What absolutely cannot be done on Good Friday

Good Friday is a special day of Holy Week, a day of deep sorrow and silence. On this day, Christians remember the sufferings and death on the cross of Jesus Christ.

In 2025, Good Friday falls on April 18. This day of mourning is associated with many customs, traditions and strict prohibitions that have been formed in Orthodox culture for centuries.

What not to do on Good Friday, April 18th

This day is dedicated to mourning the death of the Savior. Any entertainment activities, loud music and fun on this day are considered inappropriate. Even at the household level, it is customary to observe silence and restraint.

Meat and animal products are prohibited for Church people. Although Lent already excludes such foods, Good Friday is a day of particularly strict fasting. Many believers on this day refuse to eat at all before taking out the Shroud (usually in the middle of the day) or until the evening.

Even the usual quarrels in the family, harsh words or internal irritation are considered a particularly serious offense on Good Friday. On this day, it is extremely important to maintain peace, patience and benevolence.

According to folk tradition, it is especially strictly forbidden to dig the earth, plant plants, and work with sharp objects on this day. Believers try not even to sweep the floor or do laundry. This does not mean that work in itself is sinful, but the day is so holy that they try to devote it to prayer and meditation as much as possible. However, if cleaning is necessary and does not interfere with prayer, it can be done.

It is not recommended to engage in needlework and sewing. Any sharp and piercing objects on this day are associated with the crucifixion of Christ. There is a belief that any needlework on Good Friday can bring bad luck or misfortune.

It is better to postpone all important decisions, transactions and major purchases to another day. It is believed that initiatives on this day will not receive blessings and may turn into problems.

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The Spiritual Meaning of Good Friday Bans

As the head of the educational committee of the Russian Orthodox Church, Archpriest Maxim Kozlov, told RIA Novosti, one should not follow the usual advice to clean the house and paint eggs strictly on certain days of the week.

"Sometimes the irrationally published ideas in the media that on Thursday of Holy Week you need to wash, on Wednesday you need to start cooking and painting eggs, on Friday you need to do something else - these are not even some traditions of folk village culture, but folklore of the Soviet era, which has nothing to do with the practice of church life.. You don't need to do any of this on a certain day. Moreover, if there is a choice between this and prayer, the temple, it is better to go to the temple," said Kozlov.

According to him, during Holy Week, you can even postpone a detailed confession. "During Holy Week, while maintaining physical fasting, believers change their perspective: during this period, people should not think about themselves, they should not even focus on their own repentance, introspection, this is not the time for detailed confession. Day after day of Holy Week, together with Christ, the Mother of God, and the apostles, we live through the milestones of the most important days of the Savior's earthly life, which is why these days are called great. Every Christian should try to live these days in such a way that the fulfillment of this day, the gospel event, is at least the main thing in his life on this day," the priest urged.

Focus on the sacrifice of Christ. All the restrictions are aimed at helping a person to get away from the mundane, everyday and focus on the main thing — the sacrifice that Christ made for the salvation of all mankind from the creation of the world. This is not just mourning for a tragic event, but a deep realization of God's love and mercy.

Symbolic union with Christ. When a person refuses to work, have fun, or even eat a simple meal, he expresses his solidarity with the suffering that the Savior went through. It is a form of participation that makes faith more alive and deep.

Humility and inner purification. Giving up food and comfort is not a punishment, but a way of discipline and inner purification. Such a fast helps to tune in to prayer, get rid of fuss and passions.

The dampening of selfishness. Quarrels, irritation, and household worries are all manifestations of the human ego. Good Friday calls for humility, forgiveness and spiritual transformation. It is on such days that a person can look at himself from the outside and think about eternal things.

A temporary slowdown in life. Giving up on business and fuss allows you to slow down, feel the passage of time and give yourself the opportunity to relive the day not as another date in the calendar, but as a sacred moment in history.