What Is The Meaning Of Good Friday? 4 Things To Know About Christian Holiday

When we look up the meaning of Good Friday on the web, we usually find textual and generic answers that state facts “Good Friday is a Christian religious holiday commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his death at Calvary. The holiday observed during Holy Week as part of the Pascal Triduum on the Friday preceding Easter Sunday. It is also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, Black Friday, or Easter Friday, though the last term properly refers to the Friday in Easter week.”

While I was doing my research, I wasn’t getting the meaning that I wanted to convey in my words due to the lack of sentiment I found online. So, I decided to ask some of my family members who are very devoted to Catholicism, and these are the answers I was given:

“Day in which Jesus finalizes His mission on earth, He dies on the cross at 3:00pm on the Friday. He died to save us and to take away eternal damnation caused by our sins.” – Mom

“Day of The Passion of Christ, day in which God gives us His greatest object of affection. He sacrificed His only son to save us from our sins so we could achieve eternal life. And Christ, always obedient and trusting His father walks with the Cross that lead Him to His death. Even though He was in pain, and He was treated badly, He never flaked, He stood by His father’s word until the end and saved us.” – Aunt Caro

“To me, it’s the day in which God demonstrated His love for us. He sacrificed His only son. He forgave us for our sins, and gave us eternal life” – Uncle Luis

Nevertheless, here are other interesting facts you might not know about Good Friday:

1. Good Friday became a national holiday in Cuba due to the efforts of Pope Benedict XVI. Pope Benedict requested that President Raul Castro make the religious date a public holiday. In quick fashion, Castro obliged allowing many to celebrate the holiday in a more appropriate and dedicated fashion.

2. Good Friday is not an official holiday in the United States. Despite this fact many businesses, public schools, universities and various financial markets close for the honoring of this date.

3. Fasting and abstinence is followed by Christians across the globe on Good Friday. Those over 14 cannot ingest meat while followers of the religious holiday should only consume one full meal and two smaller ones throughout the day.

4. On Good Friday, the Stations of the Cross are followed in the below order:

1st Station: Jesus is condemned to death

2nd Station: Jesus carries His cross

3rd Station: Jesus falls the first time

4th Station: Jesus meets his mother

5th Station: Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus to carry his cross

6th Station: Veronica wipes the face of Jesus

7th Station: Jesus falls the second time

8th Station: Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem

9th Station: Jesus falls a third time

10th Station: Jesus clothes are taken away

11th Station: Jesus is nailed to the cross

12th Station: Jesus dies on the cross

13th Station: The body of Jesus is taken down from the cross

14th Station: Jesus is laid in the tomb