just realized was the stock market closed on good friday last week? yeah it was - NYSE and NASDAQ shut down completely. honestly didn't think about it until my broker sent a notification that trading was halted. apparently this has been happening since like the late 1800s, just pure tradition at this point. not even an official federal holiday in the US but the markets treat it like one anyway.

the whole thing makes sense though - fewer traders show up, less liquidity, more volatility if they stayed open. so better to just close shop for the day. bond markets go dark too, which means basically everyone in finance gets a breather.

was the stock market closed on good friday because of religious reasons? not really a direct mandate, more just how things evolved. but honestly? whether you're religious or not, having a day off to reset is pretty solid. some people volunteer, some just chill at home. either way, markets reopen monday morning like nothing happened. kinda wild how one religious holiday ended up shutting down the entire financial system though.