Good Friday or Fashion Friday? Time for a Conversation.

By Fr Robert Christo
Vicar for Communications

Trinidad and Tobago is a beautifully diverse and spiritual nation. We celebrate Eid, Phagwa, Emancipation, Orisha, Divali, and Christmas with passion and respect. But something troubling is happening—our sacred, religious traditions are being renamed, repackaged, and, in some cases, reduced to pure entertainment.

We are now hearing whispers of Good Friday becoming “Fashion Friday” (p29, ‘Runway Meets Rhythm on Good Friday’ Trinidad Guardian, April 6, 2025) We’ve already seen Ash Wednesday marketed as Ash Wednesday Cool Down. What’s next? Eid Explosion? Divali Day-Away?

This is not about restricting freedom. People are free to celebrate or host events as they wish on any day of the year. But renaming a sacred day disrespects its meaning and the faithful who observe it.

Good Friday is not just another public holiday. For Christians, it marks the most sorrowful Passion and death of Jesus Christ. It is a solemn day of fasting, reflection, and reverence—not a day to turn the cross into a catwalk.

Let’s try the REST rule:

• R – Respect the sacred
• E – Empathise with believers
• S – Stand down from repackaging holy days
• T – Think before turning worship into ‘wutlessness’

“Yuh cyah turn Golgotha into a runway and expect to walk in Resurrection glory!”

Sacred days are like national monuments—you can celebrate nearby, but yuh cyah repaint it to match yuh themed pardy.

We need a respectful national dialogue—not with anger, but with truth and tenderness. Let’s keep our religious holidays sacred, not watered down. This is how we live our anthem’s call: “Here every creed and race find an equal place”.

Let’s walk and speak with love—beyond the pews.