Annie's Good Friday Page

~Good Friday is the Friday before Easter & Commemorates the Crucifixion of Christ~

Good Friday - Catholic Encyclopedia Page tells us that:
"Good Friday, called Feria VI in Parasceve in the Roman Missal, he hagia kai megale paraskeue (the Holy and Great
Friday) in the Greek Liturgy, Holy Friday in Romance Languages, Charfreitag (Sorrowful Friday) in German, is the
English designation of Friday in Holy Week -- that is, the Friday on which the Church keeps the anniversary of
the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Parasceve, the Latin equivalent of paraskeue preparation (i.e. the preparation that
was made on the sixth day for the Sabbath; see Mark, xv, 42) came by metonymy to signify the day on which
the preparation was made; but while the Greeks retained this use of the word as applied to every Friday, the
Latins confined its application to one Friday. Irenaeus and Tertullian speak of Good Friday as the day of the
Pasch; but later writers distinguish between the Pascha staurosimon (the passage to death), and the Pascha
anastasimon (the passage to life i.e. the Resurrection). At present the word Pasch is used exclusively in the latter
sense. The two Paschs are the oldest feasts in the calendar. From the earliest times the Christians kept every
Friday as a feast day; and the obvious reasons for those usages explain why Easter is the Sunday par excellence,
and why the Friday which marks the anniversary of Christ's death came to be called the Great or the Holy or the
Good Friday. The origin of the term Good is not clear. Some say it is from "God's Friday" (Gottes Freitag);
others maintain that it is from the German Gute Freitag, and not specially English. Sometimes, too, the day
was called Long Friday by the Anglo-Saxons; so today in Denmark.........."
To read the rest of the definition in the Catholic Encyclopedia visit: Good Friday Page

Do all countries celebrate Good Friday?
Here are a listing of some of the countries:
United States: Good Friday, the Friday before Easter; observed in churches as the anniversary of the crucifixion
of Christ; legal holiday in some states of the U.S..
Great Britain: In Great Britain holidays established by act of Parliament are called bank holidays. They are dayson which banks close and business is suspended. Bank holidays in England include Good Friday & Easter Monday.
Canada: The Canadians call legal holidays statutory days. They observe & include Good Friday & Easter Monday.
Australia: Other public holidays observed throughout Australia include Anzac Day, April 25, to honor war
veterans; Good Friday; Easter Monday.
~All above information from Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia~
Visitors to my pages sent this information below:
India: In India also Good Friday is a government holiday and some private
companies also observe it as a holiday. Easter Monday is not a holiday.
Philippines: Philippines is the only country in Asia that is dominantly Catholic and we observe the
Lenten season wholeheartedly!
Russia: The Russian Brothers-in-Christ greet each other by stating," He is risen!", for which the only appropriate
response is, "Indeed, He is risen!" "Cristos vas cris!", "Va estinu vas cris". Please forgive the phonetics,
but I don't have Cyrillic fonts.
I know that I have missed many countries. So if you know the information for your country
let me know and I will be glad to include it.

What is the meaning of any ordinary Friday?
Friday, sixth day of the week; name derived from Frigg's-day; Frigg (or Freya), the wife of the god Odin,
represented love and beauty in Norse mythology; northern European equivalent to Venus, to whom the Romans
dedicated this day; Sabbath day for Muslims; Jewish Sabbath begins Friday evening; many Christians abstain from
red meat on this day; noted Fridays include Good Friday and Friday the Thirteenth.
~From Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia~

Related Bible Verses to Look up & Read as a Family:
Crucify Verses: Matthew 20:19; 23:34 & 27:31; Mark 15:13; 14; 20 & 27; Luke 23:21; John 19:6; 10 & 15;
Hebrews 6:6; 1 Corinthians 1:18; Galatians 5:11; 6:12 & 14; Ephesians 2:16; Philippians 2:8 & 3:18; Col 1:20
& 2:14 & Hebrews 12:2
Isaiah 53: is the Old Testament Prophecy of the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ.
Cross Verses: Matthew 10:38; 16:24; 27:32; 27:40 & 27:42; Mark 8:34; 10:21; 15:21; 15:30 & 15:32;
Luke 9:23; 14:27 & 23:26; John 19:17; 19:19; 19:25 & 19:31 &
1 Corinthians 1:17
Related Bible Study Pages: Baker's: Cross, Crucifixion; Death of Christ & Jesus Christ; Easton's: Crown of thorns
& Crucifixion; Nave's: CROSS, FIGURATIVE; Crucifixion & JESUS, HISTORY OF & Smith's:
Crown of thorns & Crucifixion

