by Joyce M. George-Knight

Created on: April 13, 2009

Most Christians observe Good Friday by attending church services to commemorate the passion and death of Jesus Christ, believed to have been the Son of God, which occurred in the early part of the first Century. Some Christians, those unable to physically get to a church and non-believers have their own non-religious Good Friday traditions, which may include:

Maintain Silence
from Noon until 3 PM, which marks the time when it is believed that Jesus hung on the cross and died as a penance for the sins of our predecessors, for us and for those yet to be born, in order that we could enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

Bake and Enjoy Hot Cross Buns. A tradition from approximately the 14th
Century, hot cross buns were originally prepared and given to the poor on Good Friday. They were a nutritious food made from eggs, currents and raisins. The glazing on top in the shape of a cross signified the four quarters of the moon and was more a part of the equinox celebration than the religious at that time. Eventually, the glazed cross, atop the hot cross buns, came to signify the cross on which Jesus died.

When Christians began maintaining a 40 hour silent fast and vigil in churches from 3 PM on Good Friday through 7 AM on Easter Sunday morning, they ate a hot cross bun before beginning their fast to give them nourishment to endure the lengthy fast.

Many today, whether for religious reasons or not, enjoy this sweet bread treat that is available for purchase at bakeries and grocery stores only during the annual Lenten season.

Palm Crosses
are woven from the blessed palms handed out at Palm Sunday church services. These religious symbols are traditionally hung in a prominent place as a symbol of Jesus Christ's parading through Jerusalem and chanted as being "King of the Jews."

Visit Sick and Dying
is traditionally a means of bringing the "New Life" meaning of the Easter weekend to these members of the community. Visitations are offered as a source of strength and hope through prayers offered with them and their families.

Bouquets and Plants of Easter Lilies
are presented as gifts to friends, neighbors, relatives and church altars. Mentioned several times in the bible, lilies were symbolic in the Garden of Gethsemane of the tears of Jesus, as they are traditionally believed to have sprung up where his tears fell. At the empty tomb where Jesus had been buried were lilies on Holy Saturday, the day on which He rose from the dead.

Lastly, Easter baskets are prepared for children and Easter egg hunts are organized to be held on Holy Saturday or Easter Sunday.

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