 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.factnet.org/discus/messages/3/19941.html |website=factnet.org |title=Cult, Cults, Abuse by Religions, Abuse Recovery Discussion & Resources, Peer-Support, Legal support |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090416103539/http://www.factnet.org/discus/messages/3/19941.html |archivedate=16 April 2009 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> Preparation Day (14 [[Nisan]] on the [[Hebrew calendar]]) – which is the day before Passover (15 Nisan), instead of the Friday morning as the [[Synoptic Gospel]]s refer to the sabbath and they believe this refers to a "high sabbath" which occurs on feast days, and not the ordinary weekly sabbath.
==See also==
{{portal|Christianity|Holidays}}
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
* [[Ascension of Jesus]]
* [[Divine Mercy Sunday]]
* [[Easter Monday]]
* [[Easter season]]
* [[Good Friday Prayer]]
* [[Good Friday Prayer for the Jews]]
* [[Good Friday processions in Baliuag]]
* [[Islamic view of Jesus' death]]
* [[Life of Jesus in the New Testament]]
* [[Salvation in Christianity]]
{{div col end}}
{{clear}}
==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}
==Further reading==
*{{Cite web|url=http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/politics/mayor-wants-draconian-good-friday-booze-ban-lifted-before-1916-centenary-31098746.html|title=Mayor wants 'draconian' Good Friday booze ban lifted before 1916 centenary – Independent.ie|website=Independent.ie|access-date=25 March 2016}}
==External links==
{{Commons category|Good Friday}}
{{Wikiquote}}
* [http://www.oca.org/OCchapter.asp?SID=2&ID=74 The Eastern Orthodox commemoration of Holy Friday]
* [http://transfig.orthodoxws.com/files/Bulgakov/0543.pdf Great Friday] instructions from S. V. Bulgakov's ''Handbook for Church Servers'' ([[Russian Orthodox Church]])
* [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06643a.htm "Good Friday"] article from ''[[The Catholic Encyclopedia]]''
* [http://www.liturgies.net/Lent/GoodFriday.htm Episcopal Good Friday Service]
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[[Category:Public holidays in Zambia]]
[[Category:Public holidays in Zimbabwe]]
[[Category:Spring holidays (Northern Hemisphere)]]
[[Category:Autumn holidays (Southern Hemisphere)]]
