Why Is It Called "Good" Friday, Anyway?

On the Friday before Easter, Christians commemorate the arrest, torture, and death of Jesus Christ. When you think about it, calling this day "Good Friday" is a little strange.

There are somber church services. People fast. In some countries, there are processions through the streets that carry a decorated coffin. By almost any measure, it sounds like the opposite of a good day.

So what's so “good” about it?

Turns out the answer depends on whether you're asking a language scholar or a believer – and both have a compelling case to make.

The Language Answer

The most widely accepted explanation, backed by the Oxford English Dictionary and most language scholars, is that the word "good" here doesn't mean what modern English speakers assume. 

In Old and Middle English, "good" carried a sense closer to "holy" or "sacred." The same way that "goodbye" is a shortened form of "God be with ye," the "good" in Good Friday likely evolved from a similar root: something set apart, belonging to God.

That would explain why almost every other language takes a more direct approach to the holiday's name. In Spanish and Italian, it's called Holy Friday. The Eastern Orthodox church calls it Great and Holy Friday. In German, it's Karfreitag – "Sorrowful Friday." 

English and Dutch are essentially the only languages that landed on "good," and scholars say that likely that happened through centuries of gradual language change rather than any deliberate choice.

The Faith Answer

However, many Christians don't see the name as an accident of language at all. For them, there's a clear spiritual answer: Good Friday is good because of what it led to. 

The death of Christ, in Christian belief, is the act that made forgiveness and salvation possible. Easter Sunday – and the Resurrection – is only three days away. The crucifixion is a hinge point for Christianity, and it should be recognized as such.

“It’s a very weird day to call ‘good’ when you have your savior and Messiah die,” says Rev. Dr. Brent Strawn, a professor at Duke Divinity School. “Why would you call that a good day?”

Strawn continues: “For those people who have Christian faith, it is a good thing that Christ died for us. It gave us peace with God and made us at one with God.”

This interpretation includes genuine grief over the suffering of Jesus, and genuine gratitude for what that suffering accomplished. Safe to say it’s emotionally complicated.

Neither reading of Good Friday makes the name less strange. But both explain why "good" (whether it meant "holy" or simply "meaningful beyond measure") has stuck around for centuries.

A Holiday Full of Layers

There's something fitting about the fact that one of Christianity's most solemn observances carries a name nobody can quite agree on. 

The same is true of Easter, which has its own surprising pagan origins. Or Christmas, whose status as a religious holiday has been debated for generations. 

Major religious observances have a way of gathering layers of history, culture, and interpretation until the original meaning becomes genuinely hard to pin down.

Good Friday may be the clearest example of that. The name is either a relic of old English, a statement of faith, or both – and depending on who you ask, you'll get a very different answer.

What are your thoughts?