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WNY's Christians, Jews mark Good Friday and start of Passover, respectively

Michael Mroziak, WBFO

Friday brings the arrival of holy days for two religious faiths followed in Western New York. Christians were commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ on Good Friday, followed by Jews awaiting the start of Passover at sundown.

Good Friday, as observed by Christian faithful, was the day Jesus was put to death, only to later resurrect on Easter Sunday. The significance of his death, as per the faith, is the belief Jesus took with Him on the cross the sins of the people, giving them a spiritual fresh start.

Good Friday services were held throughout Western New York, including St. Joseph Cathedral, where Henrietta Szumigala arrived for a noon-hour liturgy. She told WBFO, before entering, of the encouragement of seeing many younger people attending services during Holy Week.

"Starting with yesterday, Holy Thursday, I was really surprised to see how many families had young children with them," she said. "Even people like gentlemen and young ladies who were 18 and up, to see them come out for this occasion."

Kraig Robeison, his wife and their six children were also arriving at the cathedral. Robeison explained his family makes it a point to stay together throughout the Easter weekend. He even takes Friday off from work.

They also make it a point to take a break from the everyday world from noon to 3 p.m. on Good Friday, the hours Christians observe as those during which Jesus hung and died on the cross.

"We try to turn radios off, television and cell phones off so that we remember this," he said.

In the meantime, Western New York's Jewish population was preparing to welcome the arrival of Passover at sundown Friday. The seven-day holy celebration commemorates the Hebrews' flight from captivity in Egypt and the night, as per their faith, when God struck down the first-born of all species in Egypt, except for faithful who marked their doorways with lamb's blood as a signal of who was inside.

Rabbi Eliezer Marcus of Young Israel Synagogue in Williamsville describes Passover as a celebration of the birth of the Jewish faith and the freedom from bondage, both physical and spiritual.

Rabbi Marcus explained the latter.

"There is a freedom in the spiritual sense in that the Jews were, in effect, free and had alleviated from upon them the pressure of having to confirm to specific society, specific culture, a specific way of life," he said. "Every human being has to have the ability and find it within themselves to be able to live life to within its fullest.

"Living life to its fullest is doing the right thing, being the best human being you can be. If you are bound to somebody else, that's virtually impossible."

Passover will continue through sundown on Saturday, April 27.

Meanwhile, Good Friday also marked one of the busiest shopping days of the year at Buffalo's historic Broadway Market. A block of Broadway, between Gibson and Lombard Streets, was closed to auto traffic to allow pedestrians a safe path to cross the street. Vendors were busy selling their wares inside. Outside, neighboring businesses including some bars were open for business as countless patrons were donning the red and white of Polish heritage, which would be further celebrated the following Monday with Dyngus Day.

In years past, though, Good Friday was marked by shutting down businesses for the afternoon hours in reverence to the holy day and its meaning. WBFO asked those attending Mass in downtown Buffalo if it bothered them that Good Friday has instead become a very busy commercial day for many.

"The Church has been pushed so far out of view that people forget what the weekend is about," Robeison replied. "They think it's instant gratification, the Easter Bunny, chocolate, and money and getting all of that. Sure, it's great the butter lambs and stuff like that are all nice and good to have. But at 12:00 all the bars used to shut down and wouldn't serve. And if they were open, it was the fish, it wasn't burgers or hot dogs."

Szumigala recalled the era when noon to 3 p.m. on Good Friday meant no television, no indulgences and simply keeping quiet. She, too, was asked about the break from that tradition.

"It's really tough. I don't care for it but it's up to the people. They have their choice," she said.

Michael Mroziak is an experienced, award-winning reporter whose career includes work in broadcast and print media. When he joined the WBFO news staff in April 2015, it was a return to both the radio station and to Horizons Plaza.