Holy Saturday

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Holy Saturday

Holy Saturday is the day after Good Friday

Good Friday

Good Friday, also called Holy Friday, Great Friday or Black Friday, is the Friday preceding Easter Sunday . It commemorates the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his death at Golgotha....
. It is the day before Easter

Easter

Easter is the most important religious feast in the Christianity liturgical year.Christians believe that Jesus was Resurrection of Jesus from the dead three days after his Crucifixion of Jesus, and celebrate this resurrection on Easter Day or Easter Sunday , two days after Good Friday....
and the last day of Holy Week

Holy Week

Holy Week in Christianity is the last week of Lent and the week before Easter. It includes the religious holidays of Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, and lasts from Palm Sunday until but not including Easter Sunday, as Easter Sunday is the first day of the new season of Pentecostarion....
, in which Christians prepare for Easter.

On this day the church commemorates the time that Jesus Christ lay in the tomb and that he descended into hell

Harrowing of Hell

The Harrowing of Hell is a doctrine in Christian theology referenced in the Apostles' Creed and the Athanasian Creed, which states that Jesus "descended into Hell"....
.

Western practice
In Roman Catholic Church

Roman Catholic Church

The Roman Catholic Church, officially known as the Catholic Church is the world's largest Christianity Ecclesia , representing over half of all Christians and one-sixth of the world population....
es, the sanctuary

Sanctuary

Sanctuary has multiple meanings. A sanctuary is the consecrated area of a church or temple around its church tabernacle or altar. An animal sanctuary is a place where animals live and are protected....
remains stripped completely bare (following the Mass on Maundy Thursday

Maundy Thursday

Maundy Thursday is the Christian feast or holy day falling on the Thursday before Easter that commemorates the Last Supper of Jesus Christ with the Apostles....
) while the administration of the sacraments is severely limited.

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Encyclopedia

Holy Saturday is the day after Good Friday

Good Friday

Easter

Holy Week

Harrowing of Hell

The Harrowing of Hell is a doctrine in Christian theology referenced in the Apostles' Creed and the Athanasian Creed, which states that Jesus "descended into Hell"....
.

Western practice

In Roman Catholic Church

Roman Catholic Church

Sanctuary

Maundy Thursday

Viaticum

Viaticum is the term the Catholic Church and some Anglo Catholic Anglicans uses for the Eucharist given to a dying person. It is not the same as the sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick, but rather it is the Eucharist administered in special circumstances....
to the dying. All Masses

Mass (liturgy)

The Mass is the Eucharistic celebration in the Latin liturgical rites of the Roman Catholic Church. The term is used also of similar celebrations in Old Catholic Churches, in the Anglo-Catholic tradition of Anglicanism, and in some largely High Church Lutheranism Lutheranism regions, including the Scandinavian and Baltic states countries....
are strictly prohibited. No Mass at all appears in the liturgy

Liturgy

A liturgy is the customary public worship done by a specific religious group, according to their particular traditions. The word may refer to an elaborate formal ritual such as the Eastern Orthodox Divine Liturgy and Mass , or a daily activity such as the Muslim salat and Jewish Jewish services....
for this day. Many of the churches

Church Body

A local church is a Christian religious organization made up of a congregation, its members and clergy. They are organized more or less formally, with constitutions and by-laws, maintain offices, sometimes seek non-profit corporate status in the United States and often have state or regional structures....
of the Anglican Communion

Anglican Communion

The Anglican Communion is an international association of national Anglican churches. There is no single "Anglican Church" with universal juridical authority as each national or regional church has full autonomy....
as well as Lutheran, Methodist, and some other Churches observe most of the same; however, their altars may be covered in black instead of being stripped.

In some Anglican churches, including the Episcopal Church in the United States, provision is made for a simple Liturgy of the Word on this day, with readings commemorating the burial of Christ, but no Eucharist

Eucharist

The Eucharist, also called Holy Communion or Lord's Supper and other names, is a Christianity sacrament commemorating, by consecrating bread and wine, the Last Supper, the final meal that Jesus Christ shared with his disciples before his arrest, and eventual crucifixion, when he gave them bread saying, "This is my body", and wine...
.

