Good Friday 2023

Many Christian denominations around the world every year observe Good Friday as a part of the Holy Week. It is a holiday commemorating an immensely important event for all Christians – the death of Jesus Christ. In the United Kingdom, Friday preceding Easter Sunday is a bank holiday. The date of Good Friday is different every year – it depends on the March equinox, which also varies. It is usually observed in the second half of March or the first half of April.

There are a few theories explaining why the day commemorating such a sad event as death is called the Good Friday. Some people think that the name of the holiday is kind of a spelling mistake. According to them, the primary name was ‘God Friday.’ Others believe that the previous, forgotten meaning of the word ‘good’ was ‘holy’. Another theory suggests that the holiday is called Good Friday because Christ’s death has brought a lot of good things to all Christians.

Good Friday is a day of mourning, a moment to reflect upon Jesus Christ’s sacrifice and the benefits that it has brought to all who believe in it. In the afternoon, special Church services are held. One of the biggest services takes place in London, and is called the Crucifixion on Victoria Street. Everyone can attend it, regardless of the type of Christian religion. The procession starts at noon and lasts until 3 pm. The participants follow the man carrying a wooden cross through the streets of Westminster, mainly Victoria Street. During the procession, there is also a service in Westminster Abbey, a period of silence, and in the end ‘The Solumn Liturgy of the Passion and Death of Our Lord’ is sung.

London also hosts another important event on Good Friday. Every year on Trafalgar Square a 90-minute open-air passion play can be watched for free. The production called ‘The Passion of Jesus’ is focused on the events that took place just before and during the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Approximately 20,000 people every year gather in central London to take advantage of this beautiful performance.

In the United Kingdom, however, Good Friday is also strongly associated with the end of Lent. For this reason, many British people make Hot Cross Buns on that day. These sweet buns with raisins or currants have a cross and a sticky glaze on top. The cross is the symbol of the way Jesus Christ died – crucifixion. Eating Hot Cross Buns on Good Friday has become a tradition in the UK.

Did you know?

An interesting and touching story is connected with Good Friday and Hot Cross Buns in the United Kingdom. It is a story of a widow who lived alone with her son. He became a sailor and left home, but promised his mother to come back before Easter. Although he never returned home, his mother made a Hot Cross Bun for him every Good Friday. After her death, the building became a pub called ‘The Widow’s Son’. Every year a sailor is invited there to put another Hot Cross Bun into a net, where they are all waiting for the widow’s son to come back.