What Is The Meaning Behind Good Friday?

The Friday before Easter Sunday is also called "Good Friday" or "Holy Friday", and its commemorative activities have also derived various customs and traditions due to different denominations.

Festival source

On the night when the disciple Judas betrayed Jesus and led to the "Last Supper", Jesus was captured by a group of people brought by the chief priests and elders at Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives. The chief priests and elders decided to put Jesus to death, and the next morning they brought Jesus before Pilate, the Roman governor. It is described in more detail in Matthew chapter 27 verses 15 to 56.

Good Friday is the most important day in the week that commemorates the climax of Jesus' life (i.e., "Holy Week", also known as "Passion Week"). This week begins on the Sunday before Easter (Palm Sunday - when Jesus enters the city of Jerusalem, and people welcome him with palm branches), and ends on the Thursday before Easter (Holy Communion Day - commemorating the journey between Jesus and his disciples). The Holy Communion was established during the "Last Supper") and Friday (Good Friday - commemorating Jesus' death on the cross for the sins of the world) and ends on Easter Sunday. The theme of Holy Week is also the New Testament - the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The date of Easter is different every year. On this day, most Christians will gather to remember the great salvation of the Lord Jesus, who was scourged, shed precious blood, and was crucified on the cross in order to save the world from sin. like.

commemorative events

"Good Friday" commemorates the "death" of Jesus. On this day, believers wear dark clothing and speak solemnly when attending worship services. Catholics also have to extinguish the candles one after another when praying, making the church dark. During the ceremony, several verses from the Book of Isaiah in the Old Testament will be recited.

Holy Communion

Holy Communion is a ceremony held to commemorate Good Friday. Denominations differ in the details of receiving Holy Communion. Orthodox Christians use leavened bread for Holy Communion, while Catholics use unleavened bread. Most Protestant denominations converted wine to grape juice.

worship the cross

In Catholic ceremonies, the ritual of worshiping the cross is also practiced. This ritual first appeared in Jerusalem. The cross is first covered, then gradually revealed, and then placed in front of the altar, where believers must kneel and worship the cross.

Revisiting the Passion of Jesus

In addition to Holy Communion, morning prayers, and evening worship, Good Friday processions are also common in communities where Catholics are concentrated. In the Israeli city of Jerusalem, priests held up crosses and led believers to re-walk the "Way of the Cross" where Jesus suffered, chanting scriptures and praying everywhere they went. In Sicily, Italy, the Easter parade in Trapani begins on the afternoon of Good Friday. People carry wooden crucifixes slowly along the streets amid sad music. This process lasts for 24 hours. . Passion plays are also performed in many places on this day to recreate the tragic scene.

Passion play

In those days, watching the Passion Play was a very popular way to watch it. These performances, usually held outdoors, reenact the final hours of Jesus' arrest and crucifixion.

fly a kite

In the Caribbean country of Bermuda, the local Good Friday tradition is to fly kites. Kites are often made in the shape of a cross as part of their design. According to legend, a Sunday school teacher used a kite to explain to his students how Jesus ascended to heaven.

fasting

In Roman Catholic tradition, Good Friday is a day when Catholics fast and abstain from eating meat. Fasting rules vary among the many Catholic churches around the world.

cross bag

Cross buns are rolled bread often baked with raisins and have a cross shape on top. These cross shapes are either cut out with a cutter or covered with icing sugar.

Traditionally, Christians eat hot cross buns during Lent, especially on Good Friday.

wear black clothing

In some circles, especially traditional Catholic communities, people are known to wear black clothing on Good Friday, and especially mourning clothing. As a solemn occasion distinct from a funeral, a holy day centered on the death of Jesus determined this fashion.

Good Friday is a sacred and serious holiday for Christian disciples. When this holiday comes, black clothing and cross-related accessories are relatively popular products.