Christians mark Good Friday today

Christians around the globe will on, Friday, April 2, commemorate Good Friday ushering in this year’s Easter celebration.

Good Friday, also known as Holy Friday, officially commences Easter festivities.

The celebration marks the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ at Calvary to atone for the sins of believers.

Holy Friday is observed as part of the Paschal Triduum, which is the final three days of Lent and Holy Week on the Friday preceding Easter Sunday.

Members of Christian denominations including; Catholics, Methodists, and Anglicans observe the Holy Friday with worship services, prayer and vigil services, fasting and almsgiving.

According to the Moravian church, communicants have a Good Friday tradition of cleaning gravestones in Moravian cemeteries.

Good Friday is widely instituted legal holiday in many countries around the world, including; Ghana.

In Germany, laws prohibit some acts such as dancing and horse racing that are seen as violating the solemn nature of the day.

The Catholics celebrate Baptism and the anointing of the sick as the only sacraments during this time.

Though the 1662 Book of Common Prayer, a traditional prayer book of the Anglican Church, did not specify a particular rule to be observed on Good Friday, local custom mandates an assortment of services including; the “Seven Last Words from the Cross.”

While some churches will mark the event via online due to covid-19 pandemic in Ghana, others will hold services in their auditoriums under strict covid-19 protocols.

—GNA