Good Friday
Good Friday is a significant event in the Christian calendar, observed on the Friday before Easter Sunday. This day commemorates the suffering and crucifixion of Jesus Christ, marking a moment of profound sorrow for many Christians who reflect on the despair felt by the early followers of Jesus after his death. Different Christian traditions interpret the significance of the Crucifixion through various lenses, viewing it as a victory over death, a sacrificial act for humanity's salvation, or a moral example of selflessness. The name "Good Friday" has sparked various theories regarding its origin, with some suggesting it may derive from "God's Friday" or refer to the goodness that arose from Jesus' life and death. Traditional observances include fasting, prayer, and reenactments of the Crucifixion, with some adherents wearing dark clothing or participating in processions. The day extends into Holy Saturday, culminating in Easter Vigil services. Good Friday has also inspired numerous artistic expressions, including Michelangelo’s renowned sculpture, the Pietà. This day holds a deep spiritual significance, inviting Christians to engage with themes of grief, sacrifice, and hope.
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Good Friday
Good Friday
This is a movable event.
Good Friday, the Friday before Easter Sunday, is one of the most significant days of the Christian calendar. On this day, Christians commemorate the suffering and death of Jesus Christ on the cross.
To the early Christians, who regarded Jesus as the son of God and long-hoped-for Messiah, the original Good Friday seemed to mark the end of all that they had hoped and believed in. Their despair deepened when Jesus did not miraculously descend from the cross and triumph over the temporal powers in the manner of an earthly king or conqueror. Not until Easter Sunday, with the Resurrection, did their faith and hope revive.
Different strains of thought later emerged about the significance of the Crucifixion. Orthodox Christians view it as Jesus's defeat of death and the powers of darkness to which humanity was subject; others, particularly Evangelical Protestants, believe Jesus's death was a sacrifice to save sinful humanity from God's wrath; and still other Christians hold Jesus's loving self-sacrifice as a moral example.
In view of the grief associated with the Crucifixion, many have questioned why the day observed as its anniversary is known in English as Good Friday. One theory is that the term is a corruption of an earlier “God's Friday,” although there is little etymological support for this idea. Rather, the word “good” was historically used to designate holy days or seasons in the church calendar. Another theory holds that the “Good” refers to the good that came to humankind through the life and death of Jesus. In various periods and places, the day has also been known as Long Friday, Holy Friday, Sorrowful Friday, Passion Friday, and Great Friday. Christians today still relive the sorrow of the first Good Friday. Traditional observances have included wearing dark clothing or darkening churches, fasting, praying, reenacting the Crucifixion in processions or plays, and giving alms, or money for the poor. Less often, penitents volunteer to be flogged or wear crowns of thorns. The observance extends from Good Friday until Holy Saturday evening, which in many churches is marked by an Easter Vigil service beginning after sundown and extending into the beginning of the new day of Easter.
Whatever the exact form of their worship, Christians of all denominations also associate with Good Friday the prophetic words from the 53rd chapter of Isaiah commonly read as part of Good Friday services: “He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; . . . Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; . . . he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that made us whole. . . . the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”
Like most events of Holy Week, Good Friday has inspired artists for centuries. Michelangelo's Pietà, a sculpture of Mary holding the body of her crucified son, is perhaps the best known example. Richard Wagner's Parsifal, the opera based on the search for the Holy Grail, is frequently heard during Holy Week and includes a passage known as the “Good Friday Spell.”
Bibliography
The Bible. Revised Standard Version, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America, 1971.
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"What Is Good Friday?" The Economist, 30 Mar. 2018, www.economist.com/the-economist-explains/2018/03/30/what-is-good-friday. Accessed 22 June 2018.
"Who, What, Why: Why Is Good Friday Called Good Friday?" Magazine Monitor, BBC News, 18 Apr. 2014, www.bbc.com/news/blogs-magazine-monitor-27067136. Accessed 22 June 2018.