Праздники англии великая пятница

Страстная пятница (Великая пятница) — пятница в преддверии Пасхального воскресенья, когда христиане вспоминают день распятия Иисуса. Дата Святой Пятницы изменяется из года в год.

Англо-саксонское название Святой Пятницы (Good Friday) было «Длинная Пятница» (Long Friday) из-за жесткого поста, наложенного на этот день, и кажущегося таким длинным.

В этот день Иисус был распят на кресте и принял смерть во искупление наших грехов.

Good Friday — установленный законом праздник на большей территории Соединенного Королевства. Это означает, что не работают многие учреждения и компании. В церквях проходят особые трехчасовые службы и молебны, особенно в 3 часа дня, что считается часом смерти Иисуса. В некоторых церквях проходят драматические чтения. Церкви не украшают в Святую Пятницу, это день скорби.

Многие рыбаки не выходят в море в Good Friday. В этот день не работают в поле или огороде.

Традиционно едят «hot cross buns» — теплые булочки с изображением креста, сладкие и ароматные. Существует даже особая церемония «hot cross buns». Также традиционно едят рыбу вместо мяса в этот день.

Ребенок, рожденный в Good Friday или в Пасхальное Воскресенье, одарен неуязвимостью.

Размоченная в молоке, испеченная в Святую Пятницу булочка лечит расстройство живота. Хлеб и печиво, изготовленные в этот день, не черствеют. Затвердевшая булочка со Святой Пятницы убережет дом от огня.

Страстная или Великая пятница является памятным днем для всего христианского мира. Именно в этот день, согласно библейским преданиям, Иисус Христос принял мученическую смерть на кресте. Перед смертью он был подвергнут избиениям и надругательствам, на его голову был надет терновый венок, чьи острые шипы впивались в плоть Христа, его заставили нести на себе тяжелый крест, предназначенный для казни, в течение всего долгого пути на гору Голгофу. Все эти муки, в том числе и изуверскую казнь распятием на кресте, Иисус Христос принял во имя искупления грехов человеческих.

Ученые историки на протяжении многих лет пытались установить точную дату этого события, однако до сих пор между ними нет согласия по данному вопросу. Большая часть историков склонна предполагать, что распятие Христа произошло 7 апреля 30 года нашей эры. Независимо от точной даты события, Страстную пятницу принято праздновать накануне Пасхального воскресенья. Каждый год церковнослужители по-разному определяют день, как Страстной пятницы, так и Пасхи, т.е. эта дата является подвижной.

Традиция празднования католической Страстной пятницы в Великобритании восходит ко временам раннего Средневековья, когда языческие германские и кельтские племена, проживающие на территории Британских островов, только приняли крещение и христианскую веру. Англосаксы в те времена называли этот день «Длинной пятницей», что было связано с необходимостью соблюдать жесткий пост в течение всего торжественного дня.

В современной Великобритании страстная пятница является официальным выходным днем, когда не работают не только государственные учреждения, но и многие частные организации. И хотя этот день считается национальным праздником, на самом деле, согласно церковным канонам, Великая пятница — это день скорби в память о жертве, принесенной Спасителем. Во всех церквях и соборах Великобритании в этот день проходят специальные церковные службы, в некоторых традиционно проводятся драматические чтения. В Святую пятницу принято есть особый вид булочек — «hot cross buns» — сладкая выпечка, имеющая форму креста. Традиция соблюдения поста в этот день сказывается в том, что на столах британцев в Страстную пятницу доминируют рыбные блюда вместо мясных.

Good Friday
A Stabat Mater depiction, 1868
Type	Christian
Significance	Commemoration of the crucifixion and the death of Jesus Christ
Celebrations	Celebration of the Passion of the Lord
Observances	Worship services, prayer and vigil services, fasting, almsgiving
Date	The Friday immediately preceding Easter Sunday
2022 date	April 15 (Western) April 22 (Eastern)
2023 date	April 7[1] (Western) April 14 (Eastern)
2024 date	March 29 (Western) May 3 (Eastern)
2025 date	April 18 (Western) April 18 (Eastern)
Frequency	Annual
Related to	Passover, Christmas (which celebrates the birth of Jesus), Septuagesima, Quinquagesima, Shrove Tuesday, Ash Wednesday, Lent, Palm Sunday, Holy Wednesday, Maundy Thursday, and Holy Saturday which lead up to Easter, Easter Sunday (primarily), Divine Mercy Sunday, Ascension, Pentecost, Whit Monday, Trinity Sunday, Corpus Christi and Feast of the Sacred Heart which follow it. It is related to the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, which focuses on the benefits, graces, and merits of the Cross, rather than Jesus’s death.

Good Friday is a Christian holiday commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary. It is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum. It is also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, Great and Holy Friday (also Holy and Great Friday), and Black Friday.^[2][3][4]

Members of many Christian denominations, including the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Lutheran, Anglican, Methodist, Oriental Orthodox, United Protestant and some Reformed traditions (including certain Continental Reformed, Presbyterian and Congregationalist churches), observe Good Friday with fasting and church services.^[5][6][7] In many Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican and Methodist churches, the Service of the Great Three Hours’ Agony is held from noon until 3 pm, the time duration that the Bible records as darkness covering the land to Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross.^[8] Communicants of the Moravian Church have a Good Friday tradition of cleaning gravestones in Moravian cemeteries.^[9]

The date of Good Friday varies from one year to the next in both the Gregorian and Julian calendars. Eastern and Western Christianity disagree over the computation of the date of Easter and therefore of Good Friday. Good Friday is a widely instituted legal holiday around the world, including in most Western countries and 12 U.S. states.^[10] Some predominantly Christian countries, such as Germany, have laws prohibiting certain acts such as dancing and horse racing, in remembrance of the somber nature of Good Friday.^[11][12]

Etymology[edit]

‘Good Friday’ comes from the sense ‘pious, holy’ of the word «good».^[13] Less common examples of expressions based on this obsolete sense of «good» include «the good book» for the Bible, «good tide» for «Christmas» or Shrovetide, and Good Wednesday for the Wednesday in Holy Week.^[14] A common folk etymology incorrectly analyzes «Good Friday» as a corruption of «God Friday» similar to the linguistically correct description of «goodbye» as a contraction of «God be with you». In Old English, the day was called «Long Friday» (langa frigedæg [ˈlɑŋɡɑ ˈfriːjedæj]), and equivalents of this term are still used in Scandinavian languages and Finnish.^[15]

Other languages[edit]

In Latin, the name used by the Catholic Church until 1955 was Feria sexta in Parasceve («Friday of Preparation [for the Sabbath]»). In the 1955 reform of Holy Week, it was renamed Feria sexta in Passione et Morte Domini («Friday of the Passion and Death of the Lord»), and in the new rite introduced in 1970, shortened to Feria sexta in Passione Domini («Friday of the Passion of the Lord»).

In Dutch, Good Friday is known as Goede Vrijdag, in Frisian as Goedfreed. In German-speaking countries, it is generally referred to as Karfreitag («Mourning Friday», with Kar from Old High German kara‚ «bewail», «grieve»‚ «mourn», which is related to the English word «care» in the sense of cares and woes), but it is sometimes also called Stiller Freitag («Silent Friday») and Hoher Freitag («High Friday, Holy Friday»). In the Scandinavian languages and Finnish («pitkäperjantai»), it is called the equivalent of «Long Friday» as it was in Old English («Langa frigedæg»).

In Irish it is known as Aoine an Chéasta, «Friday of Crucifixion», from céas, «suffer;»^[16] similarly, it is DihAoine na Ceusta in Scottish Gaelic.^[17] In Welsh it is called Dydd Gwener y Groglith, «Friday of the Cross-Reading», referring to Y Groglith, a medieval Welsh text on the Crucifixion of Jesus that was traditionally read on Good Friday.^[18]

In Greek, Polish, Hungarian, Romanian, Breton and Armenian it is generally referred to as the equivalent of «Great Friday» (Μεγάλη Παρασκευή, Wielki Piątek, Nagypéntek, Vinerea Mare, Gwener ar Groaz, Ավագ Ուրբաթ). In Serbian, it is referred either Велики петак («Great Friday»), or, more commonly, Страсни петак («Loved Friday»). In Bulgarian, it is called either Велики петък («Great Friday»), or, more commonly, Разпети петък («Crucified Friday»). In French, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese it is referred to as Vendredi saint, Venerdì santo, Viernes Santo and Sexta-Feira Santa («Holy Friday»), respectively. In Arabic, it is known as «الجمعة العظيمة» («Great Friday»). In Malayalam, it is called ദുഃഖ വെള്ളി («Sad Friday»).

Biblical accounts[edit]

According to the accounts in the Gospels, the royal soldiers, guided by Jesus’ disciple Judas Iscariot, arrested Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. Judas received money (30 pieces of silver) ^[19] for betraying Jesus and told the guards that whomever he kisses is the one they are to arrest. Following his arrest, Jesus was taken to the house of Annas, the father-in-law of the high priest, Caiaphas. There he was interrogated with little result and sent bound to Caiaphas the high priest where the Sanhedrin had assembled.^[20]

Conflicting testimony against Jesus was brought forth by many witnesses, to which Jesus answered nothing. Finally the high priest adjured Jesus to respond under solemn oath, saying «I adjure you, by the Living God, to tell us, are you the Anointed One, the Son of God?» Jesus testified ambiguously, «You have said it, and in time you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Almighty, coming on the clouds of Heaven.» The high priest condemned Jesus for blasphemy, and the Sanhedrin concurred with a sentence of death.^[21] Peter, waiting in the courtyard, also denied Jesus three times to bystanders while the interrogations were proceeding just as Jesus had foretold.

In the morning, the whole assembly brought Jesus to the Roman governor Pontius Pilate under charges of subverting the nation, opposing taxes to Caesar, and making himself a king.^[22] Pilate authorized the Jewish leaders to judge Jesus according to their own law and execute sentencing; however, the Jewish leaders replied that they were not allowed by the Romans to carry out a sentence of death.^[23]

Pilate questioned Jesus and told the assembly that there was no basis for sentencing. Upon learning that Jesus was from Galilee, Pilate referred the case to the ruler of Galilee, King Herod, who was in Jerusalem for the Passover Feast. Herod questioned Jesus but received no answer; Herod sent Jesus back to Pilate. Pilate told the assembly that neither he nor Herod found Jesus to be guilty; Pilate resolved to have Jesus whipped and released.^[24] Under the guidance of the chief priests, the crowd asked for Barabbas, who had been imprisoned for committing murder during an insurrection. Pilate asked what they would have him do with Jesus, and they demanded, «Crucify him»^[25] Pilate’s wife had seen Jesus in a dream earlier that day, and she forewarned Pilate to «have nothing to do with this righteous man».^[26] Pilate had Jesus flogged and then brought him out to the crowd to release him. The chief priests informed Pilate of a new charge, demanding Jesus be sentenced to death «because he claimed to be God’s son.» This possibility filled Pilate with fear, and he brought Jesus back inside the palace and demanded to know from where he came.^[27]

Coming before the crowd one last time, Pilate declared Jesus innocent and washed his own hands in water to show he had no part in this condemnation. Nevertheless, Pilate handed Jesus over to be crucified in order to forestall a riot.^[28] The sentence written was «Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews.» Jesus carried his cross to the site of execution (assisted by Simon of Cyrene), called the «place of the Skull», or «Golgotha» in Hebrew and in Latin «Calvary». There he was crucified along with two criminals.^[29]

Jesus agonized on the cross for six hours. During his last three hours on the cross, from noon to 3 pm, darkness fell over the whole land.^[30] Jesus spoke from the cross, quoting the messianic Psalm 22: «My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?»

With a loud cry, Jesus gave up his spirit. There was an earthquake, tombs broke open, and the curtain in the Temple was torn from top to bottom. The centurion on guard at the site of crucifixion declared, «Truly this was God’s Son!»^[31]

Joseph of Arimathea, a member of the Sanhedrin and a secret follower of Jesus, who had not consented to his condemnation, went to Pilate to request the body of Jesus^[32] Another secret follower of Jesus and member of the Sanhedrin named Nicodemus brought about a hundred-pound weight mixture of spices and helped wrap the body of Jesus.^[33] Pilate asked confirmation from the centurion of whether Jesus was dead.^[34] A soldier pierced the side of Jesus with a lance causing blood and water to flow out^[35] and the centurion informed Pilate that Jesus was dead.^[36]

Joseph of Arimathea took Jesus’ body, wrapped it in a clean linen shroud, and placed it in his own new tomb that had been carved in the rock^[37] in a garden near the site of the crucifixion. Nicodemus^[38] also brought 75 pounds of myrrh and aloes, and placed them in the linen with the body, in keeping with Jewish burial customs^[33] They rolled a large rock over the entrance of the tomb.^[39] Then they returned home and rested, because Shabbat had begun at sunset.^[40] Matt. 28:1 «After the Shabbat, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb». i.e. «After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week,…». «He is not here; he has risen, just as he said….». (Matt. 28:6)

Orthodox[edit]

Byzantine Christians (Eastern Christians who follow the Rite of Constantinople: Orthodox Christians and Greek-Catholics) call this day «Great and Holy Friday», or simply «Great Friday».^[41] Because the sacrifice of Jesus through his crucifixion is recalled on this day, the Divine Liturgy (the sacrifice of bread and wine) is never celebrated on Great Friday, except when this day coincides with the Great Feast of the Annunciation, which falls on the fixed date of 25 March (for those churches which follow the traditional Julian Calendar, 25 March currently falls on 7 April of the modern Gregorian Calendar). Also on Great Friday, the clergy no longer wear the purple or red that is customary throughout Great Lent,^[42] but instead don black vestments. There is no «stripping of the altar» on Holy and Great Thursday as in the West; instead, all of the church hangings are changed to black, and will remain so until the Divine Liturgy on Great Saturday.

The faithful revisit the events of the day through the public reading of specific Psalms and the Gospels, and singing hymns about Christ’s death. Rich visual imagery and symbolism, as well as stirring hymnody, are remarkable elements of these observances. In the Orthodox understanding, the events of Holy Week are not simply an annual commemoration of past events, but the faithful actually participate in the death and the resurrection of Jesus.

Each hour of this day is the new suffering and the new effort of the expiatory suffering of the Savior. And the echo of this suffering is already heard in every word of our worship service – unique and incomparable both in the power of tenderness and feeling and in the depth of the boundless compassion for the suffering of the Savior. The Holy Church opens before the eyes of believers a full picture of the redeeming suffering of the Lord beginning with the bloody sweat in the Garden of Gethsemane up to the crucifixion on Golgotha. Taking us back through the past centuries in thought, the Holy Church brings us to the foot of the cross of Christ erected on Golgotha and makes us present among the quivering spectators of all the torture of the Savior.^[43]

Great and Holy Friday is observed as a strict fast, also called the Black Fast, and adult Byzantine Christians are expected to abstain from all food and drink the entire day to the extent that their health permits. «On this Holy day neither a meal is offered nor do we eat on this day of the crucifixion. If someone is unable or has become very old [or is] unable to fast, he may be given bread and water after sunset. In this way we come to the holy commandment of the Holy Apostles not to eat on Great Friday.»^[43]

Matins of Holy and Great Friday[edit]

The Byzantine Christian observance of Holy and Great Friday, which is formally known as The Order of Holy and Saving Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ, begins on Thursday night with the Matins of the Twelve Passion Gospels. Scattered throughout this Matins service are twelve readings from all four of the Gospels which recount the events of the Passion from the Last Supper through the Crucifixion and burial of Jesus. Some churches have a candelabrum with twelve candles on it, and after each Gospel reading one of the candles is extinguished.^[44]

The first of these twelve readings^[45] is the longest Gospel reading of the liturgical year, and is a concatenation from all four Gospels. Just before the sixth Gospel reading, which recounts Jesus being nailed to the cross, a large cross is carried out of the sanctuary by the priest, accompanied by incense and candles, and is placed in the center of the nave (where the congregation gathers) Sēmeron Kremātai Epí Xýlou:

Today He who hung the earth upon the waters is hung upon the Cross (three times).
He who is King of the angels is arrayed in a crown of thorns.
He who wraps the Heavens in clouds is wrapped in the purple of mockery.
He who in Jordan set Adam free receives blows upon His face.
The Bridegroom of the Church is transfixed with nails.
The Son of the Virgin is pierced with a spear.
We venerate Thy Passion, O Christ (three times).
Show us also Thy glorious Resurrection.^[46][47]

The readings are:

1. John 13:31-18:1 – Christ’s last sermon, Jesus prays for the apostles.
2. John 18:1–28 – The agony in the garden, the mockery and denial of Christ.
3. Matthew 26:57–75 – The mockery of Christ, Peter denies Christ.
4. John 18:28–19:16 – Pilate questions Jesus; Jesus is condemned; Jesus is mocked by the Romans.
5. Matthew 27:3–32 – Judas commits suicide; Jesus is condemned; Jesus mocked by the Romans; Simon of Cyrene compelled to carry the cross.
6. Mark 15:16–32 – Jesus dies.
7. Matthew 27:33–54 – Jesus dies.
8. Luke 23:32–49 – Jesus dies.
9. John 19:25–37 – Jesus dies.
10. Mark 15:43–47 – Joseph of Arimathea buries Christ.
11. John 19:38–42 – Joseph of Arimathea buries Christ.
12. Matthew 27:62–66 – The Jews set a guard.

