For generations in Utah, the Friday before Easter has often been seen as just another workday. While many in the Christian world donned dark colors and hushed their voices to commemorate the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, the Beehive State hummed with its usual industry.
But a significant cultural and legislative shift is underway. Beginning in 2027, thanks to the passage of SB193, Good Friday will officially be recognized as a state holiday in Utah.
This legislative move is more than just a calendar update; it is a long-awaited acknowledgment of a sacred day that carries profound weight for several billion worshippers worldwide.
For decades, many Christians in Utah — both within and outside The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — have called for more formal space in the state to observe the “ultimate sacrifice.” By setting this day aside, Utah is aligning with a global tradition of solemnity and reflection.
The history of Good Friday in Utah has been complicated by the unique religious landscape of the state. Historically, Latter-day Saints focused their Easter worship almost exclusively on the resurrection.
The prevailing sentiment was often that “we celebrate Christ’s life and victory over death, not the manner of his dying.” Consequently, the somber observation of Holy Week — Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday and Good Friday — was frequently overlooked in favor of a singular, joyful Easter Sunday.
These past traditions, however, have been a source of quiet disappointment, particularly for some converts to the Latter-day Saint faith. Those who joined the church from Catholic, Orthodox or mainline Protestant backgrounds have often felt a spiritual “phantom limb” pain during Holy Week. They missed the gravity of the shadows, the liturgical beauty of the mourning and the necessary darkness that makes the light of the empty tomb so blindingly bright.
The new legislation recognizes that for a person of faith, the path to the Garden of the Tomb must first pass through the hill of Calvary. To miss the sorrow of Friday diminishes the embodiment of coming through our own darkness into the joyful miracle of Easter Sunday.
At the heart of many Good Friday services is the Stations of the Cross (also known as the “Via Crucis”). This ancient ceremony involves a spiritual pilgrimage through 14 specific moments of Christ’s final day — from his condemnation by Pilate to his placement in the tomb.
Worshippers physically move from station to station, pausing to contemplate scenes like Simon of Cyrene helping carry the cross or Jesus meeting the women of Jerusalem. It is a visceral, meditative practice that forces the believer to confront this “man of sorrows.”
By walking these steps, the abstract concept of “atonement” becomes a tangible, deeply felt reality.
In recent years, there has been a call for greater emphasis on Holy Week both from Church of Jesus Christ headquarters (including the church website, media and general conference) and from lay members. Such expressions have inspired some Latter-day Saint congregations to host events that mirror traditional Christian devotional practices of this season, thus signaling a shift in local and global Latter-day Saint culture.
The Utah Legislature’s support for this holiday suggests a growing desire to align more closely with this shift as well as the broader Christian tradition, emphasizing a shared devotion of the tragedy and triumph of this epic week.
Starting in 2027, state employees will receive four hours of paid time off, and school districts are encouraged to align their breaks with the holiday. While some critics argue that a religious holiday has no place in state law, others see this as a victory for religious pluralism. In a state where one faith has long dominated the public square, formalizing a day that is universally sacred to all Christians is an act of inclusion.
For the convert who missed the tolling bells of their childhood church, for the Catholic family seeking time for the Veneration of the Cross and for the Latter-day Saint looking to deepen their own understanding of the Savior’s last week, this new law can be considered a gift — a gift of time to contemplate the significance of one of the most momentous days in history.
By hushing the noise of commerce, government and industry for a few hours on a Friday afternoon, believers will be able to stand figuratively at the foot of the cross and remember that before the world was saved, it was broken.
Beginning in 2027, Utahns will have the opportunity of mourning together so that they might better anticipate their communal joy and rejoicing on resurrection morning.