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38-647: The tradition of a midnight Vigil on the eve of Christmas began in the East, and was observed in the late fourth century in Jerusalem by a Christian woman named Egeria on the night of January 5. The tradition reached the Western world in the year 430 under Pope Sixtus III in the Basilica of St Mary Major . By the twelfth century, the practice of midnight Mass had become more widespread as all priests had been granted

76-625: A Mass during the Night , then subsequently earlier in the evening. In Splendoribus Sanctorum is used for the Communion chant during traditional Catholic midnight mass. Lutherans often observe Midnight Mass in addition to Christmas Vespers and Matins . In his famous work, Cérémonies et coutumes religieuses de tous les peuples du monde , Bernard Picart describes the Lutheran Midnight Mass: In some Lutheran Countries,

114-538: A holy day . Such liturgical vigils usually consist of psalms , prayers and hymns , possibly a sermon or readings from the Holy Fathers , and sometimes periods of silent meditation . The term "morning" means that the observance begins on the evening before. In traditional Christianity, the celebration of liturgical feasts begins on the evening before the holy day because the Early Church continued

152-492: A black robe was placed as a symbol of his willingness to die for his king. In some countries, including the United States and Australia, vigils are held in public spaces as a form of peaceful protest or public mourning. Examples include the numerous public vigils during the protests against police violence and war as well as public vigils for victims of mass shootings, which can occur as a remembrance or commemoration of

190-513: A death or traumatic event. These vigils typically begin with an announcement or speech, and can be silent or include chanting, song, or prayer. Public vigils in the United States are not necessarily religious in scope or tone and are often completely secular, but can be religious depending on the group or individuals organizing the vigil. Holy Saturday Holy Saturday ( Latin : Sabbatum Sanctum ), also known as Great and Holy Saturday (also Holy and Great Saturday ), Low Saturday ,

228-484: Is Romans 6:3-11, St. Paul's explanation of the role of death and resurrection in baptism. This is the standard epistle read at baptisms. Unique to this day, the Alleluia is replaced with Psalm 81 (82) being sung: "Arise, O God, judge Thou the earth: for Thou shalt have an inheritance in all the nations" while the deacon performs a censing of the church. In Slavic tradition where the service is begun in dark vestments,

266-407: Is a period of purposeful sleeplessness, an occasion for devotional watching, or an observance. The Italian word vigilia has become generalized in this sense and means 'eve' (as in "on the eve of the war"). A vigil may be held on the eve of a major religious festival ( feast days ), observed by remaining awake—"watchful"—as a devotional exercise or ritual observance on the eve of

304-530: Is called a watchnight service (held elsewhere on New Year's Eve). While Midnight Mass is not observed in Eastern traditions, All-Night Vigil is common on Christmas Eve and involves the celebration of Matins , the hour which is traditionally observed at midnight. Vigil A vigil , from the Latin vigilia meaning 'wakefulness' ( Greek : pannychis , παννυχίς or agrypnia ἀγρυπνία ),

342-489: Is kept over the body and Tehillim are recited constantly, until the burial service. In Christianity , especially the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic traditions, a vigil is often held when someone is gravely ill or mourning. Prayers are said and votives are often made. Vigils extend from eventual death to burial, ritualistically to pray for a loved one, but more so their body is never left alone. During

380-584: Is read on Friday afternoon every week in synagogue prayers immediately before receiving the sabbath in rabbinic Judaism. Eastern Orthodoxy In Eastern Orthodoxy this day, known as Holy and Great Saturday , is also called The Great Sabbath since it is on this day that Christ "rested" physically in the tomb . But it is also believed that it was on this day he performed in spirit the Harrowing of Hell and raised up to Paradise , having liberated those who had been held captive. Oriental Orthodoxy In

418-488: The Epitaphios , an icon in the form of a cloth embroidered with the image of Christ prepared for burial. The first part of the service consists of chanting Psalm 118 , as usual at both Saturday matins and at funerals, but interspersed with hymns ( enkomia or lamentations ) between the verses. The predominant theme of the service is not so much one of mourning, but of watchful expectation: Today Thou dost keep holy

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456-472: The Anglican Communion also traditionally celebrate Midnight Communion for Christmas at 11 or 11:30 pm. Methodist observations vary as many hold services at 11 p.m. which involve the ringing of church bells when the stroke of midnight is reached. The Church of Scotland observes a service just before midnight which involves the singing of carols, although it does not include Mass and

494-665: The Canon of Holy Saturday is repeated, toward the end of which the epitaphios is removed from the center of the church and placed on the altar table where it remains until the Ascension . Then, all of the candles and lights in the church are extinguished, and all wait in darkness and silence for the proclamation of the Resurrection of Christ. In the Catholic Church , the altar remains stripped completely bare (following

