It's odd, here.
Even 5+ years ago, people still respected this day, more than now. Even in Melbourne, nothing, and I mean almost completely nothing, was open.
Even more than Christmas, this was always the day when the shops stayed closed (including bottleshops).
Now? Unless you're actually a true, attending Christian, it's just a day for sport (two games of Rugby League on TV!), charity fundraising (hospitals, specifically, for whatever reason), and events - music festivals, food markets, etc.
Oh, and the highest rates of hourly pay for the whole year.
Even my own, theoretically Christian family insisted on opening and eating Easter chocolate today, much though I thought that was... Fairly inappropriate.
I dunno, just feels weird, man.
My favourite place to be, on this day, has always been one of two multi-day music festivals held over this time (yes, I know..)
At those, there was always services held somewhere, if you wanted to go to them. But it was just... Good, to be away from all the bullshit, for the weekend..?
I never felt more at home than I did at those events.
But that's not an option this time (thanks Uni/life! :-( ), so I'm just... At my parent's house, doing an assignment. God it feels shit to be "working" today, but that's just reality.
It just makes it much more apparent to me how little "normies" care about this day, for the most part, anymore.
You hardly even hear about the "religious" aspects of today on the news, at all. It's like it barely exists.
Very strange.
Obviously this will vary by country, and even within countries, but I imagine, in Catholic-majority places, at least, today must still have more meaning than that which has been stolen from it, over here?
Just curious, really.
I know in America stores would close in my parents and grandparents day. I live in a pretty Christian heavy area and stores are open and it’s kind of like a normal day. I’ll go to Good Friday service. My company may let us off early
Oh, there you go..
That's very different to here, then, but I think that has more to do with US "work culture" than it does relative rates of religious adherence...
You guys do holidays, leave, etc, quite different to us, and different to Europeans, too, so that's interesting!
But yeah, it sounds like what you describe as being like in the past - it's kind of still like that, here, now - even in super left wing places like Melbourne...
Interesting...
Good Friday starts at night mostly nowadays. Services aren't until 6:30 so just stay open.
Well all my life stores were always open so I never experienced it when stores were closed. My service tonight starts at 630 exactly. I gotta be there earlier to sing in the choir
It's like the Christian Passover, we treat it like a normal day until the evening and then it's Good Friday.
Different here. Services are usually in the morning.
I think 3 - 6 (PM) is considered approximately the "holiest" part of the day, though, at least here... shrug