# Good Friday -\> Easter Sunday = 3 Days? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 30, 2002, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-friday-easter-sunday-3-days/100923 "2002-03-30T13:59:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Nurlman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Nurlman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nurlman)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2002, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-friday-easter-sunday-3-days/100923/1 "2002-03-30T13:59:00Z")
If I remember my 3d Grade catechism classes, Good Friday celebrates the day Jesus was crucified, and Easter Sunday celebrates his resurrection. But the Bible, the Apostle’s Creed, &c. specifically say Jesus "rose again on the **third** day. Do they count Friday and Sunday as full “days”? Did they crucify Jesus before the sun came up on Friday, and he popped out of the tomb just after sundown? Shouldn’t it really be “on the second day, He rose again,” since, say, mid-day Friday -\> mid-day Saturday -\> mid-day Sunday is only two days (leaving aside the numerological insignificance of the number “2”)? Or have I just proved the Bible to be fallable? Now can I start ignoring those peskier commandments? ---
**Author:** ![Lsura](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Lsura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lsura)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2002, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-friday-easter-sunday-3-days/100923/2 "2002-03-30T14:52:58Z")
I’ve seen this debated before. Here or elsewhere, I’m not sure. Anyway, basically, the idea is: remaining time before sundown Friday= day 1 Sundown Friday-sundown Saturday = day 2 Sundown Saturday - resurrection = day 3 ---
**Author:** ![Another\_Primate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Another\_Primate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Another_Primate)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2002, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-friday-easter-sunday-3-days/100923/3 "2002-03-30T15:32:18Z")
Doesn’t say “ **after** three days”. First day: Crucifixion Second day: Saturday Third day: Sunday ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2002, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-friday-easter-sunday-3-days/100923/4 "2002-03-30T16:19:44Z")
If you go back and check the Bible, it says that Jesus rose on the third day. When the Romans counted the days between the current day and another day, they included the current day as the first day. So you or I would most likely say that he rose on the second day, but that’s not how they reckoned time back then. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2002, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/good-friday-easter-sunday-3-days/100923/5 "2002-03-30T22:28:40Z")
I’ve heard it argued (can’t remember where) that Mark 16:9 - 9 [1] When Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene… Should actually read _weeks_ referrring to the first day of the feast of weeks, which would be three days (apparently). But anyway, the earliest manuscripts don’t include this verse at all, so it’s probably moot.