Christian devotees participate in religious observances all over the world commemorating the anniversary of the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ.
Good Friday is the Friday within Holy Week, and is traditionally a time of fasting and penance, commemorating the anniversary of Christ’s crucifixion and death. For Christians, Good Friday commemorates not just a historical event, but the sacrificial death of Christ, which with the resurrection, comprises the heart of the Christian faith.
The Gospel says that the Temple Guards, guided by Jesus’ disciple Judas Iscariot, arrested Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. Judas received 30 pieces of silver for betraying Jesus and told the guards that whomever he kisses is the one they are to arrest.
The customs and prayers associated with Good Friday typically focus on the theme of Christ’s sacrificial death for our sins. Churches throughout the island organized major Good Friday worship services. Many Churches offered the Stations of the Cross, also called the “Way of the Cross.” This is a devotion in which fourteen events surrounding the death of Jesus are commemorated.