Holy Saturday: The Last Day of Holy Week and Preparation for Easter

Holy Saturday is the last day of Holy Week, preceding Easter. This is the day when eggs are dyed.

The Church glorifies Holy Saturday as "the most blessed seventh day" because it is the day when the Word of God lies in the tomb like a dead man, but at the same time saves the world and opens the graves. Already laid in the tomb, the spirit of Jesus is in hell to break its chains and reopen the gates of Paradise. This will happen the next day - on Sunday, called by the shortest name – Easter.

On Holy Saturday, the church service begins early in the morning and continues uninterrupted until the end of the day, so that the last Saturday hymns merge with the resurrection (Sunday) ones and end already with the sounds of the solemn "Christ is Risen!". Women visit the cemeteries, pour and incense, distribute dyed eggs and bread for the souls of the dead. It is customary to knead and bake ritual Easter breads on Saturdays.

Holy Saturday is also the last day on which the eggs for Easter can be dyed. The feast is associated with the mourning and burial of Jesus Christ by his mother the Holy Virgin and by women carrying myrrh. His tomb is sealed and a guard is placed in front of it. According to Jewish custom, Joseph and Nicodemus took the Most Pure Body of the Lord from the cross, wrapped it in shrouds with fragrant spices and laid it in a new stone tomb in Joseph's garden, which was located not far from Golgotha.

The high priests and Pharisees knew that Jesus Christ had predicted his resurrection. Not believing what was predicted, and also fearing that the apostles might steal the body, they begged Pilate for a military guard. They placed the guard by the tomb and sealed the tomb itself.

Every year on Holy Saturday at the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, the Holy Fire falls from heaven into the hands of the Patriarch of Jerusalem. To this day, the mystery remains unsolved, although many scientists have built hypotheses.