Christians do not eat on Good Friday

Good Friday, also known as Holy Friday, Black Friday, Great Friday, commemorates the crucifixion of Jesus Christs, his death at Calvary, and his Resurrection from the grave. The holiday is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum on Friday preceding Easter Sunday, and often coincides with the Jewish observance of Passover. Holy and Great Friday is observed as a strict fast, and adult Christians are expected to abstain from all food and drink the entire day to the extent that their health permits. “On this Holy day neither a meal is offered nor do we eat on this day of the crucifixion. If someone is unable or has become very old or is unable to fast, he may be given bread and water after sunset. In this way we come to the holy commandment of the Holy Apostles not to eat on Great Friday,” priest Octavian Mosin, of the God's Greeting Church, told Info-Prim Neo. In the forenoon on Friday, the faithful gather to pray the Royal Hours, a special expanded celebration of the Little Hours with the addition of scripture readings (Old Testament, Epistle and Gospel) and hymns about the Crucifixion at each of the Hours. This service is somewhat more festive in character, and derives its name of "Royal" from both the fact that the Hours are served with more solemnity than normal, commemorating Christ the King who humbled himself for the salvation of mankind, and also from the fact that this service was in the past attended by the Emperor and his court. Rich visual imagery and symbolism as well as stirring hymnody are remarkable elements of these observances. In the Orthodox understanding, the events of Holy Week are not simply an annual commemoration of past events, but the faithful actually participate in the death and resurrection of Jesus.