Good Friday 2020: Date, history, significance and unknown facts about this day

Good Friday, the Friday before Easter is celebrated worldwide by Christians as the day to commemorate Jesus Christ's passion, crucifixion and death, as told in the Holy Bible. It's the day after the Maundy Thursday.

Observed for the commemoration of the Crucifixion of the Jesus, it's a day of sorrow, penance, and fasting a characteristic that finds expression in the German word Karfreitag ("Sorrowful Friday").

What is Good Friday?

The most important events in Christianity are the death and later resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, whose life and teachings are the foundation of Christianity.

Christ was betrayed by Judas and sentenced to death. Christians believe Jesus was crucified on this day of Good Friday and rose again three days later - which is marked as Easter. The three days are known as the Easter Triduum.

Albeit being a day for mourning Christ's death, the day is known as 'Good' Friday. The word ''good'' in the Good Friday stands for pious or holy. Undoubtedly most Christians perceive the day as "good" because the message of Easter is of Christ's victory over sin, death, and the devil.

After the last supper, Jesus was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane, put on trial and sentenced to death. He was tied and nailed by the wrists and feet to a large wooden cross and left to die. This is why the cross is used as a symbol of the Christian faith.

How is the day celebrated?
To mark Good Friday, people keep fasts, often a month-long, and pray to the Lord. Church services are organised around noon or midday to 3 PM. To observe this day, all the decorations from the statues are removed. The priests are dressed in black robes.

Some churches observe the day by re-enacting the process of the cross in the rituals of stations of the cross, which depicts the final hours of Jesus' life. Other churches may participate in Veneration of the Cross, a short ceremony in which Christians kneel before the cross and affirm their faith.

One of the most important Good Friday symbols is the crucifix, or cross, which represents the way in which Jesus died. Other symbols of Good Friday include black cloth used to cover the cross, paintings and statues in churches and some homes to signify mourning.

Considering the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, all sorts of functions related for the day including the special holy mass in the churches have been abandoned by the Christain missionaries.