Catholic Good Friday (Good Friday)

Good Friday - Lafontaine, Ontario (www.bluetyger.ca)In Canada, where Catholics and Protestants make up the vast majority of the population, Good Friday is the darkest day of the year. The date of the holiday depends on the church calendar, but annually this day is an official paid holiday in Canada, providing which, the humane state provides its workers with the opportunity to concentrate fully on the sincere sorrow for the death of Jesus Christ on the cross, without being distracted by the performance of official duties on this day.

Good Friday precedes Easter and commemorates the day of the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ. Nothing should disturb the peace of the day. Communication is kept to a minimum, and the necessary things are done thoughtfully and calmly; it is a day of mourning; it is a funeral. Traditionally, Catholics wear black clothes on this day, cover mirrors with capes, put out candles, suppress entertainment and distractions, and spend the whole day in great solemnity.

Forms of church commemoration of Good Friday vary widely - from simple prayer solitude and meditation on reading the stories of the Gospel of Passion or holding special services reminiscences of the torments of Christ among Protestants to a complex multi-stage liturgical ceremony among Catholics. In the Catholic Church, Good Friday services are timed to 3 p.m., when, according to the Gospel, Jesus Christ died. Although this service seems to be one, in reality it consists of four separate parts, each of which has its own origin and history.

In Canada and many other countries, especially where Christianity is dominant (Catholicism and Orthodoxy), Good Friday is a special day. The mainstream Christian churches regard the crucifixion of Christ as a voluntary and indirect act, a feat by which, along with his miraculous resurrection on the third day, death itself was defeated.