Holy Saturday

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Orthodox pilgrims bathing with the Holy Fire in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre on Holy Saturday.

Holy Saturday is the day before Easter in the Christian calendar. It is sometimes called Easter Even, especially by Anglicans, or Low Saturday. Filipinos often call it Black Saturday, while in the Czech Republic it is called White Saturday, probably because of white garments of the newly baptized. It is the seventh and last day of Holy Week, and third day of what is often referred to as the Easter Triduum.

In Roman Catholic Churches, the altar is stripped completely bare and the administration of the sacraments is severely limited. Holy Communion is given only to those who are sick. All Masses are strictly forbidden before sunset. No Mass at all appears in the liturgy for this day, nor for the preceding day, Good Friday. Many of the churches of the Anglican Communion observe most of the same traditions.

After dusk on Holy Saturday, the Easter Vigil is celebrated, marking the official start of the Easter season.

In Eastern Orthodoxy this day is also called The Great Sabbath since it is said on this day Christ "rested" in the tomb, in death. But it is also believed that it was on this day he performed in spirit the Harrowing of Hell and raised up to Paradise those held captive there. Therefore, at the main liturgical celebration, a vesperal Divine Liturgy of St. Basil the Great, the hangings, altar cloths, and vestments are changed from black to white prior to the epistle reading, and in the Greek tradition the clergy strew laurel leaves and flower petals all over the church to symbolize the shattered gates and broken chains of hell.

Great Lent was originally the period of catechesis for new converts in order to prepare them for baptism and chrismated on Easter. Prior to the composition of the current Paschal Vigil by St. John of Damascus this day's vesperal Liturgy was the main Easter celebration, and the traditional time to receive converts is still immediately prior.

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Holy Saturday

See also