# Who put the Good in Good Friday?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-put-the-good-in-good-friday/100804
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [March 29, 2002, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-put-the-good-in-good-friday/100804 "2002-03-29T19:46:06Z")
**Posts on this page:** 6
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@jcgmoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jcgmoi)
#### Post date: [March 29, 2002, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-put-the-good-in-good-friday/100804/1 "2002-03-29T19:46:06Z")
“Good” seems a strange designation for what has to be a black day for contemporary Christians; it must have been horrific for its participants.
I can think of several possible answers:
“Good” is a corruption of “God”, as in the farewell “Good bye”.
“Good” should be read in the sense of “fit” or “proper”, since GF continued the process of validating OT prophecies.
Calling GF “Good” foreshadowed the glory of the resurrection.
Thanks for any information, esp placing the naming of GF in historical context.
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### Author:  [@dreamer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dreamer)
#### Post date: [March 29, 2002, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-put-the-good-in-good-friday/100804/2 "2002-03-29T19:53:43Z")
I don’t know who came up with the name “Good Friday”, but I do know that the reason some Christians call it that is because if Jesus didn’t die on the cross today, he would not have risen again and therefore become “Savior”.
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### Author:  [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)
#### Post date: [March 29, 2002, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-put-the-good-in-good-friday/100804/3 "2002-03-29T20:31:57Z")
Good: Jesus died for your sins.
That’s a good thing. Most noble and holy of things on the Christian Calendar.
It was the ultimate “good” act…taking it on the chin for everyone’s sins.
Now that IS why it’s “Good Friday”, so you can go to a debate about what it all means (sin, original sins, dying for them, the saviour, etc, etc)
But that’s why it’s “Good”.
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### Author:  [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)
#### Post date: [March 29, 2002, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-put-the-good-in-good-friday/100804/4 "2002-03-29T20:44:20Z")
“Good” Friday is a vestige of English. The OED cites its first use in published works back to 1290.
Good = Holy back then and it still is if you converse with speakers of Medieval English.
In Spanish, the day is called “Viernes Santo” which is closer to “Holy Friday” than Good Friday.
And in English the days before and after Good Friday are called Holy Thursday and Holy Saturday (by Catholics that is).
I’m surprised no one asked about Maundy Thursday, which is used by Episcopalians.
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### Author:  [@Newton\_meter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Newton_meter)
#### Post date: [March 29, 2002, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-put-the-good-in-good-friday/100804/5 "2002-03-29T20:50:11Z")
The same person who put the bomp in the bomp-she-bomp-she-bomp and the ram in the ram-a-lam-a-ding-dong.
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by BobT \*
> \*\*I’m surprised no one asked about Maundy Thursday, which is used by Episcopalians. \*\*
Sometimes still used by Catholics, is it not? Jesus mandated that we should all get our feet washed.
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### Author:  [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)
#### Post date: [March 29, 2002, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-put-the-good-in-good-friday/100804/6 "2002-03-29T20:55:11Z")
The RCC in the US doesn’t go for any Maundy Thursday.
It’s Holy Thursday here and it has been so since I was a wee bairn (1965) and likely before that.
Now it could be that Canadians and Brits fall in line with the COE usage, but not here in the USA AFAIK.