When is Good Friday?
Good Friday is the Friday when Jesus Christ was crucified (attached to a cross). Jesus was ridiculed and beaten because he said that he was God’s son.
He was made to wear a crown made from thorns. He had to carry the heavy cross on which he would be crucified, to a hilltop. This is the saddest day for Christians in the year.
Jesus rose a few days later, on Easter Sunday and went to Heaven. Easter Friday is the Friday after Easter.
Why is it called “Good Friday”?
- The word “Good” means holy in Old English, and Good Friday is also called Holy Friday.
- Maybe the word “God” turned to “Good.”
- Another explanation is that people believe that Jesus’s sacrifice allows for humans to also go to Heaven.
Good Friday Quotes
“On this Good Friday may we never forget the true meaning of Easter – ‘For when He was on the cross, I was on His mind.’”
-Unknown
“The cross was two pieces of dead wood; and a helpless, unresisting Man was nailed to it; yet it was mightier than the world, and triumphed, and will ever triumph over it.”
Augustus William Hare
“Good Friday marks the slaying of our Jesus. The unblemished lamb, the perfect sacrifice. He took our guilt and blame upon Himself so we could be with Him in paradise.”
-Unknown
Festival Customs
- Churches are never decorated on this day and left dark. God is absent on this day, thus the eternal candle is not lit.
- A cross lies alone on the altar.
- People reenact Jesus’ painful death.
Strange Rituals
- You cannot dance on this day in Germany.
- Kites are flown in Bermuda to show Jesus’s journey to Heaven.
- “Hot Cross Buns” which are fruit buns with a cross on top are eaten on this day.
