In the Christian liturgical calendar, there are several different celebrations of the Feast of the Cross used in the crucifixion of Christ. Unlike Good Friday, which is dedicated to his passion and crucifixion, these feast days celebrate the cross itself, as the sign of salvation.

Alongside the Anglican name for the feast, Holy Cross Day, it is also known as the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, the Triumph of the Cross, Holy Rood Day, or by the historical names Roodmas or Crouchmas.

Holy Cross Day really commemorates three events:

1. The apparent discovery of the True Cross. According to Christian tradition, the True Cross was discovered in AD326 by St Helena, the mother of the Roman Emperor Constantine, during a pilgrimage she made to Jerusalem.

2. The dedication of churches on the site of the Holy Sepulchre and Mount Calvary. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre was built at the site of the discovery, by order of St Helena and Constantine. It was dedicated nine years later, and while one-third of the cross remained in Jerusalem, the remaining thirds were brought to Rome (and kept in the Sessorian Basilica Santa Croce) and Constantinople to make the city impregnable against attack.

3. The restoration of the True Cross to Jerusalem in AD 629 by the Byzantine emperor Heraclius, after it had fallen into the hands of the Persian Emperor Chosroes II in the AD614 Sasanian conquest of Jerusalem.

The date of 14 September marks the dedication of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in 335. This was in fact a two-day festival, and although the actual consecration of the church was on 13 September, the cross itself was brought outside the church on 14 September so that the clergy and faithful could venerate it.