Today is Good Friday and I am at home this morning because the College is closed and there are no classes or work today. Many other businesses are closed as has been the practice on Good Friday's for centuries. Luckily for us it is not counted out of our holidays even though it is not a Bank Holiday. It is a religious day that the custom is that it is also a company holiday. Added to Easter Monday, this makes for a nice long weekend (personally I would rather have the days off in the summer).
Image source: Calvarya.Org. |
Days "off" for religious occasions are now a bit dated to my mind. Later this afternoon I will be joining my fellow choir members for Good Friday Prayers in a church that will be no more than one-quarter full. The vast majority of people who have today "off" will not set foot in a Church. Should the day be given "off" for those not attending church? Should you get a card stamped by the priest to prove you were at Prayers so that you can claim the day "off"? If you are not a Christian, should you get the day "off"? What about other religious days like Christmas?
As religion is paying less and less of a role in people's lives, perhaps it is time to declare days like Good Friday as official Bank Holidays and call it what it now is - a day off. WWJD?
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