Liturgically speaking, Holy Saturday lasts until dusk

Dusk

Dusk is the beginning of darkness in the evening. It is often confused with sunset, which is the daily disappearance of the sun below the horizon....
, after which the Easter Vigil

Easter Vigil

The Easter Vigil, also called the Paschal Vigil or the Great Vigil of Easter, is a service held in many Christian churches as the first official celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus....
is celebrated, marking the official start of the Easter season

Eastertide

Eastertide, or the Easter Season, or Paschal Time, is the period of fifty days from Easter Sunday to Pentecost Sunday.It is celebrated as a single joyful feast, indeed as the "great Lord's Day"....
. In Roman Catholic observance, during the "Gloria" of the Mass (which is the first Mass since that of Holy Thursday), the church statues and icons, in places where they are covered with purple veils during Passiontide

Passiontide

Passiontide is a name for the last two weeks of Lent, beginning on Passion Sunday and ending on Holy Saturday.In the Roman Catholic Church, all crucifixes and images may be covered in veils starting on Passion Sunday: "The practice of covering crosses and images in the church may be observed, if the episcopal conference decides....
, are dramatically unveiled.

Eastern practice

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

Jesus

Jesus of Nazareth , also known as Jesus Christ, is the central figure of Christianity and is revered by most Christian churches as the Son of God and the Incarnation ....
"rested" physically in the tomb

Church of the Holy Sepulchre

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre , also called the Church of the Resurrection, by Eastern Christianitys, is a Christianity Church within the walled Old City of Jerusalem....
. But it is also believed that it was on this day he performed in spirit the Harrowing of Hades and raised up to Paradise

Paradise

Paradise is an idealized place in which existence is positive, harmonious and timeless. It is conceptually a counter-image of the miseries of human civilization, and in paradise there is only peace, prosperity, and happiness....
those who had been held captive there.

Matins

Matins

Matins is the early morning or night prayer service in the Roman Catholic Church, Anglicanism, Lutheran and Eastern Orthodoxy liturgy of the canonical hours....
of Holy and Great Saturday (usually held on Friday evening so more people can attend) takes the form of a funeral

Funeral

A funeral is a ceremony marking a person's death. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember the dead, from the funeral itself, to various monuments, prayers, and rituals undertaken in their honour....
service for Christ. The entire service takes place around the Epitaphios
Epitaphios

Epitaphios may refer to:* Funeral oration in Ancient Greece.* the Epitaphios , also called epitaphion - A large cloth icon used during the services of Good Friday in the Eastern Orthodox Churches and Eastern Catholic Churches which use the Byzantine rite....
(Slavonic: Plashchanitza), an icon

Icon

An 'icon' is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, from Eastern Christianity. More broadly the term is used in a wide number of contexts for an image, picture, or representation; it is a sign or likeness that stands for an object by signifying or representing it either concretely or by analogy, as in semiotics; by extension, ...
in the form of a cloth embroidered with the image of Christ being prepared for burial. The first part of the service consists of chanting Psalm 118

Psalm 119

Psalm 119 is the longest psalm as well as the longest chapter in the Bible. It is referred to in Hebrew language by its opening words, "Ashrei temimei derech" ....
(the longest psalm in the Bible) with hymns (enkomia) interspersed between the psalm verses. The predominant theme of the service is not so much one of mourning, but of watchful expectation:

Today Thou dost keep holy 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, following the Lauds

Lauds

Lauds is one of the two "major hours" in the Roman Catholic Liturgy of the Hours. It is to be recited in the early morning hours, preferably near dawn....
at the end of the Great Doxology

Great Doxology

The Great Doxology is an ancient hymn of praise to the Trinity which is chanted or read daily in the Eastern Orthodox Church and Eastern Catholic Churches Churches....
, the Epitaphios is taken up and carried in procession

Crucession

A Crucession, or Cross Procession , is a procession that takes place in the Eastern Orthodox Church and Eastern Catholic Churches liturgical traditions....
around the outside of the church, while all sing the Trisagion

Trisagion

The Trisagion is a standard hymn of the Divine Liturgy in most of the Eastern Orthodox Churches, Oriental Orthodox Churches and Eastern Catholic Churches....
, exactly as is done in an Orthodox funeral service

Christian burial

A Christian burial is the burial of a deceased person with Ecclesiology rites; typically, in consecrated ground....
.

On Saturday morning, a vesperal

Vespers

Vespers is the evening prayer service in the Roman Catholic, Byzantine Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox Church, Anglican, and Lutheran Liturgy of the canonical hours....
Divine Liturgy

Divine Liturgy

The Divine Liturgy is the common term for the Eucharistic service of the Byzantine church tradition of Christian liturgy. As such, it is used in the Eastern Orthodoxy and Eastern Catholic Churches....
of St. Basil the Great, is celebrated. This is the longest Divine Liturgy of the entire year and, traditionally, the latest. After the Little Entrance there are 15 Old Testament

Old Testament

In Western Christianity, the Old Testament refers to the books that form the first of the two-part Christianity Bible Biblical canon. These works correspond to the Hebrew Bible , with some variations and additions....
readings which recall the history of salvation. Just before the Gospel reading the hangings, altar cloths, and vestment

