Christians (especially Catholics) traditionally do not eat meat on Good Friday as a form of penance and remembrance of Jesus’ suffering and death on the cross, which took place on a Friday.

What Good Friday Commemorates

Good Friday marks the crucifixion of Jesus, so it is treated as a solemn, mournful day rather than a feast day.

Because it recalls Christ’s sacrificial giving of his own flesh, Christians developed customs that “step back” from normal celebrations and comforts.

Many describe it as making the whole day a living reminder: “This is the day he suffered; my choices today should reflect that.”

Why Meat Specifically?

  • In ancient and medieval Europe, meat from land animals (like beef, pork, lamb, poultry) was linked with feasting , wealth, and celebration.
  • The Church saw giving up this festive food on a Friday as a meaningful sacrifice that matched the spirit of a day focused on Christ’s suffering, not on partying or luxury.
  • So abstaining from meat became a standard Friday penance, especially during Lent, with Good Friday as one of the most serious days.

One modern explanation you’ll often hear in forums is: “If Friday is the day Jesus died, it doesn’t feel right to eat ‘the best’ food while remembering his sacrifice.”

Why Fish Is Usually Allowed

  • Traditionally, the rule focuses on “flesh meat” of land animals and birds, not creatures that live in water.
  • Fish and other seafood were historically cheaper, more ordinary foods, so they did not symbolize feasting in the same way.
  • That is why many Catholics eat fish on Good Friday instead of meat, and why “fish Fridays” became a recognizable custom in many countries.

Who Follows This and How Strict Is It?

  • In the Catholic Church, people over a certain age are required to abstain from meat on Good Friday (and Ash Wednesday), with various health and hardship exceptions.
  • Some other Christians, like many Anglicans and some Protestants, also keep the “no meat on Good Friday” custom as a sign of respect, even if their rules are looser.
  • In many secular families, it survives more as a cultural habit (“we always do fish on Good Friday”) than as a deeply theological rule.

Forum conversations often show a spectrum: some see it as a serious spiritual discipline, others as “just tradition,” and a few reject it entirely as unnecessary.

Is There Any Deeper Point?

At its best, the practice is meant to:

  1. Turn an ordinary meal into a quiet reminder of Jesus’ suffering.
  2. Encourage self-denial and solidarity with the poor by giving up a costly or celebratory food.
  3. Tie the rhythm of everyday life (like what you eat for dinner) to the story of Christ’s Passion.

A simple example: someone might skip meat, choose a modest fish or vegetable meal, and donate the money they would have spent on a nicer dinner to charity, uniting that small sacrifice with prayer for others.

Bottom note: Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.