Anonymous wrote:I went to college in the 80s, and we never got Good Friday off. Not necessary, if you want to go to church you can do so after classes.
Good Friday is the most Holy Day in the Catholic calendar - and is a solemn day - definitely not a "Holiday"
For those raised in Catholic Elementary School in the 40s (my parents) what they were taught and I learned was that you were supposed to spend the morning in reflection as Jesus was betrayed 3 times before noon by Peter and later in the day Jesus died on the Cross.
There is actually not mass or communion on Good Friday (so you can't go after class as someone previously recommended)
Churches typically have a Stations of the Cross which tell the story of the betrayal / Pontius Pilate / Walking with the Cross / Being Nailed to It etc
There is an old tradition that i rarely hear anyone doing of visiting nine churches on Good Friday in remembrance of the walk of Jesus Christ to his crucifixion. Typically you would say a prayer at each church and end up at a church in time for their stations of the cross.
These traditions are not typically practiced today.
I had Catholic friends in college and they would tell the professors they were going to be absent on Good Friday. They often got notes from someone else (usually me) and made sure not to miss any work.