--- title: A Good Friday Tradition for Centuries: The Marbles Tournament description: This annual Good Friday event isn't exactly a religious rite canonical: https://time.com/3757999/good-friday-marbles-tournament/ author: Lily Rothman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-04-03T11:00:50.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:04:52.908Z article:section: History og:title: A Good Friday Tradition for Centuries: The Marbles Tournament og:description: This annual Good Friday event isn't exactly a religious rite og:url: https://time.com/3757999/good-friday-marbles-tournament/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8e1bafb22033e902/6987852ce20a87ffd3a85bf0/marbles.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Busmen from the Crawley, Sussex depot at the Tinsley Green, Surrey marbles match v Tinsley Green, 19th April 1935 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: A Good Friday Tradition for Centuries: The Marbles Tournament twitter:description: This annual Good Friday event isn't exactly a religious rite twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8e1bafb22033e902/6987852ce20a87ffd3a85bf0/marbles.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The Centuries-Old Good Friday Tradition You've Probably Never Heard About > Sponsored content. 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They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription.  by [Lily Rothman](https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Apr 3, 2015 11:00 AM UTC  Busmen from the Crawley, Sussex depot at the Tinsley Green, Surrey marbles match, April 19, 1935 Busmen from the Crawley, Sussex depot at the Tinsley Green, Surrey marbles match, April 19, 1935 Popperfoto/Getty Images  by [Lily Rothman](https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Apr 3, 2015 11:00 AM UTC This year, on Good Friday, observers may mark the day with prayer and preparation for Easter. But in Tinsley Green, a small town near London, a very different sort of Good Friday tradition will take place, just as it has for decades. The British and World Marbles Championship is held on that day every year and, as TIME described it [in 1969](http://time.com/vault/issue/1969-04-11/page/102), the annual event has been going for far longer than one might expect: --- > “” --- According to [the tournament’s website](http://www.greyhoundmarbles.com/#/short-history/4552377694), the ritual fell away sometime around the year 1900 and was brought back in 1932\. Though the first years of that era saw the matches as mostly local competitions, the tournament began to attract foreign teams as well. That 1969 story focused on a team from Chicago that threatened to take the title — except that they never showed up. And even if they had, TIME ventured, they were unlikely to win. After all, the defending champions had a secret weapon: “marbles hand-carved from the finest porcelain commodes” because “only porcelain gives the ‘tolley’ (shooter) the proper heft and feel.” ### The Most Surprising Photos of Pope Francis  The wind lifts Pope Francis' mantle as he delivers his speech in front of Independence Hall in Philadelphia, on Sept. 26, 2015. Tony Gentile—AP  Pope Francis looks at the Statue of Liberty from the window of a helicopter on his way to the John F. Kennedy International Airport, in New York City, on Sept. 26, 2015. L'Osservatore Romano/AP  A Pope Francis mannequin rides around in a car in Times Square as New York City waits for the arrival of the Pope to the city, on Sept. 24, 2015. Timothy A. Clary—AFP/Getty Images  Kaydn Dorsey, 4, and Lionel Perkins, 4, draw on a coloring sheet bearing the image of Pope Francis as they wait for him to arrive on a visit to Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington in Washington, on Sept. 24, 2015. David Goldman—Reuters  Nuns with the Hospitaler Sisters of Mercy in Pleasantville, N.J., pose for a selfie with a cutout of Pope Francis, at the World Meeting of Families conference, in Philadelphia, on Sept. 22, 2015. Matt Rourke—AP  Pope Francis blows out the candles of a birthday cake to celebrate his 78th birthday during a general audience at the Vatican on Dec. 17, 2014. Osservatore Romano/AFP/Getty Images  Paying the bill at Rome's Domus Internationalis Paulus VI hotel, where Pope Francis stayed as a cardinal before entering the conclave and being elected pope. Osservatore Romano/AP  Welcoming Pope emeritus Benedict XVI as he returns to the Vatican from the pontifical summer residence of Castel Gandolfo. Osservatore Romano/AP  Holding a disabled child after celebrating Easter Mass. Alessandro di Meo—ANSA/Zuma Press  Pope Francis masks in a factory in Brazil, where the Pontiff took his first overseas trip. Christophe Simon—AFP/Getty Images  Leading the Worldwide Eucharistic adoration at the Vatican. Alessandra Benedetti—Corbis  A gust of wind blows the pope's mantle. Alessandra Tarantino—AP  Attending the opening of the Pastoral Convention of the Diocese of Rome. Stefano Rellandini—Reuters  Leaving a welcoming ceremony at Guanabara Palace in Rio de Janeiro. Ricardo Moraes—Reuters  Greeting the weekly General Audience. Stefano Rellandini—Reuters  Pointing to the statue of Our Lady of Aparecida from the balcony of the Aparecida basilica in Brazil. Domenico Stinellis—AP  A Catholic faithful in Brazil bears a sticker of Pope Francis on his forehead. Ueslei Marcelino—Reuters  Images of Pope Francis projected onto screens at Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro. Paulo Whitaker— Reuters  Departing Rio de Janeiro. Ricardo Moraes—Reuters  A stray dog walks across the stage near the altar where Pope Francis celebrates the World Youth Day's closing Mass on the Copacabana beachfront. Victor R. Caivano—AP  Listening to confessions of young people in a park in Rio de Janeiro. L'Osservatore Romano—EPA  Posing with youths in Saint Peter's Basilica. L'Osservatore Romano—EPA  Greeting the faithful on a rainy day during the General Audience. Fabio Frustaci—Eidon Press/Zuma Press  Arriving to lead his General Audience in a firefighter's helmet. Stefano Rellandini—Reuters  A quiet moment after meeting with Equatorial Guinea's President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo at the Vatican. Max Rossi—Reuters  Marking the 110th anniversary UNITALSI, a Catholic organization dedicated to helping the sick. Francesco Zizola—NOOR for TIME  A private Audience with Russian President Vladimir Putin. L'Osservatore Romano/AP  Keeping warm during a General Audience. Alessandra Tarantino—AP  Comforting a disfigured man at the end of his General Audience. Claudio Peri—EPA  Blessing a sick man with deformed facial features. Evandro Inetti—Zuma Press  Visiting the parish of the Sant'Alfonso Maria de Liguori during the Epiphany day. L'Osservatore Romano—AFP/Getty Images  Reacting to devotees at a weekly General Audience. Alessandro Bianchi—Reuters  A seagull attacks a dove released during a prayer conducted by Pope Francis. Alessandro Bianchi—Reuters  A scarf is tossed at Pope Francis by a faithful. Tony Gentile—Reuters  Italian artist Mauro Pallotta's superhero rendering of Pope Francis in a street near St. Peter's Basilica. Alessandra Benedetti—Corbis  Blowing a kiss to pilgrims gathered at Saint Peter's Square. Vincenzo Pinto—AFP/Getty Images  Meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama in the private library of the Apostolic Palace in Vatican City. Vatican Pool/Contrasto/Redux  With Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip at the Vatican. Alessandra Benedetti—Vatican Pool/Corbis  A wind gust lifts Pope Francis's mantle as he arrives at the traditional Washing of the Feet during Holy Thursday. Alberto Pizzoli—AFP/Getty Images  Kissing a man's at the traditional Washing of the Feet. Alberto Pizzoli—AFP/Getty Images  Visitors take photos of Pope Francis as he speaks from the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican. 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