How many days until Good Friday?

About Good Friday

Good Friday is the day in the Christian liturgical calendar on which the crucifixion and death of Jesus is commemorated, observed by many denominations as the most solemn day of Holy Week, the week leading up to Easter. Its date shifts every year because it is calculated in relation to Easter Sunday, always falling on the Friday two days before it, and Easter itself is determined by a lunisolar formula rather than a fixed calendar date. Specifically, Western churches following the Gregorian calendar set Easter as the first Sunday after the first full moon occurring on or after the spring equinox, a method with roots in early church councils seeking a consistent way to align the celebration with the lunar cycle historically tied to the Jewish Passover. Because that full moon can fall on a different date each year, Good Friday can occur anywhere from late March to late April. Observances vary by tradition and region: many churches hold solemn services featuring readings of the Passion narrative, veneration of the cross, and periods of fasting or quiet reflection, and in some countries the day is a public holiday with businesses and schools closed. In several predominantly Catholic countries, processions reenacting the crucifixion take place in public streets, drawing large community participation. A common point of confusion is assuming Good Friday and Easter fall on a fixed date like Christmas; because both are tied to the lunar calendar calculation rather than a set day and month, their dates must be recalculated annually, which is why countdown dates for this holiday differ meaningfully from year to year rather than repeating on the same day and month. Eastern Orthodox churches, which use a different calendar calculation, often observe their equivalent Holy Friday on a different date than Western churches in the same year.

Dates on this page are checked against public calendar sources. Spot something wrong? Let us know.