During the service, all come forward to kiss the feet of Christ on the cross. After the Canon, a brief, moving hymn, The Wise Thief is chanted by singers who stand at the foot of the cross in the center of the nave. The service does not end with the First Hour, as usual, but with a special dismissal by the priest:

May Christ our true God, Who for the salvation of the world endured spitting, and scourging, and buffeting, and the Cross, and death, through the intercessions of His most pure Mother, of our holy and God-bearing fathers, and of all the saints, have mercy on us and save us, for He is good and the Lover of mankind.

Royal Hours[edit]

The next day, in the forenoon on Friday, all gather again to pray the Royal Hours,^[48] a special expanded celebration of the Little Hours (including the First Hour, Third Hour, Sixth Hour, Ninth Hour and Typica) with the addition of scripture readings (Old Testament, Epistle and Gospel) and hymns about the Crucifixion at each of the Hours (some of the material from the previous night is repeated). This is somewhat more festive in character, and derives its name of «Royal» from both the fact that the Hours are served with more solemnity than normal, commemorating Christ the King who humbled himself for the salvation of mankind, and also from the fact that this service was in the past attended by the Emperor and his court.^[49]

Vespers of Holy and Great Friday[edit]

In the afternoon, around 3 pm, all gather for the Vespers of the Taking-Down from the Cross,^[50] commemorating the Deposition from the Cross. Following Psalm 103 (104) and the Great Litany, ‘Lord, I call’ is sung without a Psalter reading. The first five stichera (the first being repeated) are taken from the Aposticha at Matins the night before, but the final 3 of the 5 are sung in Tone 2. Three more stichera in Tone 6 lead to the Entrance. The Evening Prokimenon is taken from Psalm 21 (22): ‘They parted My garments among them, and cast lots upon My vesture.’

There are then four readings, with Prokimena before the second and fourth:

• Exodus 33:11-23 — God shows Moses His glory
• The second Prokimenon is from Psalm 34 (35): ‘Judge them, O Lord, that wrong Me: fight against them that fight against Me.’
• Job 42:12-20 — God restores Job’s wealth (note that verses 18-20 are found only in the Septuagint)
• Isaiah 52:13-54:1 — The fourth Suffering Servant song
• The third Prokimenon is from Psalm 87 (88): ‘They laid Me in the lowest pit: in dark places and in the shadow of death.’
• 1 Corinthians 1:18-2:2 — St. Paul places Christ crucified as the centre of the Christian life

An Alleluia is then sung, with verses from Psalm 68 (69): ‘Save Me, O God: for the waters are come in, even unto My soul.’

The Gospel reading is a composite taken from three of the four the Gospels (Matthew 27:1-38; Luke 23:39-43; Matthew 27:39-54; John 19:31-37; Matthew 27:55-61), essentially the story of the Crucifixion as it appears according to St. Matthew, interspersed with St. Luke’s account of the confession of the Good Thief and St. John’s account of blood and water flowing from Jesus’ side. During the Gospel, the body of Christ (the soma) is removed from the cross, and, as the words in the Gospel reading mention Joseph of Arimathea, is wrapped in a linen shroud, and taken to the altar in the sanctuary.

The Aposticha reflects on the burial of Christ. Either at this point (in the Greek use) or during the troparion following (in the Slav use):

Noble Joseph, taking down Thy most pure body from the Tree, wrapped it in pure linen and spices, and he laid it in a new tomb.^[51]

an epitaphios or «winding sheet» (a cloth embroidered with the image of Christ prepared for burial) is carried in procession to a low table in the nave which represents the Tomb of Christ; it is often decorated with an abundance of flowers. The epitaphios itself represents the body of Jesus wrapped in a burial shroud, and is a roughly full-size cloth icon of the body of Christ. The service ends with a hope of the Resurrection:

The Angel stood by the tomb, and to the women bearing spices he cried aloud: ‘Myrrh is fitting for the dead, but Christ has shown Himself a stranger to corruption.^[51]

Then the priest may deliver a homily and everyone comes forward to venerate the epitaphios. In the Slavic practice, at the end of Vespers, Compline is immediately served, featuring a special Canon of the Crucifixion of our Lord and the Lamentation of the Most Holy Theotokos by Symeon the Logothete.^[52]

Matins of Holy and Great Saturday[edit]

On Friday night, the Matins of Holy and Great Saturday, a unique service known as The Lamentation at the Tomb^[53] (Epitáphios Thrēnos) is celebrated. This service is also sometimes called Jerusalem Matins. Much of the service takes place around the tomb of Christ in the center of the nave.^[54]

A unique feature of the service is the chanting of the Lamentations or Praises (Enkōmia), which consist of verses chanted by the clergy interspersed between the verses of Psalm 119 (which is, by far, the longest psalm in the Bible). The Enkōmia are the best-loved hymns of Byzantine hymnography, both their poetry and their music being uniquely suited to each other and to the spirit of the day. They consist of 185 tercet antiphons arranged in three parts (stáseis or «stops»), which are interjected with the verses of Psalm 119, and nine short doxastiká («Gloriae») and Theotókia (invocations to the Virgin Mary). The three stáseis are each set to its own music, and are commonly known by their initial antiphons: Ἡ ζωὴ ἐν τάφῳ, «Life in a grave», Ἄξιον ἐστί, «Worthy it is», and Αἱ γενεαὶ πᾶσαι, «All the generations». Musically they can be classified as strophic, with 75, 62, and 48 tercet stanzas each, respectively. The climax of the Enkōmia comes during the third stásis, with the antiphon «Ō glyký mou Éar«, a lamentation of the Virgin for her dead Child («O, my sweet spring, my sweetest child, where has your beauty gone?»). Later, during a different antiphon of that stasis («Early in the morning the myrrh-bearers came to Thee and sprinkled myrrh upon Thy tomb»), young girls of the parish place flowers on the Epitaphios and the priest sprinkles it with rose-water. The author(s) and date of the Enkōmia are unknown. Their High Attic linguistic style suggests a dating around the 6th century, possibly before the time of St. Romanos the Melodist.^[55]

The Evlogitaria (Benedictions) of the Resurrection are sung as on Sunday, since they refer to the conversation between the myrrh-bearers and the angel in the tomb, followed by kathismata about the burial of Christ. Psalm 50 (51) is then immediately read, and then followed by a much loved-canon, written by Mark the Monk, Bishop of Hydrous and Kosmas of the Holy City, with irmoi by Kassiani the Nun. The high-point of the much-loved Canon is Ode 9, which takes the form of a dialogue between Christ and the Theotokos, with Christ promising His Mother the hope of the Resurrection. This Canon will be sung again the following night at the Midnight Office.

Lauds follows, and its stichera take the form of a funeral lament, while always preserving the hope of the Resurrection. The doxasticon links Christ’s rest in the tomb with His rest on the seventh day of creation, and the theotokion («Most blessed art thou, O Virgin Theotokos…) is the same as is used on Sundays.

At the end of the Great Doxology, while the Trisagion is sung, the epitaphios is taken in procession around the outside the church, and is then returned to the tomb. Some churches observe the practice of holding the epitaphios at the door, above waist level, so the faithful most bow down under it as they come back into the church, symbolizing their entering into the death and resurrection of Christ. The epitaphios will lay in the tomb until the Paschal Service early Sunday morning. In some churches, the epitaphios is never left alone, but is accompanied 24 hours a day by a reader chanting from the Psalter.^{[citation needed]}

When the procession has returned to the church, a troparion is read, similar to hthe ones read at the Sixth Hour throughout Lent, focusing on the purpose of Christ’s burial. A series of prokimena and readings are then said:

• The first prokimenon is from Psalm 43 (44): ‘Arise, Lord, and help us: and deliver us for Thy Name’s sake.’
• Ezekiel 37:1-14 — God tells Ezekiel to command bones to come to life.
• The second prokimenon is from Psalm 9 (9-10), and is based on the verses sung at the kathismata and Lauds on Sundays: ‘Arise, O Lord my God, lift up Thine hand: forget not Thy poor forever.’
• 1 Corinthians 5:6-8; Galatians 3:13-14 — St. Paul celebrates the Passion of Christ and explains its role in the life of Gentile Christians.
• The Alleluia verses are from Psalm 67 (68), and are based on the Paschal verses: ‘Let God arise, and let His enemies be scattered.’
• Matthew 27:62-66 — The Pharisees ask Pilate to set a watch at the tomb.

At the end of the service, a final hymn is sung as the faithful come to venerate the Epitaphios.

Roman Catholic[edit]

Day of Fasting[edit]

The Catholic Church regards Good Friday and Holy Saturday as the Paschal fast, in accordance with Article 110 of Sacrosanctum Concilium.^[56] In the Latin Church, a fast day is understood as having only one full meal and two collations (a smaller repast, the two of which together do not equal the one full meal)^[57][58] – although this may be observed less stringently on Holy Saturday than on Good Friday.^[56]

Services on the day[edit]

The Roman Rite has no celebration of Mass between the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday evening and the Easter Vigil unless a special exemption is granted for rare solemn or grave occasions by the Vatican or the local bishop. The only sacraments celebrated during this time are Baptism (for those in danger of death), Penance, and Anointing of the Sick.^[59] While there is no celebration of the Eucharist, it is distributed to the faithful only in the Celebration of the Lord’s Passion, but can also be taken at any hour to the sick who are unable to attend this celebration.^[60]

The Celebration of the Passion of the Lord takes place in the afternoon, ideally at three o’clock; however, for pastoral reasons (especially in countries where Good Friday is not a public holiday), it is permissible to celebrate the liturgy earlier,^[61] even shortly after midday, or at a later hour.^[62] The celebration consists of three parts: the liturgy of the word, the adoration of the cross, and the Holy communion.^[63] he altar is bare, without cross, candlesticks and altar cloths.^[64] It is also customary to empty the holy water fonts in preparation of the blessing of the water at the Easter Vigil.^[65] Traditionally, no bells are rung on Good Friday or Holy Saturday until the Easter Vigil.^[66]

The liturgical colour of the vestments used is red.^[67] Before 1970, vestments were black except for the Communion part of the rite when violet was used.^[68] If a bishop or abbot celebrates, he wears a plain mitre (mitra simplex).^[69] Before the reforms of the Holy Week liturgies in 1955, black was used throughout.

The Vespers of Good Friday are only prayed by those who could not attend the Celebration of the Passion of the Lord.^[70]

Three Hours’ Agony[edit]

The Three Hours’ Devotion based on the Seven Last Words from the Cross begins at noon and ends at 3 pm, the time that the Christian tradition teaches that Jesus died on the cross.^[71]

Liturgy[edit]

The Good Friday liturgy consists of three parts: the Liturgy of the Word, the Veneration of the Cross, and the Holy Communion.

• The Liturgy of the Word consists of the clergy and assisting ministers entering in complete silence, without any singing. They then silently make a full prostration. This signifies the abasement (the fall) of (earthly) humans.^[72] It also symbolizes the grief and sorrow of the Church.^[73] Then follows the Collect prayer, and the reading or chanting of Isaiah 52:13–53:12, Hebrews 4:14–16, Hebrews 5:7–9, and the Passion account from the Gospel of John, traditionally divided between three deacons,^[74] yet usually read by the celebrant and two other readers. In the older form of the Mass known as the Tridentine Mass the readings for Good Friday are taken from Exodus 12:1-11 and the Gospel according to St. John (John 18:1-40); (John 19:1-42).
• The Great Intercessions also known as orationes sollemnes immediately follows the Liturgy of the Word and consists of a series of prayers for the Church, the Pope, the clergy and laity of the Church, those preparing for baptism, the unity of Christians, the Jews, those who do not believe in Christ, those who do not believe in God, those in public office, and those in special need.^[75] After each prayer intention, the deacon calls the faithful to kneel for a short period of private prayer; the celebrant then sums up the prayer intention with a Collect-style prayer. As part of the pre-1955 Holy Week Liturgy, the kneeling was omitted only for the prayer for the Jews.^[76]
• The Adoration of the Cross has a crucifix, not necessarily the one that is normally on or near the altar at other times of the year, solemnly unveiled and displayed to the congregation, and then venerated by them, individually if possible and usually by kissing the wood of the cross, while hymns and the Improperia («Reproaches») with the Trisagion hymn are chanted.^[77]
• Holy Communion is bestowed according to a rite based on that of the final part of Mass, beginning with the Lord’s Prayer, but omitting the ceremony of «Breaking of the Bread» and its related acclamation, the Agnus Dei. The Eucharist, consecrated at the Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday, is distributed at this service.^[78] Before the Holy Week reforms of Pope Pius XII in 1955, only the priest received Communion in the framework of what was called the Mass of the Presanctified, which included the usual Offertory prayers, with the placing of wine in the chalice, but which omitted the Canon of the Mass.^[76] The priest and people then depart in silence, and the altar cloth is removed, leaving the altar bare except for the crucifix and two or four candlesticks.^[79]

Stations of the Cross[edit]

In addition to the prescribed liturgical service, the Stations of the Cross are often prayed either in the church or outside, and a prayer service may be held from midday to 3.00 pm, known as the Three Hours’ Agony. In countries such as Malta, Italy, Philippines, Puerto Rico and Spain, processions with statues representing the Passion of Christ are held.^{[citation needed]}

In Rome, since the papacy of John Paul II, the heights of the Temple of Venus and Roma and their position opposite the main entrance to the Colosseum have been used to good effect as a public address platform. This may be seen in the photograph below where a red canopy has been erected to shelter the Pope as well as an illuminated cross, on the occasion of the Way of the Cross ceremony. The Pope, either personally or through a representative, leads the faithful through meditations on the stations of the cross while a cross is carried from there to the Colosseum.^[80]

In Polish churches, a tableau of Christ’s Tomb is unveiled in the sanctuary. Many of the faithful spend long hours into the night grieving at the Tomb, where it is customary to kiss the wounds on the Lord’s body. A life-size figure of Jesus lying in his tomb is widely visited by the faithful, especially on Holy Saturday. The tableaux may include flowers, candles, figures of angels standing watch, and the three crosses atop Mt Calvary, and much more. Each parish strives to come up with the most artistically and religiously evocative arrangement in which the Blessed Sacrament, draped in a filmy veil, is prominently displayed.^{[citation needed]}

Acts of Reparation to Jesus Christ[edit]

