How Do You Observe Good Friday?
Tomorrow is Good Friday. For Christians it’s the day that Jesus was crucified and died and in observance it’s the most solemn day of the year. From noon to 3 pm is the time frame Jesus is believed to have been put to death. It’s also suggested that Catholics use that time for prayer and reflection.
It’s also traditionally the time when prayers are offered at the stations of the cross. The stations signify the stops Jesus made as he carried the cross on his way to Mount Calvary.
Good Friday and Ash Wednesday are the only days that Catholics are asked to fast. And what that means is one meal and two smaller meals with no snacking. For most of us it means avoiding meat. It’s a reminder of the pain and suffering that Jesus went thru.
Good Friday is the only day of the year that there’s no Catholic mass. Instead Catholics can come to the altar and kneel in front of, touch and kiss the cross. Communion can be taken, but it has to have been blessed the day before.
A suggested family activity on Good Friday is the planting of seeds – symbolic of Jesus being buried, then rising on the third day.