About Good Friday
Good Friday falls on the Friday before Easter Sunday and commemorates the crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth at Calvary. It is the most solemn day in the Christian calendar, observed since the earliest centuries of the church as part of the Paschal Triduum — the three days from Maundy Thursday evening through Easter Sunday. The date moves each year because it is tied to the Western Christian calculation of Easter, set by the First Council of Nicaea in 325 as the Sunday after the first full moon on or after the spring equinox. Good Friday is a public holiday across most of Europe, in much of the Commonwealth, and in many Latin American countries, though not at the federal level in the United States.
Good Friday is marked by quiet rather than celebration. Churches strip the altars, cover crucifixes and hold the Veneration of the Cross — a liturgy without communion in which the faithful approach the cross individually. Many denominations keep a strict fast, traditionally avoiding meat in favour of fish; hot cross buns are eaten throughout the British Isles. Outdoor Stations of the Cross processions are common in Catholic Europe and Latin America, with elaborate Holy Week pasos in Spain and Passion plays in places like Oberammergau. Shops, banks and public offices close in most of Europe; broadcasters traditionally avoid lighter entertainment. In Norway and Germany the day is legally protected as a quiet day, with restrictions on dancing and loud public events.