Holy Saturday

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.

The entire Psalm 95 is read on Friday afternoon every week in synagogue prayers immediately before receiving the sabbath in rabbinic Judaism.

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 the Coptic, Ethiopian and Eritrean Orthodox Churches, this day is known as Joyous Saturday, otherwise known as the night of light and joy.

[11] 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)[12][13] takes the form of a funeral service for Christ.

The entire service takes place around 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.

In the Catholic Church, the altar remains stripped completely bare (following the Mass of the Lord's Supper on Maundy Thursday).

[22] 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.

[3] In the predominantly Catholic Philippines, the day is legally and colloquially known as Black Saturday, given the colour's role in mourning.

[24] In predominantly Catholic Poland, Święconka (Polish pronunciation: [ɕvʲɛnˈtsɔnka]), meaning "the blessing of the Easter baskets", on Holy Saturday, is one of the most enduring and beloved traditions.

The icon of Holy and Great Saturday, portraying the Harrowing of Hades
Holy Fire in 2022
Divine Liturgy of Holy Saturday in a Greek Orthodox church in the United States
Holy Saturday and other named days and day ranges around Lent and Easter in Western Christianity, with the fasting days of Lent numbered