# Why "Good Friday?"

**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-good-friday/99971
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [March 25, 2002, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-good-friday/99971 "2002-03-25T06:09:48Z")
**Posts on this page:** 5
**Page:** 1

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### Author: ![untateve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/dbc845/32.png) [@untateve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/untateve)
#### Post date: [March 25, 2002, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-good-friday/99971/1 "2002-03-25T06:09:48Z")

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I have to believe that when Jesus was crucified, he looked to his right and left and then down at his feet. He then said to himself, “Man, this is NOT a good friday.”

🙂

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### Author: ![robinc308](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@robinc308](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robinc308)
#### Post date: [March 25, 2002, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-good-friday/99971/2 "2002-03-25T06:13:10Z")

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It’s good because of Easter Sunday! If Jesus didn’t die, he wouldn’t have risen, and if he didn’t rise there would be no salvation and the division between people and God would still exist.

Christian answer, because Easter is a Christian celebration.

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### Author: ![Why\_A\_Duck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/13edae/32.png) [@Why\_A\_Duck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Why_A_Duck)
#### Post date: [March 25, 2002, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-good-friday/99971/3 "2002-03-25T12:53:08Z")

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It’s Good because I get the day off.

Well, I’m sure there’s more to it than that. There are probably some Stations of the Cross involved, some singing, I’m sure someone will probably want to use the word sepulchre. But you know what I mean.

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### Author: ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)
#### Post date: [March 25, 2002, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-good-friday/99971/4 "2002-03-25T15:19:58Z")

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“Good” had a much stronger force in Middle English than it does now – the range of possible meanings includes things like “holy,” and I think that’s the sense you’re looking at here.

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### Author: ![Chez\_Guevara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/aeb1de/32.png) [@Chez\_Guevara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chez_Guevara)
#### Post date: [March 25, 2002, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-good-friday/99971/5 "2002-03-25T22:29:34Z")

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**Fretful** is correct.

In this sense, Good equals Holy. Christmas, as well as Shrove Tuesday, used to be called _The Good Tide_.

According to _Brewer_.