The Roman Catholic tradition includes specific prayers and devotions as acts of reparation for the sufferings and insults that Jesus suffered during his Passion on Good Friday. These Acts of Reparation to Jesus Christ do not involve a petition for a beneficiary, but aim to «repair the sins» against Jesus. Some such prayers are provided in the Raccolta Catholic prayer book (approved by a Decree of 1854, and published by the Holy See in 1898) which also includes prayers as Acts of Reparation to the Virgin Mary.^{[81][82][83][84]} In his encyclical Miserentissimus Redemptor on reparations, Pope Pius XI called Acts of Reparation to Jesus Christ a duty for Catholics and referred to them as «some sort of compensation to be rendered for the injury» with respect to the sufferings of Jesus.^[85] Pope John Paul II referred to Acts of Reparation as the «unceasing effort to stand beside the endless crosses on which the Son of God continues to be crucified».^[86]

Novena to the Divine Mercy[edit]

The Novena to the Divine Mercy begins on that day and lasts until the Saturday before the Feast of Mercy. Both holidays are strictly connected, as the mercy of God flows from the Heart of Jesus that was pierced on the Cross.^[87][88]

Protestant[edit]

Anglican Communion[edit]

The 1662 Book of Common Prayer did not specify a particular rite to be observed on Good Friday but local custom came to mandate an assortment of services, including the Seven Last Words from the Cross and a three-hour service consisting of Matins, Ante-communion (using the Reserved Sacrament in high church parishes) and Evensong. In recent times,^[when?] revised editions of the Prayer Book and Common Worship have re-introduced pre-Reformation forms of observance of Good Friday corresponding to those in today’s Roman Catholic Church, with special nods to the rites that had been observed in the Church of England prior to the Henrican, Edwardian and Elizabethan reforms, including Creeping to the Cross.^{[citation needed]}

Lutheran Church[edit]

In Lutheran tradition from the 16th to the 20th century, Good Friday was the most important religious holiday, and abstention from all worldly works was expected. During that time, Lutheranism had no restrictions on the celebration of the Eucharist on Good Friday; on the contrary, it was a prime day on which to receive the Eucharist, and services were often accentuated by special music such as the St Matthew Passion by Johann Sebastian Bach.^[89]

More recently, Lutheran liturgical practice has recaptured Good Friday as part of the larger sweep of the great Three Days: Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and the Vigil of Easter. The Three Days remain one liturgy which celebrates the death and resurrection of Jesus. As part of the liturgy of the Three Days, Lutherans generally fast from the Eucharist on Good Friday. Rather, it is celebrated in remembrance of the Last Supper on Maundy Thursday and at the Vigil of Easter. One practice among Lutheran churches is to celebrate a tenebrae service on Good Friday, typically conducted in candlelight and consisting of a collection of passion accounts from the four gospels. While being called «Tenebrae» it holds little resemblance to the now-suppressed Catholic monastic rite of the same name.^[90] The Good Friday liturgy appointed in Evangelical Lutheran Worship, the worship book of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, specifies a liturgy similar to the revised Roman Catholic liturgy. A rite for adoration of the crucified Christ includes the optional singing of the Solemn Reproaches in an updated and revised translation which eliminates some of the anti-Jewish overtones in previous versions. Many Lutheran churches have Good Friday services, such as the Three Hours’ Agony centered on the remembrance of the «Seven Last Words,» sayings of Jesus assembled from the four gospels, while others hold a liturgy that places an emphasis on the triumph of the cross, and a singular biblical account of the Passion narrative from the Gospel of John.^{[citation needed]}

Along with observing a general Lenten fast,^[89] many Lutherans emphasize the importance of Good Friday as a day of fasting within the calendar.^[6][7] A Handbook for the Discipline of Lent recommends the Lutheran guideline to «Fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday with only one simple meal during the day, usually without meat».^[91]

Methodist Church[edit]

Many Methodist denominations commemorate Good Friday with fasting,^[92] as well as a service of worship based on the Seven Last Words from the Cross; this liturgy is known as the Three Hours Devotion as it starts at noon and concludes at 3 pm, the latter being the time that Jesus died on the cross.^[93][94]

Moravian Church[edit]

Moravians hold a Lovefeast on Good Friday as they receive Holy Communion on Maundy Thursday.

Communicants of the Moravian Church practice the Good Friday tradition of cleaning gravestones in Moravian cemeteries.^[9]

Reformed Churches[edit]

In the Reformed tradition, Good Friday is one of the evangelical feasts and is thus widely observed with church services, which feature the Solemn Reproaches in the pattern of Psalm 78, towards the end of the liturgy.^[95]

Other Christian traditions[edit]

It is not uncommon for some communities to hold interdenominational services on Good Friday.

Associated customs[edit]

In many countries and territories with a strong Christian tradition such as Australia, Bermuda, Brazil, Canada, the countries of the Caribbean, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Ecuador, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Malta, Mexico, New Zealand,^[96][97][98] Peru, the Philippines, Portugal, the Scandinavian countries, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and Venezuela, the day is observed as a public or federal holiday. In the United States, 12 states observe Good Friday as state holiday: Connecticut, Texas, Delaware, Hawaii, Indiana, Tennessee, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, New Jersey, North Carolina and North Dakota. One associated custom is strict adherence to the Black Fast to 3pm or 6pm,^[99] where only water can be consumed or restricted handout of bread, herbs and salt. St. Ambrose, St. Chrysostom and St. Basil attest to the practice. The processions of the day, hymns «Crux fidelis» by King John of Portugal, and Eberlin’s «Tenebrae factae sunt», followed by «Vexilla Regis» is sung, translated from Latin as the standards of the King advance, and then follows a ceremony that is not a real Mass, it is called the «Mass of the Pre-Sanctified.». This custom is respected also by forgoing the Mass, this is to take heed to the solemnity of the Sacrifice of Calvary. This is where the host of the prior day is placed at the altar, incensed, elevated so «that it may be seen by the people» and consumed. Germany and some other countries have laws prohibiting certain acts, such as dancing and horse racing, that are seen as profaning the solemn nature of the day.^[11][12]

Australia[edit]

Good Friday is a holiday under state and territory laws in all states and territories in Australia.^[100] Generally speaking, shops in all Australian states (but not in the two territories of the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory) are required to remain closed for the duration of Good Friday, although there are certain shops which are permitted to open and other shops can apply for exemptions. All schools and universities close on Good Friday in Australia, and Good Friday falls within the school holidays in most years in all states and territories except the Northern Territory, although many states now commence their school holidays in early April regardless of Easter. In 2018, for example, when Good Friday fell on 30 March, only Queensland and Victoria had school holidays which coincided with Good Friday.^[101] The vast majority of businesses are closed on Good Friday, although many recreational businesses, such as the Sydney Royal Easter Show, open on Good Friday as among non-religious families Good Friday is a popular day to indulge in such activities.

Canada[edit]

In Canada, Good Friday is a federal statutory holiday. In the province of Quebec «employers can choose to give the day off either on Good Friday or Easter Monday.»^[102]

Cuba[edit]

In an online article posted on Catholic News Agency by Alejandro Bermúdez on 31 March 2012, Cuban President Raúl Castro, with the Communist Party and his advisers, decreed that Good Friday that year would be a holiday. This was Castro’s response to a request made personally to him by Pope Benedict XVI during the latter’s Apostolic Visitation to the island and León, Mexico that month. The move followed the pattern of small advances in Cuba’s relations with the Vatican, mirroring Pope John Paul II’s success in getting Fidel Castro to declare Christmas Day a holiday.^[103] Both Good Friday and Christmas are now annual holidays in Cuba.

Hong Kong[edit]

In Hong Kong, Good Friday was designated a public holiday in the Holidays Ordinance, 1875.^[104] Good Friday continues to be a holiday after the transfer of sovereignty from the UK to China in 1997.^[105] Government offices, banks, post offices and most offices are closed on Good Friday.

Ireland[edit]

In the Republic of Ireland, Good Friday is not an official public holiday, but most non-retail businesses close for the day. Up until 2018 it was illegal to sell alcoholic beverages on Good Friday, with some exceptions, so pubs and off-licences generally closed.^[106] Critics of the ban included the catering and tourism sector, but surveys showed that the general public were divided on the issue.^[107][108] In Northern Ireland, a similar ban operates until 5 pm on Good Friday.^[109]

Malaysia[edit]

Although Malaysia is a Muslim majority country, Good Friday is declared as a public holiday in the states of Sabah and Sarawak in East Malaysia as there is a significant Christian indigenous population in both states.^[110]

Malta[edit]

The Holy Week commemorations reach their peak on Good Friday as the Roman Catholic Church celebrates the passion of Jesus. Solemn celebrations take place in all churches together with processions in different villages around Malta and Gozo. During the celebration, the narrative of the passion is read in some localities, while the Adoration of the Cross follows. Good Friday processions take place in Birgu, Bormla, Għaxaq, Luqa, Mosta, Naxxar, Paola, Qormi, Rabat, Senglea, Valletta, Żebbuġ (Città Rohan) and Żejtun. Processions in Gozo will be in Nadur, Victoria (St. George and Cathedral), Xagħra and Żebbuġ, Gozo.^{[citation needed]}

New Zealand[edit]

In New Zealand, Good Friday is a legal holiday^[111] and is a day of mandatory school closure for all New Zealand state and integrated schools.^[112] Good Friday is also a restricted trading day in New Zealand, which means that unexempted shops are not permitted to open on this day.^[113]

Philippines[edit]

In the predominantly Roman Catholic Philippines, the day is commemorated with street processions, the Way of the Cross, the chanting of the Pasyón, and performances of the Senákulo or Passion play. Some devotees engage in self-flagellation and even have themselves crucified as expressions of penance despite health risks and strong disapproval from the Church.^[114]

Church bells are not rung and Masses are not celebrated, while television features movies, documentaries and other shows focused on the religious event and other topics related to the Catholic faith, broadcasting mostly religious content. Malls and shops are generally closed, as are restaurants as it is the second of three public holidays within the week.^{[citation needed]}

After three o’clock in the afternoon (the time at which Jesus is traditionally believed to have died), the faithful venerate the cross in the local church and follow the procession of the Burial of Jesus.

.^{[115][citation needed]}

In Cebu and many parts of the Visayan Islands, people usually eat binignit and biko as a form of fasting.^[116][117]

Singapore[edit]

Good Friday is a public holiday in Singapore.^[118][119]

Spain[edit]

United Kingdom[edit]

In the UK, Good Friday was historically a common law holiday and is recognised as an official public holiday^[121] (also known as a Bank Holiday). All state schools are closed and most businesses treat it as a holiday for staff; however, many retail stores now remain open. Government services in Northern Ireland operate as normal on Good Friday, substituting Easter Tuesday for the holiday.

There has traditionally been no horse racing on Good Friday in the UK. However, in 2008, betting shops and stores opened for the first time on this day^[122] and in 2014 Lingfield Park and Musselburgh staged the UK’s first Good Friday race meetings.^[123][124] The BBC has for many years introduced its 7 am News broadcast on Radio 4 on Good Friday with a verse from Isaac Watts’ hymn «When I Survey the Wondrous Cross».

The tradition of Easter plays include 1960 Eastertime performance of Good Friday: A Play in Verse (1916) Artists Ursula O’Leary (Procula), and William Devlin as Pontius Pilate, perform with the atmospheric sound effects of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. The Hugh Stewart production for the Home Service used soundware such as the EMS Synthi 100 and ARP Odyssey l.^[125]

United States[edit]

In the United States, Good Friday is not a government holiday at the federal level; however, individual states, counties and municipalities may observe the holiday. Good Friday is a state holiday in Connecticut,^[126] Delaware,^[127] Florida,^[128] Hawaii,^[129] Indiana,^[130] Kentucky (half-day),^[131] Louisiana,^[132] New Jersey,^[133] North Carolina,^[134] North Dakota,^[135] Tennessee^[136] and Texas.^[137][138] State and local government offices and courts are closed, as well as some banks and post offices in these states, and in those counties and municipalities where Good Friday is observed as a holiday. Good Friday is also a holiday in the U.S. territories of Guam,^[139] U.S. Virgin Islands^[140] and Puerto Rico.^[141]

The stock markets are closed on Good Friday,^[142][143] but the foreign exchange and bond trading markets open for a partial business day.^[144][145] Most retail stores remain open, while some of them may close early. Public schools and universities are often closed on Good Friday, either as a holiday of its own, or as part of spring break. The postal service operates, and banks regulated by the federal government do not close for Good Friday.^[146]

In some governmental contexts Good Friday has been referred to by a generic name such as «spring holiday».^{[147][148][149]} In 1999, in the case of Bridenbaugh v. O’Bannon, an Indiana state employee sued the governor for giving state employees Good Friday as a day off. The US Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against the plaintiff, stating that the government could give state employees a paid day off when that day is a religious holiday, including Good Friday, but only so long as the state can provide a valid secular purpose that coincides with the obvious religious purpose of the holiday.^[150]

Calculating the date[edit]

Dates for Good Friday, 2020–2035

Good Friday is the Friday before Easter, which is calculated differently in Eastern Christianity and Western Christianity (see Computus for details). Easter falls on the first Sunday following the Paschal Full Moon, the full moon on or after 21 March, taken to be the date of the vernal equinox. The Western calculation uses the Gregorian calendar, while the Eastern calculation uses the Julian calendar, whose 21 March now corresponds to the Gregorian calendar’s 3 April. The calculations for identifying the date of the full moon also differ.^{[citation needed]}

In Eastern Christianity, Easter can fall between 22 March and 25 April on Julian Calendar (thus between 4 April and 8 May in terms of the Gregorian calendar, during the period 1900 and 2099), so Good Friday can fall between 20 March and 23 April, inclusive (or between 2 April and 6 May in terms of the Gregorian calendar).^{[citation needed]}

Cultural references[edit]

Good Friday assumes a particular importance in the plot of Richard Wagner’s music drama Parsifal, which contains an orchestral interlude known as the «Good Friday Music».^[151]

Memoration on Wednesday of the Holy Week[edit]

Some Baptist congregations,^[152] the Philadelphia Church of God,^[153] and some non-denominational churches oppose the observance of Good Friday, regarding it as a so-called «papist» tradition, and instead observe the Crucifixion of Jesus on Wednesday to coincide with the Jewish sacrifice of the Passover Lamb (which some/many Christians believe is an Old Testament pointer to Jesus Christ). A Wednesday Crucifixion of Jesus allows for him to be in the tomb («heart of the earth») for three days and three nights as he told the Pharisees he would be (Matthew 12:40), rather than two nights and a day (by inclusive counting, as was the norm at that time) if he had died on a Friday.^[154][155]

Further support for a Wednesday crucifixion based on Matthew 12:40 includes the Jewish belief that death was not considered official until the beginning of the fourth day, which is disallowed with the traditional Friday afternoon to Sunday morning period of time. As «the Jews require a sign» (1 Corinthians 1:22), the resurrection of Christ is thus invalidated with the shorter interval, since it can thus be claimed that Christ could have only ‘swooned,’ rather than actually died.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

Further reading[edit]

• Bellarmine, Robert (1902). «Good Friday: The Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ.» . Sermons from the Latins. Benziger Brothers.
• Gilmartin, Thomas Patrick (1909). «Good Friday» . In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 6. New York: Robert Appleton Company.

External links[edit]

• The Eastern Orthodox commemoration of Holy Friday
• Great Friday instructions from S. V. Bulgakov’s Handbook for Church Servers (Russian Orthodox Church)
• Episcopal Good Friday Service
• Who, What, Why: Why is Good Friday called Good Friday?
• Good Friday
• «Mayor wants ‘draconian’ Good Friday booze ban lifted before 1916 centenary». Independent.ie. Retrieved 25 March 2016.

