Good Friday

Mumbai is a vibrant mix of various cultures. You can experience the city’s festive vibe in every nook and cranny of its streets, throughout the year.

- Aniket Tiwari

Mumbai is a vibrant mix of various cultures. You can experience the city’s festive vibe in every nook and cranny of its streets, throughout the year. Mumbai also has a strong Christian influence, this could be because of the various saints and missionaries who have visited India back in 180 AD. The fact that Mumbai was a crucial port for the British during the mid-18th century also explains the Christian influence. Hence, the celebration of Christian festivals and holidays are done with quite some flair in city. It is a wholesome experience to witness these festivals and see the city bustling with people dressed in colourful outfits. Today we are going to talk about Good Friday, its significance, and how it is celebrated in the city.

Good Friday is a Christian holiday celebrating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary. Good Friday is observed on a Friday before Easter. Now, Christians celebrate Easter on the first Sunday following the first full moon after the spring equinox. That means the date of Easter, and its preceding events, change every year, but not in relation to each other. This is calculated differently in Eastern Christianity and Western Christianity. One of the most important of the preceding events is Good Friday, the day on which Christ was crucified.

Before going further let’s get an idea of the origin of this festival. How did it actually start? So from the Bible, and an article written by Olivia Waring from Metro (UK) we have tried to write down the events in a chronological order.

On the evening before Good Friday (Maundy Thursday), Jesus told his disciples to expect his death during what’s known as the Last Supper. He also told them that from then on, if they ate bread and drank wine they would be eating his body and drinking his blood.