In various cultures, it’s called Holy Saturday, Low Saturday, Easter Eve, Silent Saturday, Black Saturday, White Saturday and Great Saturday.
While most Protestant churches in the United States don’t mark the day when, according to the Christian Bible, Jesus lay in his tomb after crucifixion on Friday and before resurrection on Sunday, most Roman Catholic and Episcopal churches hold an Easter vigil service.
“Believe it or not, it is or was considered the primary liturgy of the church,” according to the Rev. John Dukes, interim rector at St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church on Signal Mountain, which holds a Great Vigil service at 7 p.m.
We started at 8:30 and it was a quarter to midnight when I got home. Bells and whistles indeed!