Good Friday
A Stabat Mater depiction, 1868
Type	Christian
Significance	Commemoration of the crucifixion and the death of Jesus Christ
Celebrations	Celebration of the Passion of the Lord
Observances	Worship services, prayer and vigil services, fasting, almsgiving
Date	The Friday immediately preceding Easter Sunday
2022 date	April 15 (Western) April 22 (Eastern)
2023 date	April 7[1] (Western) April 14 (Eastern)
2024 date	March 29 (Western) May 3 (Eastern)
2025 date	April 18 (Western) April 18 (Eastern)
Frequency	Annual
Related to	Passover, Christmas (which celebrates the birth of Jesus), Septuagesima, Quinquagesima, Shrove Tuesday, Ash Wednesday, Lent, Palm Sunday, Holy Wednesday, Maundy Thursday, and Holy Saturday which lead up to Easter, Easter Sunday (primarily), Divine Mercy Sunday, Ascension, Pentecost, Whit Monday, Trinity Sunday, Corpus Christi and Feast of the Sacred Heart which follow it. It is related to the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, which focuses on the benefits, graces, and merits of the Cross, rather than Jesus’s death.

Good Friday is a Christian holiday commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary. It is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum. It is also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, Great and Holy Friday (also Holy and Great Friday), and Black Friday.^[2][3][4]

Members of many Christian denominations, including the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Lutheran, Anglican, Methodist, Oriental Orthodox, United Protestant and some Reformed traditions (including certain Continental Reformed, Presbyterian and Congregationalist churches), observe Good Friday with fasting and church services.^[5][6][7] In many Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican and Methodist churches, the Service of the Great Three Hours’ Agony is held from noon until 3 pm, the time duration that the Bible records as darkness covering the land to Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross.^[8] Communicants of the Moravian Church have a Good Friday tradition of cleaning gravestones in Moravian cemeteries.^[9]

The date of Good Friday varies from one year to the next in both the Gregorian and Julian calendars. Eastern and Western Christianity disagree over the computation of the date of Easter and therefore of Good Friday. Good Friday is a widely instituted legal holiday around the world, including in most Western countries and 12 U.S. states.^[10] Some predominantly Christian countries, such as Germany, have laws prohibiting certain acts such as dancing and horse racing, in remembrance of the somber nature of Good Friday.^[11][12]

Etymology[edit]

‘Good Friday’ comes from the sense ‘pious, holy’ of the word «good».^[13] Less common examples of expressions based on this obsolete sense of «good» include «the good book» for the Bible, «good tide» for «Christmas» or Shrovetide, and Good Wednesday for the Wednesday in Holy Week.^[14] A common folk etymology incorrectly analyzes «Good Friday» as a corruption of «God Friday» similar to the linguistically correct description of «goodbye» as a contraction of «God be with you». In Old English, the day was called «Long Friday» (langa frigedæg [ˈlɑŋɡɑ ˈfriːjedæj]), and equivalents of this term are still used in Scandinavian languages and Finnish.^[15]

Other languages[edit]

In Latin, the name used by the Catholic Church until 1955 was Feria sexta in Parasceve («Friday of Preparation [for the Sabbath]»). In the 1955 reform of Holy Week, it was renamed Feria sexta in Passione et Morte Domini («Friday of the Passion and Death of the Lord»), and in the new rite introduced in 1970, shortened to Feria sexta in Passione Domini («Friday of the Passion of the Lord»).

In Dutch, Good Friday is known as Goede Vrijdag, in Frisian as Goedfreed. In German-speaking countries, it is generally referred to as Karfreitag («Mourning Friday», with Kar from Old High German kara‚ «bewail», «grieve»‚ «mourn», which is related to the English word «care» in the sense of cares and woes), but it is sometimes also called Stiller Freitag («Silent Friday») and Hoher Freitag («High Friday, Holy Friday»). In the Scandinavian languages and Finnish («pitkäperjantai»), it is called the equivalent of «Long Friday» as it was in Old English («Langa frigedæg»).

In Irish it is known as Aoine an Chéasta, «Friday of Crucifixion», from céas, «suffer;»^[16] similarly, it is DihAoine na Ceusta in Scottish Gaelic.^[17] In Welsh it is called Dydd Gwener y Groglith, «Friday of the Cross-Reading», referring to Y Groglith, a medieval Welsh text on the Crucifixion of Jesus that was traditionally read on Good Friday.^[18]

In Greek, Polish, Hungarian, Romanian, Breton and Armenian it is generally referred to as the equivalent of «Great Friday» (Μεγάλη Παρασκευή, Wielki Piątek, Nagypéntek, Vinerea Mare, Gwener ar Groaz, Ավագ Ուրբաթ). In Serbian, it is referred either Велики петак («Great Friday»), or, more commonly, Страсни петак («Loved Friday»). In Bulgarian, it is called either Велики петък («Great Friday»), or, more commonly, Разпети петък («Crucified Friday»). In French, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese it is referred to as Vendredi saint, Venerdì santo, Viernes Santo and Sexta-Feira Santa («Holy Friday»), respectively. In Arabic, it is known as «الجمعة العظيمة» («Great Friday»). In Malayalam, it is called ദുഃഖ വെള്ളി («Sad Friday»).

Biblical accounts[edit]

According to the accounts in the Gospels, the royal soldiers, guided by Jesus’ disciple Judas Iscariot, arrested Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. Judas received money (30 pieces of silver) ^[19] for betraying Jesus and told the guards that whomever he kisses is the one they are to arrest. Following his arrest, Jesus was taken to the house of Annas, the father-in-law of the high priest, Caiaphas. There he was interrogated with little result and sent bound to Caiaphas the high priest where the Sanhedrin had assembled.^[20]

Conflicting testimony against Jesus was brought forth by many witnesses, to which Jesus answered nothing. Finally the high priest adjured Jesus to respond under solemn oath, saying «I adjure you, by the Living God, to tell us, are you the Anointed One, the Son of God?» Jesus testified ambiguously, «You have said it, and in time you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Almighty, coming on the clouds of Heaven.» The high priest condemned Jesus for blasphemy, and the Sanhedrin concurred with a sentence of death.^[21] Peter, waiting in the courtyard, also denied Jesus three times to bystanders while the interrogations were proceeding just as Jesus had foretold.

In the morning, the whole assembly brought Jesus to the Roman governor Pontius Pilate under charges of subverting the nation, opposing taxes to Caesar, and making himself a king.^[22] Pilate authorized the Jewish leaders to judge Jesus according to their own law and execute sentencing; however, the Jewish leaders replied that they were not allowed by the Romans to carry out a sentence of death.^[23]

Pilate questioned Jesus and told the assembly that there was no basis for sentencing. Upon learning that Jesus was from Galilee, Pilate referred the case to the ruler of Galilee, King Herod, who was in Jerusalem for the Passover Feast. Herod questioned Jesus but received no answer; Herod sent Jesus back to Pilate. Pilate told the assembly that neither he nor Herod found Jesus to be guilty; Pilate resolved to have Jesus whipped and released.^[24] Under the guidance of the chief priests, the crowd asked for Barabbas, who had been imprisoned for committing murder during an insurrection. Pilate asked what they would have him do with Jesus, and they demanded, «Crucify him»^[25] Pilate’s wife had seen Jesus in a dream earlier that day, and she forewarned Pilate to «have nothing to do with this righteous man».^[26] Pilate had Jesus flogged and then brought him out to the crowd to release him. The chief priests informed Pilate of a new charge, demanding Jesus be sentenced to death «because he claimed to be God’s son.» This possibility filled Pilate with fear, and he brought Jesus back inside the palace and demanded to know from where he came.^[27]

Coming before the crowd one last time, Pilate declared Jesus innocent and washed his own hands in water to show he had no part in this condemnation. Nevertheless, Pilate handed Jesus over to be crucified in order to forestall a riot.^[28] The sentence written was «Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews.» Jesus carried his cross to the site of execution (assisted by Simon of Cyrene), called the «place of the Skull», or «Golgotha» in Hebrew and in Latin «Calvary». There he was crucified along with two criminals.^[29]

Jesus agonized on the cross for six hours. During his last three hours on the cross, from noon to 3 pm, darkness fell over the whole land.^[30] Jesus spoke from the cross, quoting the messianic Psalm 22: «My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?»

With a loud cry, Jesus gave up his spirit. There was an earthquake, tombs broke open, and the curtain in the Temple was torn from top to bottom. The centurion on guard at the site of crucifixion declared, «Truly this was God’s Son!»^[31]

Joseph of Arimathea, a member of the Sanhedrin and a secret follower of Jesus, who had not consented to his condemnation, went to Pilate to request the body of Jesus^[32] Another secret follower of Jesus and member of the Sanhedrin named Nicodemus brought about a hundred-pound weight mixture of spices and helped wrap the body of Jesus.^[33] Pilate asked confirmation from the centurion of whether Jesus was dead.^[34] A soldier pierced the side of Jesus with a lance causing blood and water to flow out^[35] and the centurion informed Pilate that Jesus was dead.^[36]

Joseph of Arimathea took Jesus’ body, wrapped it in a clean linen shroud, and placed it in his own new tomb that had been carved in the rock^[37] in a garden near the site of the crucifixion. Nicodemus^[38] also brought 75 pounds of myrrh and aloes, and placed them in the linen with the body, in keeping with Jewish burial customs^[33] They rolled a large rock over the entrance of the tomb.^[39] Then they returned home and rested, because Shabbat had begun at sunset.^[40] Matt. 28:1 «After the Shabbat, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb». i.e. «After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week,…». «He is not here; he has risen, just as he said….». (Matt. 28:6)

Orthodox[edit]

Byzantine Christians (Eastern Christians who follow the Rite of Constantinople: Orthodox Christians and Greek-Catholics) call this day «Great and Holy Friday», or simply «Great Friday».^[41] Because the sacrifice of Jesus through his crucifixion is recalled on this day, the Divine Liturgy (the sacrifice of bread and wine) is never celebrated on Great Friday, except when this day coincides with the Great Feast of the Annunciation, which falls on the fixed date of 25 March (for those churches which follow the traditional Julian Calendar, 25 March currently falls on 7 April of the modern Gregorian Calendar). Also on Great Friday, the clergy no longer wear the purple or red that is customary throughout Great Lent,^[42] but instead don black vestments. There is no «stripping of the altar» on Holy and Great Thursday as in the West; instead, all of the church hangings are changed to black, and will remain so until the Divine Liturgy on Great Saturday.

The faithful revisit the events of the day through the public reading of specific Psalms and the Gospels, and singing hymns about Christ’s death. Rich visual imagery and symbolism, as well as stirring hymnody, are remarkable elements of these observances. In the Orthodox understanding, the events of Holy Week are not simply an annual commemoration of past events, but the faithful actually participate in the death and the resurrection of Jesus.

Each hour of this day is the new suffering and the new effort of the expiatory suffering of the Savior. And the echo of this suffering is already heard in every word of our worship service – unique and incomparable both in the power of tenderness and feeling and in the depth of the boundless compassion for the suffering of the Savior. The Holy Church opens before the eyes of believers a full picture of the redeeming suffering of the Lord beginning with the bloody sweat in the Garden of Gethsemane up to the crucifixion on Golgotha. Taking us back through the past centuries in thought, the Holy Church brings us to the foot of the cross of Christ erected on Golgotha and makes us present among the quivering spectators of all the torture of the Savior.^[43]

Great and Holy Friday is observed as a strict fast, also called the Black Fast, and adult Byzantine Christians are expected to abstain from all food and drink the entire day to the extent that their health permits. «On this Holy day neither a meal is offered nor do we eat on this day of the crucifixion. If someone is unable or has become very old [or is] unable to fast, he may be given bread and water after sunset. In this way we come to the holy commandment of the Holy Apostles not to eat on Great Friday.»^[43]

Matins of Holy and Great Friday[edit]

The Byzantine Christian observance of Holy and Great Friday, which is formally known as The Order of Holy and Saving Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ, begins on Thursday night with the Matins of the Twelve Passion Gospels. Scattered throughout this Matins service are twelve readings from all four of the Gospels which recount the events of the Passion from the Last Supper through the Crucifixion and burial of Jesus. Some churches have a candelabrum with twelve candles on it, and after each Gospel reading one of the candles is extinguished.^[44]

The first of these twelve readings^[45] is the longest Gospel reading of the liturgical year, and is a concatenation from all four Gospels. Just before the sixth Gospel reading, which recounts Jesus being nailed to the cross, a large cross is carried out of the sanctuary by the priest, accompanied by incense and candles, and is placed in the center of the nave (where the congregation gathers) Sēmeron Kremātai Epí Xýlou:

Today He who hung the earth upon the waters is hung upon the Cross (three times).
He who is King of the angels is arrayed in a crown of thorns.
He who wraps the Heavens in clouds is wrapped in the purple of mockery.
He who in Jordan set Adam free receives blows upon His face.
The Bridegroom of the Church is transfixed with nails.
The Son of the Virgin is pierced with a spear.
We venerate Thy Passion, O Christ (three times).
Show us also Thy glorious Resurrection.^[46][47]

The readings are:

1. John 13:31-18:1 – Christ’s last sermon, Jesus prays for the apostles.
2. John 18:1–28 – The agony in the garden, the mockery and denial of Christ.
3. Matthew 26:57–75 – The mockery of Christ, Peter denies Christ.
4. John 18:28–19:16 – Pilate questions Jesus; Jesus is condemned; Jesus is mocked by the Romans.
5. Matthew 27:3–32 – Judas commits suicide; Jesus is condemned; Jesus mocked by the Romans; Simon of Cyrene compelled to carry the cross.
6. Mark 15:16–32 – Jesus dies.
7. Matthew 27:33–54 – Jesus dies.
8. Luke 23:32–49 – Jesus dies.
9. John 19:25–37 – Jesus dies.
10. Mark 15:43–47 – Joseph of Arimathea buries Christ.
11. John 19:38–42 – Joseph of Arimathea buries Christ.
12. Matthew 27:62–66 – The Jews set a guard.

During the service, all come forward to kiss the feet of Christ on the cross. After the Canon, a brief, moving hymn, The Wise Thief is chanted by singers who stand at the foot of the cross in the center of the nave. The service does not end with the First Hour, as usual, but with a special dismissal by the priest:

May Christ our true God, Who for the salvation of the world endured spitting, and scourging, and buffeting, and the Cross, and death, through the intercessions of His most pure Mother, of our holy and God-bearing fathers, and of all the saints, have mercy on us and save us, for He is good and the Lover of mankind.

Royal Hours[edit]

The next day, in the forenoon on Friday, all gather again to pray the Royal Hours,^[48] a special expanded celebration of the Little Hours (including the First Hour, Third Hour, Sixth Hour, Ninth Hour and Typica) with the addition of scripture readings (Old Testament, Epistle and Gospel) and hymns about the Crucifixion at each of the Hours (some of the material from the previous night is repeated). This is somewhat more festive in character, and derives its name of «Royal» from both the fact that the Hours are served with more solemnity than normal, commemorating Christ the King who humbled himself for the salvation of mankind, and also from the fact that this service was in the past attended by the Emperor and his court.^[49]

Vespers of Holy and Great Friday[edit]

In the afternoon, around 3 pm, all gather for the Vespers of the Taking-Down from the Cross,^[50] commemorating the Deposition from the Cross. Following Psalm 103 (104) and the Great Litany, ‘Lord, I call’ is sung without a Psalter reading. The first five stichera (the first being repeated) are taken from the Aposticha at Matins the night before, but the final 3 of the 5 are sung in Tone 2. Three more stichera in Tone 6 lead to the Entrance. The Evening Prokimenon is taken from Psalm 21 (22): ‘They parted My garments among them, and cast lots upon My vesture.’

There are then four readings, with Prokimena before the second and fourth:

• Exodus 33:11-23 — God shows Moses His glory
• The second Prokimenon is from Psalm 34 (35): ‘Judge them, O Lord, that wrong Me: fight against them that fight against Me.’
• Job 42:12-20 — God restores Job’s wealth (note that verses 18-20 are found only in the Septuagint)
• Isaiah 52:13-54:1 — The fourth Suffering Servant song
• The third Prokimenon is from Psalm 87 (88): ‘They laid Me in the lowest pit: in dark places and in the shadow of death.’
• 1 Corinthians 1:18-2:2 — St. Paul places Christ crucified as the centre of the Christian life

An Alleluia is then sung, with verses from Psalm 68 (69): ‘Save Me, O God: for the waters are come in, even unto My soul.’

