Do any other denominations of Christianity treat Good Friday as seriously as the Catholics? It seems like it'd be a lot more major considering how much of Christian symbolism is tied to Christ's actual death
Growing up, the denomination I was part of (Brethren in Christ) didn't really make a big deal out of Good Friday. It was all about Sunday.
I've always been in some form of baptist church my whole life and they've never made a big deal about Good Friday either, although the church I current go to* did have a Good Friday service this past Friday.
I think the distinction between Protestants and catholics goes further. Catholics are big on crucifixes, with the emphases on Jesus' sacrifice and death which, according to Christianity,
is the act that frees believers from their sins but most non-Catholic's don't have crucifixes, just crosses. The empty cross symbolises Christs power over death. If Jesus didn't rise from the dead, then he would have just been a martyr. You could
say that his death was an atoning sacrifice but there's no proof in that. He would have just been like every other man to die. It's the triumph over death that matters and the symbolism that believing in Christ and following Him allows everyone to conquer metaphysical-death and have eternal life.
*we haven't been going to church very frequently. In fact, yesterday was the first time we'd been since Christmas which was the first time we'd been in several month.