532-664: The Coptic , Ethiopian and Eritrean Orthodox Churches, this day is known as Joyous Saturday , otherwise known as the night of light and joy. It is known as the Saturday of Good Tidings or Gospel Saturday in the Syriac Church, which is also a day where Syriac Christians remember their departed. Syriac Christianity In the Syriac Christian tradition , this day is known as ܫܲܒܬ݂ܵܐ ܕܢܘܼܗܪܵܐ šábbṯā d-núhrā or

570-652: The Easter Vigil is celebrated, marking the official start of the Easter season . In the Moravian Church , people decorate the graves in God's Acre with flowers; the sunrise service , the first liturgy of Paschaltide, begins before dawn of Easter Sunday. In the predominantly Catholic Philippines , the day is legally and colloquially known as Black Saturday , given the colour's role in mourning. It commemorates

608-720: The Eastern Orthodox Church an All-Night Vigil (consisting of Great Vespers , Matins and the First Hour ) is held on the eves of Sundays and all Major Feast Days (such as the Twelve Great Feasts and the Feast Days of important Saints ) during the liturgical year . In the Methodist tradition, Watchnight Vigil services are celebrated on New Year's Eve . When a Jew dies, a watch

646-635: The Great Sabbath in Jewish liturgy occurs the sabbath before the Feast of Unleavened Bread , the sabbath in the midst of the feast is celebrated as a Special Shabbat § Shabbat Chol Hamoed Pesach . In Hebrews 4 , Jewish Christians are admonished to make every effort to enter this sabbath and every sabbath in repentance, and Psalm 95 is excerpted by the author of Hebrews: "today if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts." The entire Psalm 95

684-618: The Great Sabbath , Hallelujah Saturday (in Portugal and Brazil), Saturday of the Glory , Sábado de Gloria , and Black Saturday or Easter Eve , and called "Joyous Saturday", "the Saturday of Light", and "Mega Sabbatun" among Coptic Christians , is the final day of Holy Week , between Good Friday and Easter Sunday , when Christians prepare for the latter. The day commemorates the Harrowing of Hell while Jesus Christ's body lay in

722-766: The Mass of the Lord's Supper on Maundy Thursday ). The celebration of the Sacraments is extremely limited: Holy Communion is given only as Viaticum to the dying; while Penance , Anointing of the Sick and baptism may be administered because they, like Viaticum, are helpful to ensuring salvation for the dying. The day is the second day of the Paschal fast as outlined in Sacrosanctum Concilium , Article 110. In

760-470: The Middle Ages , a squire on the night before his knighting ceremony was expected to take a cleansing bath, fast , make confession , and then hold an all-night vigil of prayer in the chapel , preparing himself in this manner for life as a knight. For the knighting ceremony, he dressed in white as a symbol for purity, and over that was placed a red robe to show his readiness to be wounded, over which

798-580: The Saturday of Light . In Western traditions, the day is usually called Holy Saturday , although in the Moravian Church , the day is referred to as the Great Sabbath and in the Anglican Communion , the Book of Common Prayer refers to the day as Easter Even . Although the term Easter Saturday is usually applied to the Saturday in Easter week , in English-speaking countries it is sometimes applied to Holy Saturday, including in legislation in

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836-513: The hangings , altar cloths , curtain and vestments are changed to bright . In Greek and Arabic tradition, the clergy strew laurel leaves (a symbol of victory) and flower petals all over the church to symbolize Jesus' triumph over death, often accompanied – especially in Cypriot custom – by the congregation making a loud noise by stamping their feet, banging on pews and sticks, and even clanging pots and pans, all to symbolize Christ shattering

874-548: The tomb . Christians of the Catholic, Lutheran, Methodist, Anglican and Reformed denominations begin the celebration of the Easter Vigil service on Holy Saturday, which provides a transition to the season of Eastertide ; in the Moravian Christian tradition, graves are decorated with flowers during the day of Holy Saturday and the celebration of the sunrise service starts before dawn on Easter Sunday. Whereas

912-567: The Australian states of New South Wales and Queensland , and by Australian government agencies. In the Catholic tradition, the Blessed Virgin Mary is honored on this day under the title Our Lady of Solitude , referring to her grief at the death of her son. Matins of Holy and Great Saturday (in parishes usually held on Friday evening) takes the form of a funeral service for Christ. The entire service takes place around

950-625: The Hymn to the Theotokos is replaced with the irmos from Ode 9 of the Canon the night before, Christ's promise to His Mother that she will be magnified following His Resurrection, but other than that the Liturgy proceeds as any other Liturgy of St. Basil. After the service, in many places, it is customary to break and bless bread as at a Vigil, but to omit the blessing of oil. Great Lent was originally

988-515: The Jewish practice of beginning the day at sunset rather than midnight. Most likely the best known vigil is the Easter Vigil held at night between Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday . The Midnight Mass held on Christmas Eve is a remnant of this practice. Christmas Eve is a time of reflection for Christians all over the world. Vigils are also commonly observed on Holy Days in the Catholic , Lutheran , Anglican , and Methodist Churches. In