The Gospel reading is a composite taken from three of the four the Gospels (Matthew 27:1-38; Luke 23:39-43; Matthew 27:39-54; John 19:31-37; Matthew 27:55-61), essentially the story of the Crucifixion as it appears according to St. Matthew, interspersed with St. Luke’s account of the confession of the Good Thief and St. John’s account of blood and water flowing from Jesus’ side. During the Gospel, the body of Christ (the soma) is removed from the cross, and, as the words in the Gospel reading mention Joseph of Arimathea, is wrapped in a linen shroud, and taken to the altar in the sanctuary.

The Aposticha reflects on the burial of Christ. Either at this point (in the Greek use) or during the troparion following (in the Slav use):

Noble Joseph, taking down Thy most pure body from the Tree, wrapped it in pure linen and spices, and he laid it in a new tomb.^[51]

an epitaphios or «winding sheet» (a cloth embroidered with the image of Christ prepared for burial) is carried in procession to a low table in the nave which represents the Tomb of Christ; it is often decorated with an abundance of flowers. The epitaphios itself represents the body of Jesus wrapped in a burial shroud, and is a roughly full-size cloth icon of the body of Christ. The service ends with a hope of the Resurrection:

The Angel stood by the tomb, and to the women bearing spices he cried aloud: ‘Myrrh is fitting for the dead, but Christ has shown Himself a stranger to corruption.^[51]

Then the priest may deliver a homily and everyone comes forward to venerate the epitaphios. In the Slavic practice, at the end of Vespers, Compline is immediately served, featuring a special Canon of the Crucifixion of our Lord and the Lamentation of the Most Holy Theotokos by Symeon the Logothete.^[52]

Matins of Holy and Great Saturday[edit]

On Friday night, the Matins of Holy and Great Saturday, a unique service known as The Lamentation at the Tomb^[53] (Epitáphios Thrēnos) is celebrated. This service is also sometimes called Jerusalem Matins. Much of the service takes place around the tomb of Christ in the center of the nave.^[54]

A unique feature of the service is the chanting of the Lamentations or Praises (Enkōmia), which consist of verses chanted by the clergy interspersed between the verses of Psalm 119 (which is, by far, the longest psalm in the Bible). The Enkōmia are the best-loved hymns of Byzantine hymnography, both their poetry and their music being uniquely suited to each other and to the spirit of the day. They consist of 185 tercet antiphons arranged in three parts (stáseis or «stops»), which are interjected with the verses of Psalm 119, and nine short doxastiká («Gloriae») and Theotókia (invocations to the Virgin Mary). The three stáseis are each set to its own music, and are commonly known by their initial antiphons: Ἡ ζωὴ ἐν τάφῳ, «Life in a grave», Ἄξιον ἐστί, «Worthy it is», and Αἱ γενεαὶ πᾶσαι, «All the generations». Musically they can be classified as strophic, with 75, 62, and 48 tercet stanzas each, respectively. The climax of the Enkōmia comes during the third stásis, with the antiphon «Ō glyký mou Éar«, a lamentation of the Virgin for her dead Child («O, my sweet spring, my sweetest child, where has your beauty gone?»). Later, during a different antiphon of that stasis («Early in the morning the myrrh-bearers came to Thee and sprinkled myrrh upon Thy tomb»), young girls of the parish place flowers on the Epitaphios and the priest sprinkles it with rose-water. The author(s) and date of the Enkōmia are unknown. Their High Attic linguistic style suggests a dating around the 6th century, possibly before the time of St. Romanos the Melodist.^[55]

The Evlogitaria (Benedictions) of the Resurrection are sung as on Sunday, since they refer to the conversation between the myrrh-bearers and the angel in the tomb, followed by kathismata about the burial of Christ. Psalm 50 (51) is then immediately read, and then followed by a much loved-canon, written by Mark the Monk, Bishop of Hydrous and Kosmas of the Holy City, with irmoi by Kassiani the Nun. The high-point of the much-loved Canon is Ode 9, which takes the form of a dialogue between Christ and the Theotokos, with Christ promising His Mother the hope of the Resurrection. This Canon will be sung again the following night at the Midnight Office.

Lauds follows, and its stichera take the form of a funeral lament, while always preserving the hope of the Resurrection. The doxasticon links Christ’s rest in the tomb with His rest on the seventh day of creation, and the theotokion («Most blessed art thou, O Virgin Theotokos…) is the same as is used on Sundays.

At the end of the Great Doxology, while the Trisagion is sung, the epitaphios is taken in procession around the outside the church, and is then returned to the tomb. Some churches observe the practice of holding the epitaphios at the door, above waist level, so the faithful most bow down under it as they come back into the church, symbolizing their entering into the death and resurrection of Christ. The epitaphios will lay in the tomb until the Paschal Service early Sunday morning. In some churches, the epitaphios is never left alone, but is accompanied 24 hours a day by a reader chanting from the Psalter.^{[citation needed]}

When the procession has returned to the church, a troparion is read, similar to hthe ones read at the Sixth Hour throughout Lent, focusing on the purpose of Christ’s burial. A series of prokimena and readings are then said:

• The first prokimenon is from Psalm 43 (44): ‘Arise, Lord, and help us: and deliver us for Thy Name’s sake.’
• Ezekiel 37:1-14 — God tells Ezekiel to command bones to come to life.
• The second prokimenon is from Psalm 9 (9-10), and is based on the verses sung at the kathismata and Lauds on Sundays: ‘Arise, O Lord my God, lift up Thine hand: forget not Thy poor forever.’
• 1 Corinthians 5:6-8; Galatians 3:13-14 — St. Paul celebrates the Passion of Christ and explains its role in the life of Gentile Christians.
• The Alleluia verses are from Psalm 67 (68), and are based on the Paschal verses: ‘Let God arise, and let His enemies be scattered.’
• Matthew 27:62-66 — The Pharisees ask Pilate to set a watch at the tomb.

At the end of the service, a final hymn is sung as the faithful come to venerate the Epitaphios.

Roman Catholic[edit]

Day of Fasting[edit]

The Catholic Church regards Good Friday and Holy Saturday as the Paschal fast, in accordance with Article 110 of Sacrosanctum Concilium.^[56] In the Latin Church, a fast day is understood as having only one full meal and two collations (a smaller repast, the two of which together do not equal the one full meal)^[57][58] – although this may be observed less stringently on Holy Saturday than on Good Friday.^[56]

Services on the day[edit]

The Roman Rite has no celebration of Mass between the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday evening and the Easter Vigil unless a special exemption is granted for rare solemn or grave occasions by the Vatican or the local bishop. The only sacraments celebrated during this time are Baptism (for those in danger of death), Penance, and Anointing of the Sick.^[59] While there is no celebration of the Eucharist, it is distributed to the faithful only in the Celebration of the Lord’s Passion, but can also be taken at any hour to the sick who are unable to attend this celebration.^[60]

The Celebration of the Passion of the Lord takes place in the afternoon, ideally at three o’clock; however, for pastoral reasons (especially in countries where Good Friday is not a public holiday), it is permissible to celebrate the liturgy earlier,^[61] even shortly after midday, or at a later hour.^[62] The celebration consists of three parts: the liturgy of the word, the adoration of the cross, and the Holy communion.^[63] he altar is bare, without cross, candlesticks and altar cloths.^[64] It is also customary to empty the holy water fonts in preparation of the blessing of the water at the Easter Vigil.^[65] Traditionally, no bells are rung on Good Friday or Holy Saturday until the Easter Vigil.^[66]

The liturgical colour of the vestments used is red.^[67] Before 1970, vestments were black except for the Communion part of the rite when violet was used.^[68] If a bishop or abbot celebrates, he wears a plain mitre (mitra simplex).^[69] Before the reforms of the Holy Week liturgies in 1955, black was used throughout.

The Vespers of Good Friday are only prayed by those who could not attend the Celebration of the Passion of the Lord.^[70]

Three Hours’ Agony[edit]

The Three Hours’ Devotion based on the Seven Last Words from the Cross begins at noon and ends at 3 pm, the time that the Christian tradition teaches that Jesus died on the cross.^[71]

Liturgy[edit]

The Good Friday liturgy consists of three parts: the Liturgy of the Word, the Veneration of the Cross, and the Holy Communion.

• The Liturgy of the Word consists of the clergy and assisting ministers entering in complete silence, without any singing. They then silently make a full prostration. This signifies the abasement (the fall) of (earthly) humans.^[72] It also symbolizes the grief and sorrow of the Church.^[73] Then follows the Collect prayer, and the reading or chanting of Isaiah 52:13–53:12, Hebrews 4:14–16, Hebrews 5:7–9, and the Passion account from the Gospel of John, traditionally divided between three deacons,^[74] yet usually read by the celebrant and two other readers. In the older form of the Mass known as the Tridentine Mass the readings for Good Friday are taken from Exodus 12:1-11 and the Gospel according to St. John (John 18:1-40); (John 19:1-42).
• The Great Intercessions also known as orationes sollemnes immediately follows the Liturgy of the Word and consists of a series of prayers for the Church, the Pope, the clergy and laity of the Church, those preparing for baptism, the unity of Christians, the Jews, those who do not believe in Christ, those who do not believe in God, those in public office, and those in special need.^[75] After each prayer intention, the deacon calls the faithful to kneel for a short period of private prayer; the celebrant then sums up the prayer intention with a Collect-style prayer. As part of the pre-1955 Holy Week Liturgy, the kneeling was omitted only for the prayer for the Jews.^[76]
• The Adoration of the Cross has a crucifix, not necessarily the one that is normally on or near the altar at other times of the year, solemnly unveiled and displayed to the congregation, and then venerated by them, individually if possible and usually by kissing the wood of the cross, while hymns and the Improperia («Reproaches») with the Trisagion hymn are chanted.^[77]
• Holy Communion is bestowed according to a rite based on that of the final part of Mass, beginning with the Lord’s Prayer, but omitting the ceremony of «Breaking of the Bread» and its related acclamation, the Agnus Dei. The Eucharist, consecrated at the Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday, is distributed at this service.^[78] Before the Holy Week reforms of Pope Pius XII in 1955, only the priest received Communion in the framework of what was called the Mass of the Presanctified, which included the usual Offertory prayers, with the placing of wine in the chalice, but which omitted the Canon of the Mass.^[76] The priest and people then depart in silence, and the altar cloth is removed, leaving the altar bare except for the crucifix and two or four candlesticks.^[79]

Stations of the Cross[edit]

In addition to the prescribed liturgical service, the Stations of the Cross are often prayed either in the church or outside, and a prayer service may be held from midday to 3.00 pm, known as the Three Hours’ Agony. In countries such as Malta, Italy, Philippines, Puerto Rico and Spain, processions with statues representing the Passion of Christ are held.^{[citation needed]}

In Rome, since the papacy of John Paul II, the heights of the Temple of Venus and Roma and their position opposite the main entrance to the Colosseum have been used to good effect as a public address platform. This may be seen in the photograph below where a red canopy has been erected to shelter the Pope as well as an illuminated cross, on the occasion of the Way of the Cross ceremony. The Pope, either personally or through a representative, leads the faithful through meditations on the stations of the cross while a cross is carried from there to the Colosseum.^[80]

In Polish churches, a tableau of Christ’s Tomb is unveiled in the sanctuary. Many of the faithful spend long hours into the night grieving at the Tomb, where it is customary to kiss the wounds on the Lord’s body. A life-size figure of Jesus lying in his tomb is widely visited by the faithful, especially on Holy Saturday. The tableaux may include flowers, candles, figures of angels standing watch, and the three crosses atop Mt Calvary, and much more. Each parish strives to come up with the most artistically and religiously evocative arrangement in which the Blessed Sacrament, draped in a filmy veil, is prominently displayed.^{[citation needed]}

Acts of Reparation to Jesus Christ[edit]

The Roman Catholic tradition includes specific prayers and devotions as acts of reparation for the sufferings and insults that Jesus suffered during his Passion on Good Friday. These Acts of Reparation to Jesus Christ do not involve a petition for a beneficiary, but aim to «repair the sins» against Jesus. Some such prayers are provided in the Raccolta Catholic prayer book (approved by a Decree of 1854, and published by the Holy See in 1898) which also includes prayers as Acts of Reparation to the Virgin Mary.^{[81][82][83][84]} In his encyclical Miserentissimus Redemptor on reparations, Pope Pius XI called Acts of Reparation to Jesus Christ a duty for Catholics and referred to them as «some sort of compensation to be rendered for the injury» with respect to the sufferings of Jesus.^[85] Pope John Paul II referred to Acts of Reparation as the «unceasing effort to stand beside the endless crosses on which the Son of God continues to be crucified».^[86]

Novena to the Divine Mercy[edit]

The Novena to the Divine Mercy begins on that day and lasts until the Saturday before the Feast of Mercy. Both holidays are strictly connected, as the mercy of God flows from the Heart of Jesus that was pierced on the Cross.^[87][88]

Protestant[edit]

Anglican Communion[edit]

The 1662 Book of Common Prayer did not specify a particular rite to be observed on Good Friday but local custom came to mandate an assortment of services, including the Seven Last Words from the Cross and a three-hour service consisting of Matins, Ante-communion (using the Reserved Sacrament in high church parishes) and Evensong. In recent times,^[when?] revised editions of the Prayer Book and Common Worship have re-introduced pre-Reformation forms of observance of Good Friday corresponding to those in today’s Roman Catholic Church, with special nods to the rites that had been observed in the Church of England prior to the Henrican, Edwardian and Elizabethan reforms, including Creeping to the Cross.^{[citation needed]}

Lutheran Church[edit]

In Lutheran tradition from the 16th to the 20th century, Good Friday was the most important religious holiday, and abstention from all worldly works was expected. During that time, Lutheranism had no restrictions on the celebration of the Eucharist on Good Friday; on the contrary, it was a prime day on which to receive the Eucharist, and services were often accentuated by special music such as the St Matthew Passion by Johann Sebastian Bach.^[89]

More recently, Lutheran liturgical practice has recaptured Good Friday as part of the larger sweep of the great Three Days: Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and the Vigil of Easter. The Three Days remain one liturgy which celebrates the death and resurrection of Jesus. As part of the liturgy of the Three Days, Lutherans generally fast from the Eucharist on Good Friday. Rather, it is celebrated in remembrance of the Last Supper on Maundy Thursday and at the Vigil of Easter. One practice among Lutheran churches is to celebrate a tenebrae service on Good Friday, typically conducted in candlelight and consisting of a collection of passion accounts from the four gospels. While being called «Tenebrae» it holds little resemblance to the now-suppressed Catholic monastic rite of the same name.^[90] The Good Friday liturgy appointed in Evangelical Lutheran Worship, the worship book of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, specifies a liturgy similar to the revised Roman Catholic liturgy. A rite for adoration of the crucified Christ includes the optional singing of the Solemn Reproaches in an updated and revised translation which eliminates some of the anti-Jewish overtones in previous versions. Many Lutheran churches have Good Friday services, such as the Three Hours’ Agony centered on the remembrance of the «Seven Last Words,» sayings of Jesus assembled from the four gospels, while others hold a liturgy that places an emphasis on the triumph of the cross, and a singular biblical account of the Passion narrative from the Gospel of John.^{[citation needed]}

Along with observing a general Lenten fast,^[89] many Lutherans emphasize the importance of Good Friday as a day of fasting within the calendar.^[6][7] A Handbook for the Discipline of Lent recommends the Lutheran guideline to «Fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday with only one simple meal during the day, usually without meat».^[91]

Methodist Church[edit]

Many Methodist denominations commemorate Good Friday with fasting,^[92] as well as a service of worship based on the Seven Last Words from the Cross; this liturgy is known as the Three Hours Devotion as it starts at noon and concludes at 3 pm, the latter being the time that Jesus died on the cross.^[93][94]

Moravian Church[edit]

Moravians hold a Lovefeast on Good Friday as they receive Holy Communion on Maundy Thursday.