Vestment

Vestments are liturgy garments and articles associated primarily with the Christianity religions, especially the Latin Rite and other Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Anglicans, Methodists, and Lutheran Churches....
s are changed from black

Black

Black is the color of objects that do not emit or reflection light in any part of the visible spectrum; they absorb all such frequencies of light....
to white

White

White is a color, the Color vision#Physiology of color perception which is evoked by light that stimulates all three types of color sensitive cone cells in the human eye in near equal amount and with high brightness compared to the surroundings....
and the deacon performs a censing

Thurible

A thurible is a metal censer suspended from chains, in which incense is burned during worship services. It is used in the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Anglicanism/Episcopal_Church_, Old Catholic, and some Lutheran churches, as well as in Christian and non-Christian Gnostic Churches and in the practice of magick....
of the church. In the Greek tradition the clergy

Clergy

Clergy is the generic term used to describe the formal religious leadership within a given religion. The term comes from the Greek language ?????? - kleros, "a lot", "that which is assigned by lot" or metaphorically, "heritage"....
strew laurel

Bay Laurel

The Bay Laurel , also known as True Laurel, Sweet Bay, Grecian Laurel, Laurel, or Bay Tree, is an aromatic evergreen tree or large shrub reaching 10?18 m tall, native to the Mediterranean region....
leaves and flower petals all over the church to symbolize the shattered gates and broken chains of hell

Hell

In many religious traditions, Hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife, often in the underworld. Religions with a linear Divinity history often depict Hell as endless ....
and Jesus' victory over death. While the liturgical atmosphere changes from sorrow to joy at this service, the Paschal greeting

Paschal greeting

The Paschal greeting is an Easter custom among Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy#Oriental Orthodox Communion and Eastern Catholic Christians, as well as among several Roman Catholic and Protestant Christians....
, "Christ is risen!" is not exchanged until after the Paschal Vigil later that night, and the faithful continue to fast

Fasting

Fasting is primarily the act of willingly abstaining from some or all food, drink, or both, for a period of time. A fast may be total or partial concerning that from which one fasts, and may be prolonged or intermittent as to the period of fasting....
. The reason for this is that the Divine Liturgy on Holy and Great Saturday represents the proclamation of Jesus' victory over death to those in Hades, but the Resurrection has not yet been announced to those on earth (this will take place during the Paschal Vigil).

Great Lent

Great Lent

Great Lent, or the Great Fast, is the most important fasting season in the church year in Eastern Christianity, which prepares Christians for the greatest feast of the church year, Easter ....
was originally the period of catechesis for new converts in order to prepare them for baptism

Baptism

In Christianity, baptism is the ritual act, with the use of water, by which one is admitted as a full member of the Christian Church and, in the view of some, as a member of the particular Church in which the baptism is administered....
and chrismation

Chrismation

'Chrismation' is the name given in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and Eastern Catholic Churches churches, as well as in the Assyrian Church of the East, Anglicanism, and in Lutheranism initiation rites, to the Sacrament or Sacred Mysteries more commonly known in the West as confirmation , although Italian language normally uses cresima...
on Pascha

Easter

Easter Vigil

John of Damascus

John of Damascus was a monk and Priesthood from Damascus. He was born and raised in that city, and died at his monastery Mar Saba.He was a polymath whose fields of interest and contribution included law, theology, philosophy, and music....
this day's vesperal Liturgy was the main Easter celebration, and the traditional time to receive converts is still after the Vesperal Divine Liturgy.

Later that night (around 11:00 pm), the Paschal Vigil begins with the Midnight Office

Midnight Office

The Midnight Office is one of the Canonical Hours that compose the cycle of daily worship in the Eastern Orthodox Church. The office originated as a purely monastic devotion inspired by Psalm 118:62, At midnight I arose to give thanks unto Thee for the judgments of Thy righteousness , and also by the Gospel Parables of Jesus of the Para...
, during which the Canon

Canon (hymnography)

A canon is a structured hymn used in a number of Eastern Orthodoxy services. It consists of nine odes, sometimes called canticles or songs depending on the translation, based on the Biblical canticles....
of Holy Saturday is repeated. 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.

Cultural traditions

Swieconka

Swieconka , meaning "the blessing of the Easter baskets," is one of the most enduring and beloved Poland traditions on Holy Saturday. While originally observed by Polish Americans in the U.S., it has become increasingly mainstream in U.S and is starting to grow in the U.K....
(pronounced

Polish phonology

Vowels The Polish language vowel system is relatively simple with only six oral and two nasal vowels. All Polish oral vowels are monophthongs, which are shown to the right....
), meaning "the blessing of the Easter baskets" on Holy Saturday is one of the most enduring and beloved Polish

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian Enclave and exclave, to the north....
traditions.