So I was thinking about why stock markets closed on Good Friday and honestly it's kinda interesting how this all works. The NYSE, NASDAQ, basically all the major stock markets just shut down for the day even though Good Friday isn't technically a federal holiday in the US. Wild, right?

Turns out it's mostly just tradition at this point. Been going on since like the late 1800s and nobody really questioned it. The practical side makes sense though - when you have fewer traders actually working, you get weird volatility and liquidity issues. Better to just close the whole thing than deal with that mess. Plus the bond markets do the same thing, so it became this de facto market holiday across the whole financial sector.

The thing is, Good Friday is huge in Christian tradition and all that, but the real reason stock markets closed good friday has less to do with religion and more to do with just... history and practicality. Back then people actually observed it, traders took the day, so exchanges were like 'alright, let's just shut down.' Now it's just how things are.

What's kind of funny is you can use the day however you want - religious or not. Some people volunteer, some just chill with family, some use it to catch up on market reading without the chaos of live trading. Either way, having stock markets closed good friday means at least we get a breather from the constant grind for a day.