Communicants of the Moravian Church practice the Good Friday tradition of cleaning gravestones in Moravian cemeteries.^[9]

Reformed Churches[edit]

In the Reformed tradition, Good Friday is one of the evangelical feasts and is thus widely observed with church services, which feature the Solemn Reproaches in the pattern of Psalm 78, towards the end of the liturgy.^[95]

Other Christian traditions[edit]

It is not uncommon for some communities to hold interdenominational services on Good Friday.

Associated customs[edit]

In many countries and territories with a strong Christian tradition such as Australia, Bermuda, Brazil, Canada, the countries of the Caribbean, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Ecuador, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Malta, Mexico, New Zealand,^[96][97][98] Peru, the Philippines, Portugal, the Scandinavian countries, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and Venezuela, the day is observed as a public or federal holiday. In the United States, 12 states observe Good Friday as state holiday: Connecticut, Texas, Delaware, Hawaii, Indiana, Tennessee, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, New Jersey, North Carolina and North Dakota. One associated custom is strict adherence to the Black Fast to 3pm or 6pm,^[99] where only water can be consumed or restricted handout of bread, herbs and salt. St. Ambrose, St. Chrysostom and St. Basil attest to the practice. The processions of the day, hymns «Crux fidelis» by King John of Portugal, and Eberlin’s «Tenebrae factae sunt», followed by «Vexilla Regis» is sung, translated from Latin as the standards of the King advance, and then follows a ceremony that is not a real Mass, it is called the «Mass of the Pre-Sanctified.». This custom is respected also by forgoing the Mass, this is to take heed to the solemnity of the Sacrifice of Calvary. This is where the host of the prior day is placed at the altar, incensed, elevated so «that it may be seen by the people» and consumed. Germany and some other countries have laws prohibiting certain acts, such as dancing and horse racing, that are seen as profaning the solemn nature of the day.^[11][12]

Australia[edit]

Good Friday is a holiday under state and territory laws in all states and territories in Australia.^[100] Generally speaking, shops in all Australian states (but not in the two territories of the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory) are required to remain closed for the duration of Good Friday, although there are certain shops which are permitted to open and other shops can apply for exemptions. All schools and universities close on Good Friday in Australia, and Good Friday falls within the school holidays in most years in all states and territories except the Northern Territory, although many states now commence their school holidays in early April regardless of Easter. In 2018, for example, when Good Friday fell on 30 March, only Queensland and Victoria had school holidays which coincided with Good Friday.^[101] The vast majority of businesses are closed on Good Friday, although many recreational businesses, such as the Sydney Royal Easter Show, open on Good Friday as among non-religious families Good Friday is a popular day to indulge in such activities.

Canada[edit]

In Canada, Good Friday is a federal statutory holiday. In the province of Quebec «employers can choose to give the day off either on Good Friday or Easter Monday.»^[102]

Cuba[edit]

In an online article posted on Catholic News Agency by Alejandro Bermúdez on 31 March 2012, Cuban President Raúl Castro, with the Communist Party and his advisers, decreed that Good Friday that year would be a holiday. This was Castro’s response to a request made personally to him by Pope Benedict XVI during the latter’s Apostolic Visitation to the island and León, Mexico that month. The move followed the pattern of small advances in Cuba’s relations with the Vatican, mirroring Pope John Paul II’s success in getting Fidel Castro to declare Christmas Day a holiday.^[103] Both Good Friday and Christmas are now annual holidays in Cuba.

Hong Kong[edit]

In Hong Kong, Good Friday was designated a public holiday in the Holidays Ordinance, 1875.^[104] Good Friday continues to be a holiday after the transfer of sovereignty from the UK to China in 1997.^[105] Government offices, banks, post offices and most offices are closed on Good Friday.

Ireland[edit]

In the Republic of Ireland, Good Friday is not an official public holiday, but most non-retail businesses close for the day. Up until 2018 it was illegal to sell alcoholic beverages on Good Friday, with some exceptions, so pubs and off-licences generally closed.^[106] Critics of the ban included the catering and tourism sector, but surveys showed that the general public were divided on the issue.^[107][108] In Northern Ireland, a similar ban operates until 5 pm on Good Friday.^[109]

Malaysia[edit]

Although Malaysia is a Muslim majority country, Good Friday is declared as a public holiday in the states of Sabah and Sarawak in East Malaysia as there is a significant Christian indigenous population in both states.^[110]

Malta[edit]

The Holy Week commemorations reach their peak on Good Friday as the Roman Catholic Church celebrates the passion of Jesus. Solemn celebrations take place in all churches together with processions in different villages around Malta and Gozo. During the celebration, the narrative of the passion is read in some localities, while the Adoration of the Cross follows. Good Friday processions take place in Birgu, Bormla, Għaxaq, Luqa, Mosta, Naxxar, Paola, Qormi, Rabat, Senglea, Valletta, Żebbuġ (Città Rohan) and Żejtun. Processions in Gozo will be in Nadur, Victoria (St. George and Cathedral), Xagħra and Żebbuġ, Gozo.^{[citation needed]}

New Zealand[edit]

In New Zealand, Good Friday is a legal holiday^[111] and is a day of mandatory school closure for all New Zealand state and integrated schools.^[112] Good Friday is also a restricted trading day in New Zealand, which means that unexempted shops are not permitted to open on this day.^[113]

Philippines[edit]

In the predominantly Roman Catholic Philippines, the day is commemorated with street processions, the Way of the Cross, the chanting of the Pasyón, and performances of the Senákulo or Passion play. Some devotees engage in self-flagellation and even have themselves crucified as expressions of penance despite health risks and strong disapproval from the Church.^[114]

Church bells are not rung and Masses are not celebrated, while television features movies, documentaries and other shows focused on the religious event and other topics related to the Catholic faith, broadcasting mostly religious content. Malls and shops are generally closed, as are restaurants as it is the second of three public holidays within the week.^{[citation needed]}

After three o’clock in the afternoon (the time at which Jesus is traditionally believed to have died), the faithful venerate the cross in the local church and follow the procession of the Burial of Jesus.

.^{[115][citation needed]}

In Cebu and many parts of the Visayan Islands, people usually eat binignit and biko as a form of fasting.^[116][117]

Singapore[edit]

Good Friday is a public holiday in Singapore.^[118][119]

Spain[edit]

United Kingdom[edit]

In the UK, Good Friday was historically a common law holiday and is recognised as an official public holiday^[121] (also known as a Bank Holiday). All state schools are closed and most businesses treat it as a holiday for staff; however, many retail stores now remain open. Government services in Northern Ireland operate as normal on Good Friday, substituting Easter Tuesday for the holiday.

There has traditionally been no horse racing on Good Friday in the UK. However, in 2008, betting shops and stores opened for the first time on this day^[122] and in 2014 Lingfield Park and Musselburgh staged the UK’s first Good Friday race meetings.^[123][124] The BBC has for many years introduced its 7 am News broadcast on Radio 4 on Good Friday with a verse from Isaac Watts’ hymn «When I Survey the Wondrous Cross».

The tradition of Easter plays include 1960 Eastertime performance of Good Friday: A Play in Verse (1916) Artists Ursula O’Leary (Procula), and William Devlin as Pontius Pilate, perform with the atmospheric sound effects of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. The Hugh Stewart production for the Home Service used soundware such as the EMS Synthi 100 and ARP Odyssey l.^[125]

United States[edit]

In the United States, Good Friday is not a government holiday at the federal level; however, individual states, counties and municipalities may observe the holiday. Good Friday is a state holiday in Connecticut,^[126] Delaware,^[127] Florida,^[128] Hawaii,^[129] Indiana,^[130] Kentucky (half-day),^[131] Louisiana,^[132] New Jersey,^[133] North Carolina,^[134] North Dakota,^[135] Tennessee^[136] and Texas.^[137][138] State and local government offices and courts are closed, as well as some banks and post offices in these states, and in those counties and municipalities where Good Friday is observed as a holiday. Good Friday is also a holiday in the U.S. territories of Guam,^[139] U.S. Virgin Islands^[140] and Puerto Rico.^[141]

The stock markets are closed on Good Friday,^[142][143] but the foreign exchange and bond trading markets open for a partial business day.^[144][145] Most retail stores remain open, while some of them may close early. Public schools and universities are often closed on Good Friday, either as a holiday of its own, or as part of spring break. The postal service operates, and banks regulated by the federal government do not close for Good Friday.^[146]

In some governmental contexts Good Friday has been referred to by a generic name such as «spring holiday».^{[147][148][149]} In 1999, in the case of Bridenbaugh v. O’Bannon, an Indiana state employee sued the governor for giving state employees Good Friday as a day off. The US Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against the plaintiff, stating that the government could give state employees a paid day off when that day is a religious holiday, including Good Friday, but only so long as the state can provide a valid secular purpose that coincides with the obvious religious purpose of the holiday.^[150]

Calculating the date[edit]

Dates for Good Friday, 2020–2035

Good Friday is the Friday before Easter, which is calculated differently in Eastern Christianity and Western Christianity (see Computus for details). Easter falls on the first Sunday following the Paschal Full Moon, the full moon on or after 21 March, taken to be the date of the vernal equinox. The Western calculation uses the Gregorian calendar, while the Eastern calculation uses the Julian calendar, whose 21 March now corresponds to the Gregorian calendar’s 3 April. The calculations for identifying the date of the full moon also differ.^{[citation needed]}

In Eastern Christianity, Easter can fall between 22 March and 25 April on Julian Calendar (thus between 4 April and 8 May in terms of the Gregorian calendar, during the period 1900 and 2099), so Good Friday can fall between 20 March and 23 April, inclusive (or between 2 April and 6 May in terms of the Gregorian calendar).^{[citation needed]}

Cultural references[edit]

Good Friday assumes a particular importance in the plot of Richard Wagner’s music drama Parsifal, which contains an orchestral interlude known as the «Good Friday Music».^[151]

Memoration on Wednesday of the Holy Week[edit]

Some Baptist congregations,^[152] the Philadelphia Church of God,^[153] and some non-denominational churches oppose the observance of Good Friday, regarding it as a so-called «papist» tradition, and instead observe the Crucifixion of Jesus on Wednesday to coincide with the Jewish sacrifice of the Passover Lamb (which some/many Christians believe is an Old Testament pointer to Jesus Christ). A Wednesday Crucifixion of Jesus allows for him to be in the tomb («heart of the earth») for three days and three nights as he told the Pharisees he would be (Matthew 12:40), rather than two nights and a day (by inclusive counting, as was the norm at that time) if he had died on a Friday.^[154][155]

Further support for a Wednesday crucifixion based on Matthew 12:40 includes the Jewish belief that death was not considered official until the beginning of the fourth day, which is disallowed with the traditional Friday afternoon to Sunday morning period of time. As «the Jews require a sign» (1 Corinthians 1:22), the resurrection of Christ is thus invalidated with the shorter interval, since it can thus be claimed that Christ could have only ‘swooned,’ rather than actually died.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

Further reading[edit]

• Bellarmine, Robert (1902). «Good Friday: The Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ.» . Sermons from the Latins. Benziger Brothers.
• Gilmartin, Thomas Patrick (1909). «Good Friday» . In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 6. New York: Robert Appleton Company.

External links[edit]

• The Eastern Orthodox commemoration of Holy Friday
• Great Friday instructions from S. V. Bulgakov’s Handbook for Church Servers (Russian Orthodox Church)
• Episcopal Good Friday Service
• Who, What, Why: Why is Good Friday called Good Friday?
• Good Friday
• «Mayor wants ‘draconian’ Good Friday booze ban lifted before 1916 centenary». Independent.ie. Retrieved 25 March 2016.

Британцы любят и чтут свои праздники: они формировались веками и включают в себя языческие и христианские ритуалы, официальные государственные даты, музыкальные и спортивные мероприятия. Сегодня культурные символы и традиционные обряды смешаны. Для иностранных туристов, студентов и эмигрантов некоторые праздники привычны — например, международный день святого Валентина и Хэллоуин. А вот День рождения королевы или День Гая Фокса станут интересным открытием. Не все английские праздники сопровождаются выходными, но, безусловно, у каждого есть своя история, символика и ритуалы.

Официальные праздники

Каждый новый год в Великобритании начинается с банковских выходных (New Year bank holidays), а в мае страна уходит на банковские каникулы (Early May Bank Holiday). Финансовые учреждения не имеют к этому никакого отношения. «Банковский выходной» — так в Англии, Уэльсе, Шотландии и Ирландии называют любой государственный праздник.

Рождество в Великобритании

Рождество для жителей Соединенного Королевства — самый большой национальный праздник. Его отмечают 25 января. К рождеству готовятся заранее — украшают дома, наряжают елки, покупают подарки и готовят семейные обеды. По традиции, дети встают рано, потому что ночью Санта-Клаус оставил подарки в специально развешанных огромных носках или чулках. После завтрака верующие отправляются на торжественную службу в церковь, а к обеду вся семья собирается за праздничным столом. Главными блюдами считаются фаршированная индейка и пудинг. Пудинг впервые был съеден в Великобритании еще в XIV веке и обычно готовится с изюмом, смородиной, черносливом и специями. Интересная рождественская традиция в Великобритании заключается в том, что в пудинг кладут серебряную монету, которая, как говорят, приносит удачу тому, кто ее найдет.

Новый год

Британцы празднуют Новый год в ночь с 31 декабря на 1 января (по григорианскому календарю). Отмечают этот праздник не так широко, как Рождество. Тем не менее, в странах Соединенного Королевства есть исключительно новогодние традиции. В Англии ровно в полночь люди открывают заднюю дверь дома, чтобы выпустить старый год, и просят первого встречного темноволосого мужчину, войти через парадную дверь с солью, углем и хлебом. Это означает, что в следующем году в доме будет достаточно еды, денег и тепла. В Столице Шотландии, Эдинбурге, устраивают массовую вечеринку от Принс-стрит до Королевской Мили и Эдинбургского замка. В Уэльсе дети в новогодний день «Дидд Калан» встают рано, с песнями навещают соседей, за это получают монеты, пирожки с мясом, яблоки и сладости.

Великая Пятница (Good Friday)

Для многих англичан Великая Пятница — дополнительный выходной, во время которого они могут подготовиться к предстоящей Пасхе. Люди религиозные соблюдают ряд традиций, например, посещают службу в церкви, поют гимны и песни Господу, отмечают великую пятницу как день поста и молитвы. В Лондоне на Трафальгарской площади показывают бесплатный спектакль, изображающий распятие. Благодаря современным технологиям его могут посмотреть даже те, кто не живет в Англии. После Пасхи государственным праздничным днем (банковским выходным) в Великобритании объявлен понедельник.

Первомай (May Day) в Великобритании

Первомай, или May Day — отмечают в 1 понедельник мая. Это единственный праздник в году, для которого нет особой церковной службы. Он всегда пользовался популярностью среди рабочего класса из-за дополнительного выходного дня. Прежде чем стать частью социалистического календаря, Первомай для сельской Англии был важным весенним праздником. Главным символом был свежий росток, как общая надежда на богатый урожай. Раньше жители деревни наряжались в костюм Джека в зеленом — лесного духа, который охраняет леса и поля Англии. Джек и его последователи танцевали вокруг города, собирая деньги с прохожих для последующего пиршества. Сейчас эта древняя первомайская традиция возрождается. Некоторые регионы Великобритании имеют собственные первомайские ритуалы. Так, в Лондоне проходит первомайский марш, который включает в себя выступления профсоюзов. В Оксфорде люди на рассвете собираются под пение хора перед Великой башней Магдалины. В Корнуолле проводится ежегодный день Obby-Oss (Hobby Horse), когда танцоры идут по городу, поют первомайскую песню. В Шотландии проводятся крупные фестивали и митинги.

