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Lolo declares Good Friday a local government holiday

Christians around the world, including those in American Samoa, will commemorate Good Friday tomorrow, as the day when Jesus Christ was crucified and died on the cross at Calvary to save the world.

 

Good Friday will be marked with morning services by some church denominations, especially the Catholic faith, whose parishioners will re-create the final steps Jesus took while carrying his cross to be crucified — they are embodied in the fourteen Stations of the Cross — and it is to start just before sunrise.

 

Good Friday precedes Easter Sunday, the day Christians celebrate the triumphant resurrection of Jesus — and will include a wide range of church services territory-wide, followed by an Easter feast. On Saturday there will be Easter Egg hunts for the children.

 

At the White House, the First Family will host next Monday the 135th annual White House Easter Egg Roll. This year, more than 35,000 people will be joining the First Family on the South Lawn for games, stories, and, of course, the traditional egg roll, according to the White House.

 

Gov. Lolo M. Moliga has already declared tomorrow, Good Friday, a local government holiday and all government offices are closed. Employees required to work will receive holiday wages in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.

 

With the three-day weekend, police plan to increase road patrols to keep the territory’s highways safe and Department of Public Safety urges the community to keep peace and harmony at this time, when Christians mark the death and resurrection of Jesus.

 

Several local businesses are closed to not only observe Good Friday but to allow their workforce to attend morning church services.

 

ANZ Amerika Samoa Bank will be closed tomorrow.

 

However, Bank of Hawai’i along with all federal offices including the U.S. Post Office in Fagatogo will be open for business as usual.

 

In observance of Good Friday, Samoa News will not publish tomorrow; however, the Saturday weekend edition — Toasavili — will publish as usual.