When is Good Friday 2026 – and is that a holiday? You should know this information and prohibitions

Good Friday is Friday before Easter and is reminiscent of the crucifixion of Christ. This day is therefore committed as a strictly fine day. The day follows the Maundy Thursday and precedes Holy Saturday. Here we inform about this day – about the date and meaning.

By the way: you get from us The dates and information for all holidays a Germany.

Date: When is Good Friday 2026?

Good Friday 2026 falls on April 3. The earliest possible date for Good Friday is March 20 (most recently in 1818), the latest possible April 23 (will be the case in 2038).

Is Good Friday a legal holiday in Germany?

Good Friday throughout Germany is a legal and at the same time silent Holiday. Special restrictions on public events apply on this day. The church is not festively decorated in the services on Good Friday. The altar is hung. The bells do not ring. There is also a strict ban on dancing.

Meaning: what happened on Good Friday?

On Friday immediately before Easter, the suffering and death of Jesus is commemorated on the cross. Good Friday is at the end of the 40-day Lent and is also the most important fasting day. It is customary not to eat meat on this day, just eat fish. Believers also do without alcohol and sweets – and happy events and dance.

At the so -called Kreuzweggächt, Jesus Christ’s difficult path is commemorated at 14 stations. Good Friday also plays an important role in the peasant rules. « When a Good Friday was rain, dry but fertile year follows, » it says, for example. And even with nice weather, the farmers have an experience: « Good Friday sunshine – brings us rich harvest. »

Where does the name Good Friday come from?

The « Kar » in the word Good Friday comes from the Old High German. « Kara » or « Chara » means grief or woe – and stands for the importance of the day when Christians think of the death of Jesus.

In the afternoon at 3 p.m. – according to tradition, the death lesson of Christ – the faithful in the churches come together for a simple word service with communion. The focus is on Jesus’ suffering.

Dance ban in Bavaria: What can you not do on Good Friday?

The strictest ban on dance of the year applies to night owls in Bavaria on Good Friday and on Holy Saturday. On other quiet holidays, this protection only begins at 2 a.m. On Good Friday and Holy Saturday, on the other hand, the ban on dancing begins directly at midnight.