Летние банковские каникулы

Летний банковский выходной выпадает на последний понедельник августа. Трехдневные каникулы знаменуют собой конец лета. В это время многие служащие возвращаются из отпусков, заканчиваются школьные каникулы. Летний банковский выходной — это государственный праздник в 4 странах. В этот день закрыто большинство бюджетных и коммерческих организаций. Даже общественный транспорт ходит по особому расписанию. Выходной люди стремятся потратить на общение с семьей, прогулки и небольшие загородные путешествия.

В это время в Лондоне проходит карнавал Ноттинг-Хилл — уличный фестиваль известен своими пышными костюмами, танцами и музыкой. Впервые его провели иммигранты из Карибского бассейна как протест против расизма, плохих условий труда и жилья, от которых они страдали. Сейчас Ноттинг-Хилл — это многонациональный праздник, собирающий более двух миллионов человек.

ЭТО ИНТЕРЕСНО! Ноттинг-Хилл считается вторым по величине уличным карнавалом в мире.

Народные праздники

К этой категории можно отнести праздники, которые отмечают всей страной, но дополнительный (банковский) выходной для них не предусмотрен. Британцы следуют общепринятым традициям народных праздников дома, на работе, в школе или вузе.

День святого Валентина

День святого Валентина в Великобритании, как и в других странах мира, — это праздник романтиков и влюбленных, открыток в виде сердечек и плюшевых игрушек. С именем священника Валентина связана история тайных свадеб — один из правителей Римской империи, Клавдий II, запретил своим солдатам жениться, потому что считал, что лучшие воины — одинокие мужчины. Христианский священник Валентин начал тайно проводить помолвки людей, за это был арестован и приговорен к смертной казни. В ночь на 14 февраля его жена получила от священника последнюю записку с подписью «Твой Валентин».

Британцы не делают дорогих подарков в этот праздник. Они покупают шоколадные конфеты, различные сладости, открытки и мягкие игрушки. В британских газетах и журналах часто можно увидеть анонимные признания в любви. Одним из популярных подарков считаются цветы — символ симпатии, нежности и любви. Самый ценный подарок на День святого Валентина в Великобритании — это выпечка и сладости, сделанные своими руками. Существует традиция выпечки торта в форме сердца, который дарят любимому человеку.

День матери в Великобритании

День матери в Великобритании — это праздник мам и бабушек, день благодарности за все, что они делали и делают. Традиционно дети всех возрастов дарят мамам подарки и открытки, приглашают их в кафе или делают за них домашние дела. Первоначально обычай чествования матерей в четвертое воскресенье Великого поста был религиозным, но к первой трети ХХ века праздник стал популярным среди всех жителей Британии.

День дурака

Первоапрельский день дурака отражает любовь британцев к парадоксальным шуткам, черному юмору и розыгрышам. В этот день принято шутить друг с другом — даже газеты, теле- и радиопрограммы часто содержат фейковые истории.

Есть списки самых удачных и необычных мистификаций и розыгрышей, которые случались в этот день. Например, 1 апреля 1976 года во время раннего утреннего интервью на BBC Radio 2 британский астроном Патрик Мур объявил, что в 9.47 должно произойти уникальное астрономическое событие: «Плутон должен пройти позади Юпитера, планетарное выравнивание временно уменьшит гравитацию Земли». Мур объявил аудитории, что если они прыгнут в воздух, они почувствуют отсутствие гравитации земли. В 9.47 утра на станцию стали поступать сотни телефонных звонков от слушателей, утверждавших, что они ощущают недостаток гравитации. Одна женщина сказала, что она и ее друзья даже встали со своих стульев и поплыли по комнате. Традиционно англичане шутят до полудня, и если кого-то поймают, он услышит крик: «Первоапрельские дураки!»

День отца

День отца — день чествования, выражения благодарности папам и дедушкам. Сыновья и дочери дарят отцам подарки, открытки, угощают их обедом, совершают совместные прогулки.

День рождения королевы

Настоящий день рождения королевы — 21 апреля, но с 1748 года в Англии стало традицией отмечать день рождения короля или королевы в июне. Это связано с тем, что в июне погода более благоприятна для гуляний. Важной частью праздника является военный парад Trooping the Color — он проходит в Лондоне в присутствие королевской семьи.

Ночь Гая Фокса

Ночь Гая Фокса в Великобритании — зажигательный праздник, в прямом смысле слова. В Англии и на территориях бывших колоний этой страны зажигают костры, запускают фейерверки, сжигают чучело заговорщика Гая Фокса, который в 1605 году чуть не убил короля Якова I. Эта история известна как «Пороховой заговор». Бунтовщики хотели взорвать английский парламент вместе с правящим монархом Яковом I. Они надеялись, что катастрофа поднимет большое восстание английских католиков против суровых уголовных законов, уничтожающих религию. Для реализации теракта заговорщики спрятали в подвал под Палатой лордов почти 2 тонны пороха. Но политиков кто-то предупредил об опасности — Гай Фокс с его помощниками были арестованы и казнены.

Сейчас ночь Гая Фокса известна как «Ночь фейерверков», или «Ночь костров». В этот вечер принято общаться с друзьями, есть суп, картофель в мундире и гамбургеры. В Йоркшире и Ланкашире традиционно в этот праздник готовят липкий имбирный пирог из патоки и сиропа под названием «паркин». В других регионах Великобритании любят есть ириски.

Хэллоуин

Хэллоуин проводится в канун западного христианского праздника Дня всех святых. Это время посвящено памяти умерших родственников, святых, мучеников. В отличие от США, жители Великобритании празднуют Хэллоуин без особого ажиотажа. Дети наряжаются в костюмы разной нечисти и ходят по окрестностям со знаменитой фразой Trick or treat («Трюк или угощение»). Смысл в том, что хозяева дома дают детям угощение (конфеты или деньги) или дети подшучивают над ними. Этот обычай возник в Англии как «Ночь озорства», когда дети объявляли одну ночь для безнаказанных шалостей.

Религиозные праздники

На территории Великобритании в мире и согласии уживаются множество конфессий. В Англии государственной религией считается англиканская церковь, в Шотландии — пресвитерианская, в Северной Ирландии — протестантская. Среди менее популярных, но уважаемых вероисповеданий — католицизм, ислам, буддизм, индуизм, иудаизм. Большинство духовных обрядов настолько плотно сплелись со светской жизнью, что некоторые праздники сложно отнести только к религиозным. Самым ярким ритуалам с удовольствием следуют даже атеисты.

День Святого Патрика

День Святого Патрика — культурный и религиозный праздник, отмечаемый ежегодно 17 марта — в день смерти покровителя Ирландии Святого Патрика. Согласно легенде, святой Патрик использовал трилистник, чтобы объяснить Святую Троицу ирландским язычникам. Поэтому сейчас клеверный лист, похожий на крест, и зеленый цвет, символьный цвет Ирландии, стали главными атрибутами Дня Святого Патрика наряду с образом лепрекона (существа из кельтских мифов, которое в Ирландии уважают, примерно как у нас домового).

Главная христианская традиция — восхождение паломников на гору Croagh Patric на западе Ирландии. По преданию, именно здесь Святой Патрик 40 дней молился и постился, а демоны пытались ему всячески помешать. Силой молитвы святому удалось загнать бесов в пещеру тут же на горе — говорят, злые духи заключены там и по сей день.

Люди светские в этот день облачаются во что-нибудь зеленое, устраивают большие уличные шествия. Члены королевской семьи надевают зеленую одежду и едут поздравлять ирландских гвардейцев, в подарок везут трилистники. 17 марта пекут сладости в форме трилистника, покрытые изумрудной глазурью, а еще готовят капусту с беконом и солонину. На праздник практически во всех барах предлагают посетителям зеленое пиво.

ОБРАТИТЕ ВНИМАНИЕ! Сегодня праздник является государственным в Ирландии, Северной Ирландии, на острове Монтсеррат (входит в архипелаг Малых Антильских островов), а также в одной из провинций Канады — Ньюфаундленд и Лабрадор.

Пасха

Пасха — главный христианский праздник в Великобритании. Его популярность связана с изначальным позитивным смыслом — преодолением смерти и воскресением Иисуса Христа из мертвых. На Пасху люди посещают церковные службы, дарят пасхальные яйца, дети устраивают охоту за шоколадными яйцами, которые спрятал пасхальный кролик. На самом деле такое развлечение для ребенка устраивает не вымышленный персонаж, а родители. Они раскладывают угощения по всему дому или саду, а дети по утрам ищут сладости. Танцы с майским деревом — еще одна пасхальная традиция в Британии. Танцоры держатся за красочные ленты, которые прикреплены к вершине большого шеста, танцуют под живую музыку, которую играет уличный оркестр.

День Святого Георгия

Святой Георгий — покровитель Англии: согласно библейской легенде, он смело убил дракона и спас принцессу. За столетия существования легенды он стал героем многих художественных произведений, фольклорных текстов по всему миру. 23 апреля люди поднимают национальный флаг Англии — красный крест Святого Георгия на белом фоне, прикалывают к одежде красные розы, символизирующие Англию, на центральных площадях городов открываются рынки. Это не исключительно национальный праздник, но он воспринимается многими англичанами как один из самых важных для страны.

Военные праздники

В Великобритании нет такого большого количества военных праздников, как в России. Каждый приурочен к дате какого-либо важного сражения. Например, Трафальгарский день (аналог российского дня военно-морского флота) приурочен к исторической победе британского королевского флота над Испанией и Францией в Трафальгарской битве. Она случилась более 200 лет назад. Каждый год сотни людей собираются в этот день на митинги и шествия. В Лондоне проходит торжественный парад. В городах-портах день начинается с церемонии возложения цветов и торжественного поднятия флага Королевского флота.

День памяти

Каждый год 11 ноября англичане вспоминают солдат, погибших на полях Первой мировой войны. Королевский британский легион продает бумажные цветы мака — символа Дня памяти, направляя все вырученные средства на поддержку ветеранов войны и их семей. В 11:00 по всей стране объявляется двухминутная тишина.

День вооруженных сил ( День ветеранов)

В Великобритании День вооруженных сил — ежегодное мероприятие, отмечаемое в конце июня в память о службе мужчин и женщин в вооруженных силах страны. Раньше этот праздник назывался День ветеранов. Хотя это официальное событие, оно не является государственным праздником. Каждый год в День вооруженных сил в Англии проходят парады и марши в честь тех, кто защищает страну. Одной из важных традиций этого дня в Англии является сбор средств для ветеранов и военных, которые пострадали или были ранены во время несения службы.

День Победы

День Победы во Второй мировой войне англичане празднуют 8 мая. Торжества, посвященные этому событию, начинаются за несколько дней до самой годовщины. Британцы устраивают автопробеги, возлагают цветы к мемориалам павшим воинам, показывают патриотические фильмы, организуют тематические выставки. 9 мая жители Великобритании присоединяются к Бессмертному полку. Этот праздник не является государственным, то есть к нему не положен дополнительный выходной день, но эмигранты и коренные англичане с удовольствием отмечаю памятную для всего мира дату.

Карнавалы

В Великобритании проходят одни их самых ярких в мире карнавалов. Некоторые по экспрессивности не уступают знаменитым бразильским уличным шествиям.

Ливерпульский фестиваль Бразилии

Это уличное шествие проходит на улицах Ливерпуля, на площади Уильямсона. Праздник посвящен бразильской культуре и является одним из крупнейших мировых самба-парадом. Фестиваль вдохновлен карнавалом в Рио-де-Жанейро, охватывает не только бразильские танцы, но и кухню, кино, музыку и искусство этой страны.

Карнавал Уэллса

Живописный ночной карнавал проходит в британском городе Уэллс. Знаменит своей праздничной иллюминацией и тем, что все деньги, собранные во время его проведения, идут на благотворительность.

Карнавал в Альдебурге

Карнавал, который проходит в приморском городе Альдебург, восходит к началу XIX века и связан с празднованием, которое было известно как «Старая морская регата». В 1927 году к событию регаты были добавлены карнавальные торжества. Aldeburgh Carnival включает в себя карнавальный парад, шоу, живую музыку, фейерверк и множество игр.

Календарь праздников Великобритании на 2022 год

Январь

• 1 января — Новый год — государственный выходной;5 января — двенадцатая ночь — завершение Святок и рождественского сезона.
• 6 января — Богоявление — 7 января — православное Рождество.
• 14 января — православный Новый год.
• 25 января — ночь Бернса в Шотландии — день рождения поэта Роберта Бернса, во время торжества участники надевают тартан, слушают волынку, читают стихи и пьют шотландский виски.

Февраль

• 1 февраля — лунный Новый год — праздник известен как китайский Новый год.
• 14 февраля — День святого Валентина.

Март

• 1 марта — день святого Давида — дата смерти покровителя Уэльса святого Давида Валлийского. В этот день в Уэльсе устраивают парады и вечеринки;
• 1 марта — «Покаянный вторник», или «Жирный вторник» — аналог русской Масленицы. В некоторых регионах Великобритании в этот день устраивают «блинные гонки»— шуточные соревнования с горячими сковородами и блинами.
• 2 марта — пепельная среда — первый день Великого поста перед Пасхой. В древности католики в это день посыпали голову пеплом в знак согласия и смирения.
• 8 марта — Международный женский день.
• 17 март — день святого Патрика.
• 18 март — Холи — Индуистский праздник весны. Хоть это и не исконно британский праздник, жители Соединенного королевства с удовольствием участвуют в праздничных концертах, подготовленных индуистами.
• 27 март — День матери.

Апрель

• 1 апреля — День дурака.

• 10 апреля — Вербное воскресенье.
• 14 апреля — Чистый четверг.
• 15 апрель — Страстная пятница — государственный выходной.
• 16 апреля — Страстная суббота.
• 17 апреля — Пасха.
• 18 апреля — пасхальный понедельник — государственный выходной.
• 25 апреля — День Святого Георгия.
• 28 апреля — Йом А-Шоа — день памяти жертв холокоста.

Май

• 2 май — День весны — банковские каникулы в начале мая.
• 3 май — Ураза Байрам — мусульманский праздник разговления.
• 8 мая — День победы в Великой Отечественной войне.
• 26 май — День Вознесения Господня — церковный праздник, который знаменует собой победу жизни над смертью.

Июнь

• 2 июнь — весенние банковские каникулы.3 июня — платиновый юбилей королевы — отмечается в 2022 году в честь 70-летия восшествия на престол королевы Елизаветы II.
• 5 июня — Пятидесятница — церковный праздник отмечается на 50-й день от Пасхального воскресенья в память о сошествии Святого Духа на апостолов и других последователей Иисуса Христа.
• 6 июня — белый понедельник — первый понедельник после Пятидесятницы, день памяти Пресвятой Девы Марии, Матери Церкви. Название произошло от белых одежд, которые раньше носили новокрещенные в этот праздник.
• 11 июня — день рождения королевы.
• 12 июня — Троица — христианский праздник, связанный с христианским учением о Троице, трех Лицах Бога: Отце, Сыне и Святом Духе. Троицкое воскресенье празднуется во всех западных литургических церквях.
• 19 июня — День отца.
• 22 июня — День Уиндруша — был введен в июне 2018 года после скандала с незаконной депортацией эмигрантов. Этот праздник нужен как признание вклада мигрантов в британское общество. После Второй мировой войны без эмигрантов восстановить страну было бы невозможно.

Июль

• 10 июля — Курбан-Байрам.
• 12 июля — битва при реке Бойне — государственный праздник в Шотландии. Проводится парадами и митингами в память о революции 1688 года.
• 30 июля — исламский новый год.

Август

• 15 август — Успение Пресвятой Богородицы.
• 19 август — Джанмаштами — день явления Кришны в индуизме.
• 29 август — летние банковские каникулы.

