Holy Saturday (Black Saturday)
- szuuted
- 12 maj 2023
- 2 minut(y) czytania
Holy Saturday is a day of silence, of recollection, of meditation, for Jesus lies in the tomb. This is a day of preparation for the most important celebration in the Christian faith, which takes place after sunset in each church (it starts at about 22:00).
There are a series of traditions during that day, which are changing in from the place.
In many houses still that day they fast till the Paschal Vigil, so don’t eat meat. During that time the whole family gathers together to ready themselves for the Holy Sunday. They prepare the Easter basket, which is blessed during the Easter Vigil. It contains traditional food such as bread, cheese, boiled eggs, lamb, and homemade wine. These products represent the gifts of the earth and nature, which are offered to God and shared with family and friends during Easter. To celebrate the Sunday, they clean and prepare their home for the Easter feast.
In Naples, is the day of the 'struscio', which indicates the sound of the drapes rubbing in the street when women walk. This day is dedicated to showing off new clothes in the streets of the city. In addition, many people go shopping to find something nice to wear on Easter Day.
Struscio in Napels streets
Some Italian families go to church to participate in the ceremony, while others gather at home to pray together and meditate on Christ's death and resurrection. Many families also have the tradition of preparing the Easter basket, a basket containing food and drink that will be consumed during the Easter feast.
The Paschal Vigil precedes the celebration of Easter and contains plenty of rituals and symbols representing the death and resurrection of Jesus. At the entrance you are given candles, which are a sign of a new birth, the light of Christ, which overcame the darkness and death. The mess begins with a procession of the newly lit Paschal candle, each candle of the faithful is lit, and the whole dark church turns into light. This is followed by a liturgy of the word with 8 readings (each church chooses the number of readings) and then a solemn singing of praise on high. The singing of the Esultet, a hymn of praise and thanksgiving for the salvation Christ has brought to humanity, is also proclaimed. In many churches, babies are baptized on Paschal Vigil, as a reminder to us of the moment of our baptism.
The Paschal Vigil
After Mass, families stand together in front of the church and talk for a long time, they are going to celebrate with their families and enjoy the resurrection. In the term of tradition, one eats mainly rustic tortano (leavened doughnut, with eggs added to the dough together with cold meats and cheeses) and fellata(salami, capicollo, pancetta, but also cheeses, and ricotta salatai)
Typical food (fellata and tortano)
So the joyful moment comes on Saturday night! This is the beginning of a wonderful celebration with loved ones and loved ones. Maybe it's a time for us to be born again, to start living life to the fullest and start believing in miracles!
Komentarze