10 Good Friday Traditions- Ideas For Observing This Day In Your Home

Good Friday is a very important day for Catholics. It’s the day Jesus died on the cross for us and saved us from our sin. Not only is it an important day, it’s a day of fasting, prayer, and mourning.

Here are some simple ways to observe Good Friday in your home with your kids:

• Fast. This is required by the Catholic church if you’re health and 18 years or older, but I also encourage my kids to skip snacks and any other frivolous eating throughout the day.
• Keep fun activities to a minimum. I know that the world wants to throw Easter parties and have egg hunts on Good Friday, but it’s just not the time for fun and celebration.
• Skip work and/or school if possible. That’s pretty easy for us as homeschoolers- I realize not everyone has this option. Although even when I was a little girl, my mom never sent us to school on Good Friday.
• Eat hot cross buns for breakfast. Legend says there was a priest in 1361 A.D. that gave out hot cross buns to the poor on Good Friday morning, and the tradition was born.
• Wear black. It’s the color of mourning.
• Read the passion story from the Bible. We like to read the passion story from scripture with this symbolic scripture lunch. 
• Do extra good deeds and sacrifices. If you have a method for tracking sacrifices such as a crown of thorns, encourage your kids to do this today.
• Go to Stations of the Cross or Veneration of the Cross at your local Catholic church. You may even be able to find a live Stations of the Cross in your town. I also like to use our Stations of the Cross eggs and listen to our Stations of the Cross CD. 
• Watch the story of the passion on a movie. I really like The Passion Of Christ for me, and I like The Greatest Adventure Easter Story for little kids.
• Good Friday is the first day of the Divine Mercy Novena, so don’t forget to start it.
• The most sacred hours during Good Friday are from noon to 3:00, because this is when Jesus was on the cross. They’re sometimes known as the 3 hours of agony. During this time, hold a silence in your home, and encourage your children to do the same (to the best of their ability). Turn off the phones, TV, and other devices. Pray the sorrowful mysteries of the rosary, read from scripture, have your children quietly draw or color religious pictures, encourage them to meditate on the passion through their passion peg dolls, or read religious books.

If you want to take the moment of silence from 12-3 a step further, you can make my stand up crucifix craft with your kids. At 12, tape Jesus on the cross, and begin the silence in your home. At 3:00, take him down and place him in the tomb.

On Easter Sunday, you can replace him with the resurrected Jesus!

I have a new set that is a printable stand up EASY stations of the cross craft. And the best part? The crafted stations stand up, but store flat so you can keep them to use again and again! Get your stations of the cross craft here.

We are also going to be making our Good Friday pages from Holy Week In Handprints.

I also have a free printable page for kids to fill in about the crucifixion here.

You can find all of my Lenten resources for families here.