Сентябрь

• 16 сентября — Рош а-шана — еврейский новый год.
• 30 сентября — первый день Суккот — еврейский праздник урожая, обычно длится 7 дней.

Октябрь

• 4 октября — праздник святого Франциска Ассизского — посвящен жизни святого, который родился в XII веке и являлся покровителем животных и окружающей среды.
• 8 октября — Мавлид — празднование дня рождения исламского пророка Мухаммада.
• 24 октября — Дивали — Индуистский праздник огней. Традиционно празднуется красочными уличными шествиями с зажженными электрическими огнями.
• 31 октября — Хэллоуин.

Ноябрь

• 1 ноября — День всех святых — день прославления усопших мучеников.
• 2 ноября — День всех душ — день, когда британцы вспоминают своих умерших родственников.
• 5 ноября — День Гая Фокса.
• 13 ноября — памятное воскресенье (Маковый день) — день памяти солдат, павших в разных военных кампаниях.
• 27 ноября — первое воскресенье Адвента — день с которого начинается подготовка к Рождеству.
• 30 ноября — день святого Андрея — государственный праздник Шотландии. Во всем мире считается днем шотландской культуры. Отмечается традиционной шотландской едой, музыкой и танцами.

Декабрь

• 8 декабря — праздник Непорочного зачатия — один из главных католических праздников, посвященных Богородице.
• 19 декабря — первый день Хануки — еврейский праздник зажженных свечей.
• 25 декабря — Рождество — государственный праздник.
• 26 декабря — День подарков — в этот день жители Великобритании вручают друг другу рождественские подарки. День подарков является выходным днем.
• 31 декабря — канун Нового года.

Праздники – это неотъемлемая часть культуры и обычаев любой страны мира. В Великобритании и по сей день очень оберегают многочисленные традиции празднования всех знаменательных дат. Жители Великобритании очень любят различные праздники, все британские обычаи празднования очень веселые и интересные.

Новый Год в Великобритании.

1 января.

Новый год в Великобритании отмечается не так торжественно, как мы, россияне, привыкли к этому. Новый год больше любят жители Шотландии. А в Англии и Уэльсе он почти и не отмечается, так как главный зимний британский праздник – это Рождество. Молодежь обычно отмечает Новый год на различных вечеринках в клубах или барах (с 8 вечера и до самого утра). Есть и любители встречать наступающий год на улице, люди собираются на Трафальгарской площади или на площади Пикадилли. Не часто можно увидеть, что люди дарят друг другу открытки на Новый год. Для жителей Великобритании очень ценна их семья, поэтому на Новый год принято собираться всей семьей за праздничным столом с индейкой и хаггис (блюдо из бараньих потрохов). Одна из самых известных новогодних традиций – это традиция Первого гостя. Если в ночь с 31 декабря по 1 января, первый гость будет молодым человеком с темными волосами – год будет удачный. Принято, что Первый гость должен принести с собой хлеб, щепотку соли и уголек (это является символами еды, благосостояния и тепла). Первый гость, войдя в дом, проходит к камину, и бросает туда уголек, и только после этого действия начинает поздравлять всех.

Фестиваль кельтской музыки и культуры.

13 января.

Такой фестиваль проходит во многих странах нашего мира. Фестиваль кельтской музыки и культуры  — очень популярное событие. В Шотландском городе Глазгоу с 13 января по 30 января проходит фестиваль “Celtic Connections”. В течении всего времени праздника, жители могут посещать более чем 200 различных мероприятий, посвященных кельтской музыке и культуре. Повсюду проходят многочисленные концерты музыкантов из разных стран. Этот праздник считается одним из самых любимых в Великобритании.

День Рождения Роберта Бернса.

25 января.

Данный праздник считается национальным в Шотландии. 25 января – день рождения знаменитого поэта Роберта Бернса. Жители Шотландии очень гордятся выдающимся соотечественником и невероятно чтут его память о нем. День Рождения великого поэта обычно отмечают за ужином (Burn’s Supper), ставят сценки, читают стихи, поют песни, танцуют народные танцы. Именно в этот день Шотландцы одевают национальные костюмы (килты), и отмечают праздник очень шумно и весело.

День памяти жертв геноцида во второй мировой войне.

27 января.

Начиная с 2001 году в Великобритании отмечается День памяти жертв геноцида во Второй мировой войне (Holocaust Memorial Day). Жители Великобритании в этот день вспоминают всех жертв геноцида.

Апхеллио.

31 января.

Один из самых любимых шотландцами праздник.  Проводится праздник в городе Лериуке. Праздник Апхеллио является самым большим праздником огня в Европе и одним из самых уникальных праздников всего мира. Шотландцы делают огромную модель корабля викингов (30 футов), сами одеваются как древние викинги, зажигают свои факелы, ходят по улицам, трубя в старые военные горны, и несут этот огромный корабль викингов к морю. Это невероятное зрелище, когда более 1000 людей, одетых как викинги, несут корабль до моря. Когда корабль приносят на побережье, все люди кидают на него все свои факелы и сжигают его дотла. Этот обычай пришел еще от древних викингов, с таким обрядом хоронили воинов и вождей.

День Святого Валентина.

14 февраля.

День Всех Влюбленных – всем известный праздник также празднуется и в Великобритании. Жители Великобритании, как и жители любой другой страны, в этот день шлют друг другу валентинки в виде сердечек и со словами о своих чувствах. Этот день принято проводить со своими половинками, а ужин проводить в романтической атмосфере.

День Святого Дэвида.

1 марта.

Один из самых важных праздников для жителей Уэльса. Святой Дэвид – это покровитель Уэльса. Праздник отмечается в стиле религиозного фестиваля в Протестанской Реформации уже с 16 века. А, начиная с 18 века, 1 марта стал национальным праздником Уэльса. В этот праздничный день везде висят изображения святого Дэвида с голубкой на его плече – символ святого духа. В столице Уэльса проходят многочисленные веселые мероприятия с переодеваниями в национальные костюмы и с конкурсами хорового пения.

День Святого Патрика.

17 марта.

Saint Patrick’s Day – в действительности ирландский праздник, но его корни берут начало в Британии. В этот день отмечается память покровителю Ирландии – Святому Патрику. Исходя из легенд, святой Патрик изгнал с острова всех змей, и с его помощью в Ирландии появилось христианство. В этот день жители многих стран устраивают костюмированные парады с духовыми оркестрами. Повсюду все зеленое, будь это пиво, или интерьер бара, или одежда. Сегодня праздник День Святого Патрика ассоциируется с весной и радостью.

 День Матери в Великобритании.

 18 марта.

День Матери в Великобритании очень похож на 8 марта в России. В этот день принято дарить женщинам (матерям, бабушкам) цветы, делать за них работу по дому, мужчины готовят ужин или ведут женщин в ресторан. В Великобритании принято в этот день подавать на ужин торт Симнель (simnel cake), украшенный 12 шариками марципана.

День Смеха.

1 апреля.

Многие считают, что изначально 1 апреля праздновалось во многих странах, как праздник весеннего солнцестояния. Обычно празднование этого дня сопровождалось шуткам, проделками и веселыми шалостями.

1 апреля еще называют Днем Дурака. В этот день принято подшучивать над всеми и весело проводить время, например говорить “у тебя шнурки развязаны” или нарочно перевести часы. Жители Великобритании посылают друг другу смешные открытки и дарят различные сувенирчики. Зачастую средства массовой информации также принимают участие в различных розыгрышах. Особенность Дня Дурака в Великобритании  — принято шутить только до 12 часов дня. И 1 апреля не является официальным праздником.

А в Шотландии другие обычаи праздновать День Дурака. Шотландцы отмечают этот веселый праздник двое суток. Второй день – это продолжения первого и имеет название День Хвоста. В этот день все шутки сводятся к части тела, расположенной ниже спины. Обычно люди разыгрывают друг другу, подкладывай на стул специальные резиновые мешки, которые издают неприличные звук, или приклеивают друг другу картинки с просьбой “Дай мне пинка”.

Католическая Страстная Пятница.

6 апреля. (дата всегда меняется)

Великая Пятница (Good Friday) – это пятница в преддверии Пасхального воскресенья. В этот день христиане вспоминают день распятия Иисуса. Великая Пятница в Великобритании – официальный государственный праздник. В этот день большинство компаний и учреждений не работают. В Церквях проходят службы, молебны, драматические чтения. В церкви Страстная Пятница – это день скорби. Жители Великобритании едят сладкие булочки с изображением креста (hot cross buns), а, вместо мяса, в этот день предпочитают есть рыбу.

Католическая Пасха в Великобритании.

8 апреля. (дата всегда меняется)

Пасха – это христианский праздник в честь воскресения Иисуса, который отмечается в первое полнолунное воскресенье после весеннего равноденствия (в промежутке 22 марта-25 апреля). Пасха в Великобритании – один из самых главных праздников. В этот день на рассвете в церквях проходят службы, в храмах проходят разнообразные концерты органной музыки. Жители Великобритании в этот день одевают новую одежду, отмечая конец холодного сезона года и наступлением тепла и весны. Люди берут с собой в церковь пасхальные корзины с яйцами и хлебом, чтобы освятить их. А в Пасхальный понедельник детям дарят конфетки и игрушки. Дети верят, что в воскресенье к ним приходит пасхальный заяц и оставляет корзинки со сладостями и ищут по всему дому расписанные пасхальные яйца.   В Рэдли, недалеко от Оксфорда прихожане храма обнимают свой храм – образуют живой круг из людей – это также давняя пасхальная традиция. На Пасху принято собираться всей семьей, готовить вкусный воскресный обед. Обычно к столу подают запеченного барашка с овощами, пасхальный торт, и, конечно же, пасхальные яйца.

День Рождения Королевы Елизаветы II.

 21 апреля.

Официальный день рождения Королевы Елизаветы II является 21 апреля. Родилась королева в 1926 году в Лондоне. В Великобритании уже много лет празднуется ее день рождения не только 21 апреля, но и в третью субботу июня. День рождения королевы обычно празднуется в Виндзорском замке, начинается с торжественной прогулки по городу, а заканчивается шикарным салютом в полдень. Британцы очень любят свою королеву, и конечно, же ее день рождения для них – очень важный праздник.

Флорал Марафон.

22 апреля.

Каждый год в Лондоне проходит марафон – Virgin London Marathon. Это событие считается одним из самых грандиозных спортивных событий Великобритании. В этот день на улице создается огромная тусовка, проходят различные представления, толпы людей веселятся на протяжении всего дня. А спортсмены проходят марафонскую дистанцию (26.2 мили). В марафоне зачастую участвуют известные спортсмены и знаменитости, для того чтобы внести свой вклад в развитие различных социальных программ.

Вальпургиева ночь.

30 апреля.

Праздник Вальпургиевой ночи – это самый главный праздник ведьм, а также один из главных языческих праздников, посвященных плодородию. В этот день принято почтить памятью всех ведьм.

Фестиваль Виски в Великобритании.

3 мая.

Один из самых любимых праздников в Шотландии – это Фестиваль Виски в Спэйсайде. Шотландцы на весь мир известны производством виски и очень гордятся этим. С наступлением весны начинается подготовка к фестивалям на тему их национального “эликсира жизни”. В этот день все люди могут спокойно посетить заводы любых производителей виски (в обычное время сделать это не так то просто). Главной же церемонией фестиваля является дегустация различных сортов ароматного напитка. Фестиваль славится веселой организацией, танцами, вечеринками, различными конкурсами и соревнованиями.

Окончание статьи читайте в Праздники Великобритании (Часть 2). Многие люди не могут позволить себе ощутить все национальные праздники Великобритании непосредственно посещая страну именно для этого. И это сегодня не проблема, так как мы всегда можем посмотреть видеоролики на сайтах, или фотографии в галереях или в новостях по телевидению. А самые свежие и интересные новости мирового туризма вы можете посмотреть вот на этом сайте.

Фейерверк в Лондоне на Новый Год (декабрь 2011 год).

В предверии Великой Пасхи, хочу кратко описать как и когда проводятся в Англии праздники.
Самых основных несколько, они не делятся на государственные и религиозные, т.к отмечаются широкомасштабно всей страной.
Главный праздник -это 25 декабря Рождество, а  Новый Год и 14 февраля- День Св. Валентина отмечают поскромнее…
А вот к Пасхе готовятся заранее…Так же, как и в России предпасхальная неделя (страстная в России, а здесь ее называют holy week) является знаковой, каждый день, что-то значит, в церквях проходят службы.

В «чистый четверг», здесь его называют Maundy Thursday, по сложившейся многовековой традиции королева с семьей в каком-нибудь храме (каждый год она посещают разные) раздает после службы, серебряные монеты старикам страше 70 лет, количество монет соответствует возрасту королевы. 88 женщин и 88 мужчин получили по монетке в этот четверг в Blackburn Cathedral (Блэкбёрн кафедральном соборе)…

Эту традицию, согласно Евангелие, когда Иисус собрал своих учеников на тайную вечерю и перед трапезой, в знак своей любви помыл ноги своим ученикам, англичане изменили много веков назад, и свою любовь к ближнему, выражают в виде подачи милостыни-специальных серебряных монет…

Источник фотографии-BBC news

Особо отмечают Good Friday -( Пятница перед Пасхой), это день-официальный выходной.
И в этот день (день, когда распяли Иисуса Христа) проводятся в каждом районе Лондона шествия с крестом, с несколькими остановками, когда читают молитвы…

Источник фотографий-интернет

В субботу и воскресенье будут службы. В Лондоне есть и два православных русских храма.
В субботу в 11 ночи, собирается очень много русскоговорящих людей на службу. Я ездила раньше, но в этом году не поеду. Народу собирается тААк много, что войти в храм не представляется возможным…приходится стоять на улице, не протолкнуться, ничего не видно и не слышно, устанавливаются железные кордоны, храм оцепляют полицейские…Много очень зевак…В общем, стоять на улице перед храмом всю ночь, у меня нет больше желания…

Русская православная церковь от Московской Патриархии в том году, в день Пасхи…На улице выставляют огромный стол для тех, кто не был на службе накануне, священик выходит и освящает куличи и яйца…Тут же у них в церкви можно купить готовые куличи…(Цены всегда впечатляют!!!)

 От ночной службы остались железные кордоны и еще стоят полицейские и их машина…

Кроме этих праздников существуют дни, когда вся страна отдыхает, эти дни называются банковскими каникулами (Bank Holidays), и приходятся они на первый и последний понедельник мая, в этом году это будет 5 мая и 26 мая, а также последний понедельник августа, в этом году, это 25 августа. В эти дни лучше не планировать ничего, т.к. все будет закрыто…

В  начале июня (день выбирается по погоде) отмечают день рождения королевы ярким красочным парадом и фейерверком. Хотя официальное день рождения у нее 21 апреля, но торжество устраивают летом, желающих лицезреть это событие собирается более миллиона… Это традиция…в конце парада на балкон Букингемского Дворца выходит вся королевская семья, поприветствовать  своих поданных…

Вся королевская рать (Кейт была беременной еще в том году)

Летом наступает затишье и период отпусков, а осенью отмечают день памяти погибшим во всех войнах, который приходится на 11 ноября. До этого дня, начиная с конца октября, люди носят на лацканах цветок-мак, в память о погибших…(мак символизирует пролитую кровь).
Затем еще один праздник — парад, посвященный выборам лорда-мэра Лондона, который открывает все церемониальные мероприятия. (об этом я уже рассказывала раньше).

И 1 января еще один парад, посвященный Новому Году..Вообще надо отметить, что парадов проводится много и по разным поводам, это и латиноамериканское шоу-парад, это и гей-парад, это и парад абсолютно голых велосипедистов и много др…

Сегодня в пятницу, после шествия, мы поехали на Трафальгарскую площадь, чтобы посмотреть воочию библейское представление о той самой пятнице, когда распяли Иисуса Христа…Но об я расскажу и покажу в следующий раз…До встречи!!!