With the onset of spring, the Christian community immerses itself into a long line of festivals starting with Lent, Ash Wednesday, Easter and of course Good Friday. While all of these are interrelated, they all have their unique history and traditions. Today, on the eve of Good Friday, let us tell you all about the significance of this holy day. It commemorates the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ. Christians around the world typically view this day as a solemn one and observe it through fasting and penance. On that note, have you ever wondered why Good Friday is called Good Friday? Come, let us figure it out together.
Good stands for holy
There are many theories as to why Good Friday is called Good Friday. The most popular one is that the term ‘good’ refers to ‘holy’ or ‘pious’ pointing at the holy sacrifice (suffering and dying) of Jesus Christ to save the humanity from their sins. But it also hints at the fact that he was able to win over death in the form of resurrection as celebrated on the day of Easter.
Another school of thought is that ‘good’ here stands for ‘the good book’ or the Holy Bible or ‘good tide’ that refers to Christmas. After all, these festivals together bind the life cycle of Jesus, from birth to death.
A gradual shift from the word god
Another common legend behind the name Good Friday is that the word ‘good’ is really a modification of the word ‘god.’ This hints at the fact that, earlier, the day used to be called ‘God Friday.’ Linguists suggest that the example is just like ‘goodbye’ which is actually a contraction of the phrase ‘God be with you.’
There are others who believe that since Christ was the son of God, the name God’s Friday is justified, as it was God who put him on the cross to be crucified. Why? Because he wanted to punish the Jewish religious leaders by hitting at their conscience as they had condemned Jesus the night before during The Last Supper when he had claimed himself to be the son of God. Christians believe that God wanted to prove that Christ was indeed his messenger on Earth who sacrificed his own life and then resurrected to offer the believers eternal life and non-believers damnation.
Other names of Good Friday
In different cultures, Good Friday is commemorated by different names. For instance, in German, it is known as Karfreitag or Mourning Friday and refers to the act of grieving for Christ’s death. Similarly, it is also called Silent Friday for its solemn nature, where people observe the day with silent prayers. In Scandinavian languages such as Dutch and Finnish, it is regarded as Long Friday. For them, the day and its woes seem to have no end.
In contrast, the Irish call it by its literal name, i.e., the Friday of Crucifixion, while the Welsh deem it as the Friday of Cross-Reading. This comes from the practice of reading the medieval Welsh text Y Groglith that is traditionally preached on this day. It is about the life and death of Christ, their Saviour.
Likewise, other cultures such as the Greeks, Polish, Hungarian, Romanian, Armenian, Serbian and Bulgarian call is as the Great Friday as it reminds them of the ‘great sacrifice’ of Jesus for their good, honest and long lives. On the other hand, Holy Friday is the name used by the Italians, French, Spanish and the Portuguese.