EASTER 2018 falls early this year, with thousands of Brits nationwide celebrating Easter Sunday on April FoolтАЩs day. The story of Easter Sunday is well told, but what is Good Friday and why is it called that?
By┬аOWEN GOUGH-www.express.co.uk
The story of Easter is a crucial part of the Christian calendar and millions of Christians worldwide will be remembering and celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
As the story in the Bible goes, Jesus was crucified on the cross before he rose from the dead three days later.
The death of Jesus symbolises the death and forgiveness for all of mankindтАЩs sins, with Jesus taking the ultimate sacrifice for the good of all humans.
The death of Jesus is connected to, and remembered on, Good Friday, with Easter falling on the following Sunday – the day in which Jesus rose from the grave.
Why is it called Good Friday?
Some historians suggest that the origin for тАЬGood FridayтАЭ is that it is holy, or that it is a misinterpretation of тАЬGodтАЩs FridayтАЭ.
Fiona MacPherson, a senior editor for the Oxford English Dictionary, says that the use of тАЬgoodтАЭ in this context refers to тАЬa day or season observed as holy by the churchтАЭ, similar to that of тАЬgood tideтАЭ at Christmas or Shrove Tuesday.
Is Good Friday a bank holiday?
One of the bonuses of Easter weekend is the bank holiday that falls either side of the weekend.
Most employers will close up from Friday through until Monday, returning to work Tuesday.
However, if you are required to work weekends, it is likely that you will still be required to work across on any or all of these days.
Why does Easter change every year?
While many festivals and religious holidays are on set days, Easter is a moveable feast.
The First Council of Nicea was a council of Christian bishops convened in Nicaea in Bithynia by the Roman Emperor Constantine I in AD 325.
They made decisions in an effort to attain a consensus on several Christian topics and helped to set a date – almost – for the holiday based on the paschal full┬аmoon.
Now Easter is always the first Sunday following the first full moon after the Spring equinox, meaning that it will always fall between March 22 and April 25.
Easter Sunday always falls on the next full moon after the Spring Equinox.
As the full moon can be on different days in different time zones, the Church said they would use the 14th day of the lunar month instead – the Paschal Full Moon –┬аand host Easter Day on the following Sunday.
Once the date of that moon is known, Easter Day and the Easter holidays can be determined.