Good Friday Suggestions
~Quoted from "Together at Home" by Dean & Grace Merrill~
"Good Friday is normally a school holiday, and often the adults are off work as well. If
so, try having a Galilean breakfast -- outdoors if possible -- with broiled fish, eggs
, juice, and bread (or hot cross buns). Invite a neighbor family to join you, and finish by
reading John 21 together to show the source of your ideas. (Easter morning is too busy
for all of this but the free Friday is just right.) Talk together about the name "Good
Friday". Does it fit? Should the day be called Dark Friday instead? Why not?
If your church or community has a Good Friday service, take time to attend it as a
family. If it's a noon-to-three service built around the seven last sayings of Christ on
the cross, you'll probably want to go for just part of the time--but before you do,
write a list of the seven phrases. You and the children will have to consult all four
gospels to find them, which will be a research hunt. Then note which phrase is being
featured at the point you enter the service. Or if you stay home, write personal notes to
Jesus (i.e., prayers) thanking Him for suffering for you. Once they're written, perhaps
your children would like to copy theirs into the flyleaf of their Bibles, adding the date.
This can be a sobering way to encounter the death of Christ on our behalf.
Above all, don't make the mistake of letting "Good Friday" come
and go as just another ordinary day."

Definitions - From Websters Dictionary
Crucifixion: crucifixion n 1: a method of execution widespread in the ancient world;
victim's hands and feet are bound or nailed to a cross 2: the death of Jesus on the
cross after he was condemned by the Jews as a false Messiah 3: the infliction of
extremely painful or suffering.
Good Friday: {Good Friday}, the Friday of Holy Week, kept in some churches as a fast,
in memory of our Savior's passion or suffering; the anniversary of the crucifixion.
Cross: n. fr. OF. crois, croiz, F. croix, fr. L. crux; 1. A gibbet, consisting of two
pieces of timber placed transversely upon one another, in various forms, as a T, or +,
with the horizontal piece below the upper end of the upright, or as an X. It was
anciently used in the execution of criminals.
Friday:, n. fr. Frigu, the gooddes of marriage; friqu love + d[ae]g day; cf. Icel. Frigg
name of a goddess, the wife of Odin or Wodan. AS. frigu is prob. from the root of E.
friend, free.] The sixth day of the week, following Thursday and preceding Saturday.

Good Friday Links
Why is it called Good Friday? - text page that explains the origin & history of the holiday
How do we reconcile Matthew 12:40 with Holy Week? - another page by Ken Collins
Good Friday, an Encarta Encyclopedia - check closer to Good Friday and they will have
info on their front page. Otherwise you have to pay to use their encyclopedia!
Good Friday from The Catholic Encyclopedia
Observe Good Friday - from "ehow.com"
Perpetual Preschool- Good Friday
Good Friday- Death and Burial of Jesus Christ from CBN
Customs of Great and Holy Friday from The Orthodox Church

Other Related Pages by Annie:
Annie's "Jelly Bean Prayer" Page
Annie's Easter Page - my main Easter page with all my Easter pages listed
Annie's "Easter Story Eggs" Page
Annie's Palm Sunday Page
Annie's Casting Lots Page

Send an Easter Card that shares with others "He is Risen"!
"We serve a Risen Savior"
To see a list of all of Annie's Other Easter Pages visit:
Annie's Easter Welcome Page

Annie's Home Page

Annie's Featured Holiday Page

Annie's Holiday Page

Annie's Featured Page

Annie's "Featured Page" Page

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