It's a Bank Holiday, but Good Friday is also an important date in the Christian calendar.
It marks the death of Jesus, and is the first day in the Easter Triduum.
While there isn't much mystery around the story - we all know the story of Easter - you may not know why we mark it the way we do.
Hot cross buns, prayers and Stations of the Cross, may seem alien to you - or be a crucial part of your celebration of Easter.
Either way, we've taken a look at what does the day mean and why do we celebrate the way we do?
Here's a guide to the day and the prayers that are traditionally said.
What is Good Friday?
Easter celebrates the resurrection of Jesus after his crucifixion, which is marked on Good Friday. The three days until the Easter Sunday are known by the Church as the Easter Triduum.
Good Friday is what Lent has been building up to - Jesus' death. It may seem strange to call a day someone died as 'good' but at the time it really meant 'holy'. Christians remember how Jesus was flogged and taken, as he carried the cross, to the hillside where he was crucified with two criminals, even though he had done nothing wrong.
He was nailed to the cross there and left to die. This is why a cross is used as a symbol of the Christian faith.
Why we call it Good Friday
While the story doesn't seem that happy, or indeed "good", it is by the original definition of the word.
The original definition was "designates a day on (or sometimes a season in) which religious observance is held". The Oxford England Dictionary says "good" refers to a day or season observed as holy by the church.
It's also why people said "good tide" at Christmas and Shrove Tuesday.
The Wednesday before Easter is also sometimes called Good Wednesday.
There are other reasons why Good Friday is named this way. Some say it's as in "holy", others that it was "God's Friday" corrupted over time. The earliest use is "guode friday" from 1920.
Traditions
In Spain, people who are sorry for something they've done wrong (penitents) will walk through the street wearing long robes, hoods and carrying a big cross.
In the UK churches carry a cross and lead people through their towns near the church before the Good Friday service.
In Central American and South America countries there is often a procession with statues to the church. In Greece there's also a procession but more like a funeral. Some services have tombs put up as a reminder of Jesus' death.
Why do we eat hot cross buns?
One custom that has continued for Good Friday is the hot cross bun. The doughy buns have raisins instead typically, but most importantly have the cross on top - for the crucifix.
What are the Stations of the Cross?
Also known as the Way of Sorrows or Via Crucis, the Stations of the Cross refers to a series of images depicting Jesus Christ on the way to his crucifixion and accompanying prayers.
There are 14 stations that Catholics uses to meditate on the each part of the crucifixion - from Jesus being tried to his death.
They began in Jerusalem based of Via Dolorosa, which follows the actual path Jesus walked to Mount Calvary.
It acts as a spiritual pilgrimage and has become one of the most popular devotions and they can be found in many churches - from Anglican to Catholic.
The series of 14 images will be arranged in order, normally around a Church or path, allowing people to pause at each to say the prayer and reflection.
During Lent this may also involve a procession, especially on Good Friday.
The Stations:
- Pilate condemns Jesus to die
- Jesus accepts his cross
- Jesus falls for the first time
- Jesus meets his mother, Mary
- Simon helps carry the cross
- Veronica wipes the face of Jesus
- Jesus falls for the second time
- Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem
- Jesus falls for the third time
- Jesus is stripped of his clothes
- Jesus is nailed to the cross
- Jesus dies on the cross
- Jesus is taken down from the cross
- Jesus is placed in the tomb
These prayers are said:
We adore you, O Christ and we praise you
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world
Where was Jesus buried?
According to the Bible Jesus was buried in a tomb in Jerusalem.
It describes how Jesus was lain in a rock-cut tomb belonging to Joseph of Arimathea, a wealthy Jew and follower of Jesus.
Researchers investigated the site where his body is traditionally believed to have been buried, and findings appeared to conform that parts of the tomb was still present.
Having survived centuries of damage and reconstruction of the surrounding Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem's Old CIty.
The tomb consists of a limestone shelf or burial bed hewn from the wall of a cave.
It was covered centuries later - since at least 1555 - with marble cladding, apparently to prevent pilgrims from removing parts of the rock.
The cladding was removed on October 26, 2016. After 60 hours of work another slab was found with a cross carved into the surface.
On October 28, just hours before it was supposed to be resealed the original limestone bed was revealed intact.
Researchers say the burial site found was for the Jew known as Jesus of Nazareth - so it's reasonable to link it to the man Christians call Jesus Christ.
