You Americans and your Good Friday…

 

Why do we call it Good Friday if this is the day which we celebrate as the crucifixion and mortal death of our Lord Jesus Christ?

 

Really, English is the only language that calls it that. In German, today is Karfreitag (or Charfreitag depending on what part of Germany). Literally translated Care Friday. Kar translates to something like “care and woes” and is used to mean “mourning.” So, if you translate for meaning, Germans call today Mourning Friday. This makes sense as we are called to mourn the death of our Lord on this day, just as the disciples did when they thought Jesus was gone for good.

I have seen connection between good and holy. Like we call the Holy Bible, the Good Book, or the phrase “God be with you,” is now “Good-bye.” Perhaps when we say Good Friday, we are really saying Holy Friday. 

 

If you look in church missals for different languages the words are different. The Greek words translate to “the Holy and Great Friday,” maybe we just shortened that. The Roman translation is just “Holy Friday.”    Another way of thinking is that maybe we used to call it God’s Friday and over the years it got changed to Good Friday. Was this a Christmas to x-mas translation? I think the explanation I like best is that we call it Good Friday as what Jesus did for us on this day was to bring our Salvation. Possibly for Christians the greatest good…

 

OK, so why we call it Good Friday makes a little sense from different views. So what are we supposed to do on Good Friday? Do we go to church? Do we celebrate? Do we mourn?

 

We are called to go to church on Good Friday, and to pray. It is typically a day of mourning. We don’t celebrate, as this is in remembrance of what Jesus and His disciples went through. Think about what Jesus did for us, especially between about 1 pm and 3 pm. This is the timeframe which it is said He died. 

 

I have also noticed that the weather always coincides with the mood on this weekend. In fact, I can only remember one year when it did not rain where I was on Good Friday, and Easter Sunday is always sunny and bright. 

 

The Forecast from NOAA.gov for Colorado Springs:

 

Today: A 20 percent chance of snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 36. East southeast wind between 10 and 15 mph.

Tonight: Snow likely, mainly after midnight. Cloudy, with a low around 24. South southeast wind between 5 and 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New snow accumulation of around an inch possible.

Saturday: Snow likely. Cloudy, with a high near 31. South southeast wind between 10 and 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.

Saturday Night: A 40 percent chance of snow, mainly before midnight. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 21. Southeast wind between 5 and 10 mph. New snow accumulation of less than one inch possible.

Sunday: Partly cloudy, with a high near 52. East wind around 5 mph becoming calm.

 

Hmmm, looks like snow and rain for us until Sunday where it will be Partly Cloudy, Sunny and 20 degrees warmer than the past several days. Looks like another typical Easter Weekend…