1026-550: The Paschal Vigil. The Gospel reading is Matthew 28:1-20, St. Matthew's account of the Resurrection. While the first fifteen verses are not read at any other time, the final five verses form one of the Sunday Matins Gospels and are the standard Gospel reading for baptisms. The Cherubic Hymn is replaced by ' Let all mortal flesh keep silence ', an analogous hymn from the ancient Liturgy of Saint James , and

1064-776: The People go to Church on the Night of the Nativity of our Blessed Saviour with lighted Candles, or Wax-Tapers in their Hands. The Faithful who are met together in the Church, spend the whole Night there in singing, and saying their Prayers by the Light of them. Sometimes they burn such a large Quantity of Incense, that the Smoke thereof ascends in the Form of a Whirlwind, and their Devotees may properly enough be said to be wrapt up in it. Churches of

1102-764: The Roman Catholic Church, plenary indulgence is obtained if two or more faithfuls pray the Holy Rosary or if the faithful attends the celebration of the Easter Vigil and renews their baptismal promises , which are part of the liturgy of the same Mass. Lutheran, Anglican, Methodist, and other Churches observe many of the same customs as the Catholic Church; however, their altars may be covered in black instead of being stripped. The Anglican Book of Common Prayer uses Easter Even to designate

1140-598: The body to the cemetery in an Orthodox burial . On Saturday, a vesperal Divine Liturgy of Saint Basil the Great is celebrated, called the First Resurrection Service (Greek: Ἡ Πρώτη Ἀνάστασις ), named so because chronologically it was composed earlier than the Paschal Canon by St. John of Damascus rather than because it occurs earlier liturgically. This is the longest Divine Liturgy of

1178-504: The day that Jesus lay in his tomb. Traditional taboos from the previous day are carried over and are sometimes broken; swimming is allowed in the afternoon. Most commercial establishments resume operations, with smaller enterprises remaining closed until or before Easter. Television and radio stations broadcast on shorter hours with special programming or remain off-air. In predominantly Catholic Poland, Święconka ( Polish pronunciation: [ɕvʲɛnˈtsɔnka] ), meaning "the blessing of

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1216-568: The day. In some Anglican churches, including the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America , provision is made for a simple Liturgy of the Word on this day, with readings commemorating the burial of Christ. Daily Offices are still observed. In the Moravian Church , the day is known as Great Sabbath. In the Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican and Methodist traditions, Holy Saturday lasts until nightfall, after which

1254-523: The entire year and is performed later than on any other day of the year, "at the tenth hour of the day". On 'Lord, I call', four of the usual Sunday hymns from the Octoechos are sung, followed by four for the day, the doxasticon from Lauds the night before and the usual dogmatikon. After the Little Entrance , there is no Evening Prokimenon, but there are 15 Old Testament readings that recall

1292-546: The faculty of celebrating three Masses on Christmas Day (previously reserved to the Pope), provided the three different propers were celebrated at their appropriate times of midnight, dawn and day. Roman Catholics have traditionally celebrated Midnight Mass with church services beginning at midnight. Since 2009 the Vatican has conducted a liturgically similar Christmas Eve Mass earlier in the day, first at 10:00 pm, designated

1330-613: The gates and breaking the chains of hell. The liturgical atmosphere changes from sorrow to joy at this service. The faithful continue to fast and the Paschal greeting , "Christ is risen!", is not exchanged until after midnight during the Paschal Vigil since this service represents the proclamation of Jesus' victory over death to those in Hades. The Resurrection has not yet been announced to those on earth, which takes place during

1368-656: The history of salvation, many of which relate to Passover, baptism, or the Resurrection (note that book names here are given according to the Septuagint): In place of the Trisagion, the baptismal hymn 'As many as have been baptised into Christ have put on Christ. Alleluia.' is sung. The Prokimenon is from Psalm 65 (66), made up of verses from the First Antiphon of Pascha: 'Let all the earth worship Thee: sing of Thee and praise Thy Name, O most High.' The Epistle

1406-648: The period of catechesis for new converts in order to prepare them for baptism and chrismation and when there are converts received, that occurs during the Old testament readings during the vesperal divine liturgy. Before the midnight service, the faithful gather in church for the reading of the Acts of the Apostles in its entirety. Preceding midnight the Paschal Vigil begins with the Midnight Office , during which

1444-651: The seventh day, Which Thou has blessed of old by resting from Thy works. Thou bringest all things into being and Thou makest all things new, Observing the Sabbath rest, my Saviour, and restoring strength. Near the end of matins, at the end of the Great Doxology , the Epitaphios is taken up and carried in procession around the outside of the church, while the Trisagion is sung, as is done when carrying

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