Holy Saturday!

Of all the days during Holy Week, Saturday always stands out as a day unlike any other. For my family and me, who usually attend church services daily, this day is unique in that all the churches remain closed and only open at dusk for the Easter Vigil, which means we can do different activities during the day. After all, it’s still a week of vacation, and my mom was visiting me in the capital, so I took her for a walk to Los Chorros Park during the day, and in the end we attended one of the churches closest to home.

Beyond the religious activities, my initial plan was to give my mom a different kind of week. I had the option of going back to my parents’ house and putting up with daily power outages in Aragua State, or bringing her to the capital, the only place where Venezuelans aren’t treated so badly (unfortunately)... But anyway, my mom was able to disconnect from the hassle of the power outages, and we had plenty of amenities nearby. The whole week was magical, but we needed an outing surrounded by nature and greenery. Holy Saturday was the coolest day of the entire Holy Week, and those hours of the day when the churches were closed were perfect for surprising my mom with a place she had never been to before.

There are few beautiful places in Caracas that I haven’t shown my mom when she visits, but I’m lucky enough to always have something new to show her, and if you read my posts here on Hive, you’ll know that Los Chorros Park is a new spot for me, so it was perfect. We headed back downtown before sunset. Although we knew there were many churches nearby, we always feel most comfortable at Nuestra Señora de la Merced, so we went straight there and tried to arrive very early because the Catholic churches are packed with people every day. However, we didn’t count on getting distracted by the cats at the Plaza del Banco Central de Venezuela, which kept us occupied for a good few minutes before we entered the church 😹

While we were playing and taking pictures of the cats in front of the church, an hour before the ceremonies began, the place was filling up with people to the point that we could only find a small spot to sit on the last pew on the right side of the altar. That day, since Jesus Christ has not yet risen, the churches remain silent and dark, and it was very impressive when we entered and saw the place so full of people, all in deep silence as a sign of respect. I won’t deny it—it impressed me, especially since the Easter Vigil was still a long way off.

It grew dark quickly, and the ushers finished turning off the few remaining lights to begin the ceremony. On Holy Saturday, the blessing of the light takes place—a new fire—and this fire is kindled by burning the palm branches that were blessed on Palm Sunday. With this fire, the Paschal Candle is lit; it is a large candle that will remain lit for the next 50 days until Pentecost. It is worth noting that the ashes remaining from Holy Saturday are used for the imposition of ashes on Ash Wednesday the following year, so everything is deeply connected. That night is usually very beautiful, as the priest enters with the light and the congregation waits inside in the darkness to light their candles, all drawing from the same flame until they reach the altar.

I don’t think we’ve ever spent as many hours in church as we did on Holy Saturday night—that’s why it’s called the Easter Vigil. Back in the day, when life was simpler, the church would open at midnight, and people would wait for dawn to celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, spending the night in song and prayer. I never experienced those traditions myself, but I’ve heard about them. We stayed at church late that night too, and then we went home feeling very happy to have had such an active and beautiful day, because the three of us had a wonderful time that Saturday. I’m so glad I brought my mom to the city and got to share such sublime moments with her and my wife ❤️