The custom of kissing the Cross on Good Friday dates back to the celebration of Good Friday in Jerusalem. In the fourth century, the Spanish pilgrim Nun Etheria relates how, in Jerusalem, the relics of the Cross that had been discovered by the Empress Helena at the beginning of that century and which were believed to be authentic, were venerated. Etheria relates who the relics of the Cross would be held by two deacons so that the people might come forward to kiss them. This practice became common in those places that claimed to have relics of the Cross and , gradually became part of the Good Friday service. In mediaeval England it was known as ‘Creeping to the Cross’ because the Cross was approached with three genuflexions or, sometimes, on the knees before it was kissed. Obviously, the kissing of the Cross is a way of expressing love of the Lord who died on a cross and is best done with a large wooden cross rather than a small crucifix held in the hand of the person offering it for veneration.
It should be noted that in other cultures where kissing is not a normal way of showing affection, other ways of veneration are adopted such as a deep bow.
