Good Friday is observed on the Friday before Easter\u00a0Sunday.<\/p>\n
On this day Christians commemorate the passion, or suffering, and death on the cross\u00a0of Jesus.<\/p>
Many Christians\u00a0spend this day in fasting,\u00a0prayer, repentance, \u00a0or meditation to remember the agony and suffering of Christ on the cross.<\/p>\n
On Good Friday we remember the day Jesus willingly suffered and died by crucifixion\u00a0as the ultimate sacrifice for our sins.<\/p>
It is followed by Easter, the glorious celebration of the day Jesus was raised from the dead.<\/p>\n
Still, why call the day of Jesus\u2019 death \u201cGood Friday\u201d instead of \u201cBad Friday\u201d or something similar?<\/p>\n
Some Christian traditions do take this approach: in German, for example, the day is called Karfreitag, or \u201cSorrowful Friday\u201d.<\/p>\n
In English, in fact, the origin of the term \u201cGood\u201d is debated,\u00a0some believe it developed from an older name \u201cGod\u2019s Friday\u201d.<\/p>\n
Regardless of the origin, the name Good Friday is entirely appropriate to Christians because the suffering and death of Jesus, as terrible as it was, marked the dramatic culmination of God\u2019s plan to save his people from their sins.<\/p>\n