The meaning of Good Friday

Good Friday, or Holy Friday, which is observed the Friday preceding Easter, is called “good” because of the wonder and meaning that flow from it. It is the day when Christ suffered for the well-being of mankind and spread His goodness over this world. According to the Four Gospels, Jesus was put to death at 12 p.m. and gave up His spirit three hours later.

On Good Friday, the Church fixes it’s gaze on the Cross at Calvary.

This day is a solemn day of mourning, a day where no church bells ring, a day of fasting and prayer, in which no church light is lit during special services. Predating back to the 12th century American custom that began when an Anglican monk placed the sign of the cross on the buns, to honor Good Friday, many people began to believe was the only thing faithful, fasting Christians could eat on this day.

The origin of the term Good Friday is not definitely known, but many believe that it was originally called God’s Friday, while the Anglo Saxons call it “Long Friday.”

According to Roman custom, scourging came before crucifixion. Following the scourging, the condemned person had to carry the cross to the place of execution, which in Jesus’ case was Golgatha. In most cases, those hung would take several days to die on the cross, so their legs were broken by the soldiers to shorten the suffering. Speeding death was important to the Jewish tradition concerning appropriate burial ceremonies.

The present ceremony that is celebrated throughout the world presents the worshipping of the True Cross, as a veiled image of the Crucifix that is gradually exposed, while the celebrant sing the Latin words “Come let us adore.” Each person in attendance has the opportunity to kiss the cross as a sign of our love and devotion to Jesus Christ. In the Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Anglican traditions, the celebration of the Eucharist is suspended.

Despite Good Friday’s solemnness, the day is truly meant to be good, and its sorrow is a godly sorrow. The commemoration of Christ’s death reminds us of the human sin that caused His death, and to pursue happiness, we must first experience sorrow. Either way you choose to commemorate Good Friday, either as a sorrowful or joyful event, we are confessing that the Christian hope that no tragedy, not even death, con overwhelm God’s love for us.