Good Friday for everyone! Churches demand statutory holiday in Austria.

Good Friday for everyone! Churches demand statutory holiday in Austria.

Graz, Österreich - In Graz, the General Synod of the Evangelical Church A.B. and H.B. On December 5, 2024, a resolution unanimously adopted that the federal government asks to declare Good Friday as a legal holiday for everyone. This concern also brings back memories of the abolition of Good Friday as a holiday in 2019, which was a painful cut for many Protestant. The resolution emphasizes that Good Friday not only plays a central role for the Protestant Christians, but also offers a way to promote the rights of minorities and historical awareness in Austria. The Good Friday is seen as a valuable symbol for the respectful handling of history and the minorities in the country, as kathpress.at

The Good Friday, also known as the "Stiller Friday" and "High Friday", is celebrated as Friday before Easter and is reminiscent of the suffering and dying of Jesus Christ on the cross. This day has a high liturgical meaning in all Christian denominations and represents a central element of the Easter festival cycle. Historically, Good Friday in the Catholic Church and among Protestants was heavily ritualized. The day is both a testimony to the cross death as well as wrapped in the Christian traditions of fasting and repentance, which underlines the special silence and respect compared to this day, such as wikipedia explained.

The General Synod sees the return of the Good Friday as a legal holiday not only as a restoration of a FAIRYBOL day, but also as an important step towards promoting integration and cooperation in Austrian society. The historical role of the Protestant churches as a bridge builder is also emphasized in the resolution in order to emphasize the importance of this holiday as a means of memory and social cohesion. With the words of the synodals it is determined that the collection of Good Friday for the holiday is not only a religious concern for everyone, but also a significant sociopolitical statement.