When is Good Friday and how is it celebrated? What to know about the religious holiday

Easter is on Sunday, March 31, this year, but those celebrating the holiday religiously will start much earlier.

The Friday before Easter is known to Catholics as Good Friday and honors the anniversary of Jesus Christ’s crucifixion and death.

Good Friday is just one part of the larger Holy Week that proceeds, with the week’s conclusion marking the end of a 40-day fast Catholics endure known as Lent, according to Catholic Online.

Here’s a look at how Catholics spend their time on Good Friday and why the day is important to the religion’s belief system.

When is Good Friday?

Good Friday this year is on March 29.

When is Lent? What you need to know about the religious celebration

What is Good Friday celebrated for?

Catholics recognize Good Friday as the day Jesus Christ was crucified, died and was buried in a tomb.

Catholics use the day the recount the condemnation of Christ by Jewish and Roman leaders who sent him to death for blasphemy over claiming he was the son of God, after Christ himself was betrayed by his disciple, Judas.

Hundreds gather for Good Friday at St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Basilica in downtown Phoenix on April 19, 2019.

Jesus’s journey carrying his cross is the solemn focus of Catholics who prepare to celebrate Christ’s eventual resurrection on Easter Sunday.

“He died on the cross to fulfill the mission of salvation the Father (God) had entrusted to him,” read a post on the Vatican’s website.

“Under the shadows of Good Friday, each one of us can place ourselves before the Cross and compare ourselves with the Lord Jesus regarding our own problems, our own tragedies, our own sufferings,” the post added.

What do Catholics do on Good Friday?

Much of Good Friday is spent in a quiet remembrance of the death of Christ. Catholics will participate in the Stations of The Cross on Wednesday and Friday during Lent, including Good Friday. The 14-step prayer crosses depictions of Christ’s journey carrying his cross for his crucifixion, and his later death, according to Catholic Online.

Catholics also participate in the Veneration of the Cross every Good Friday, where churchgoers kneel in front of the cross, similar to the one Christ was crucified on, and kiss it to demonstrate faith.

During this veneration, priests will typically recite the Reproaches, a set of original Latin prayers that aim to make parishioners more aware of the sacrifice Christ made for them, according to Catholic Online.

Catholic churches typically do not hold mass on Good Friday, according to Catholic Online. “Baptism, penance, and anointing of the sick may be performed, but only in unusual circumstances. Church bells are silent. Altars are left bare,” read a Good Friday post on Catholic Online’s website.

If a service is performed, Catholic Online says the communion from the previous day, known as Holy Thursday, must be used.

“The solemn, muted atmosphere is preserved until the Easter Vigil,” added Catholic Online.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: When is Good Friday and how is the Catholic holiday celebrated?