Why is Good Friday 'good'? 5 things to know about the annual observance

By Michael Gryboski, Mainline Church Editor Friday, March 29, 2024

Why is it called 'Good'?

A local resident, playing the role of Jesus Christ, carries his cross during a Via Crucis representation on Good Friday in Cuevas del Campo, Spain. | REUTERS/Pepe Marin

For an observance specifically centered on remembering the brutal suffering and execution of Jesus, many might wonder how such a date could be labeled "Good Friday."

The exact origins are disputed, with some arguing that it derived from an older English way of saying "God's Friday," according to the Catholic reference website NewAdvent.org. Others claim that "good" had an original definition meaning "holy," thus technically making it "Holy Friday."

"The answer seems pretty clearly to be that it's from good 'holy,'" said Jesse Sheidlower, the president of the American Dialect Society, in comments given to Slate in 2014.

Christianity.com noted in one entry that some churches call the observance "Sorrowful Friday," as seen with the German name for the holy day, "Karfreitag."

"Regardless of the origin, the name Good Friday is entirely appropriate because the suffering and death of Jesus, as terrible as it was, marked the dramatic culmination of God's plan to save his people from their sins," noted Christianity.com.

"For the gospel's good news to have meaning for us, we first have to understand the bad news of our condition as sinful people under condemnation. The good news of deliverance only makes sense once we see how we are enslaved."