Great Saturday

Holy Saturday
Statue of Jesus lying in the tomb by Gregorio Fernández. (Monastery of San Joaquín y Santa Ana, Valladolid)
Official name	Holy Saturday
Also called	Easter Eve, Black Saturday
Observed by	Christians
Type	Religious
Significance	Marks the day Jesus' body lay in the tomb and the Harrowing of Hell
Date	Day before Easter
2016 date	26 March (Western) 30 April (Eastern)
2017 date	15 April (Western) 15 April (Eastern)
2018 date	31 March (Western) 7 April (Eastern)
2019 date	20 April (Western) 27 April (Eastern)
Frequency	annual
Related to	Easter

26 March (Western)

15 April (Western)

31 March (Western)

20 April (Western)

Holy Saturday (Latin: Sabbatum Sanctum), the Saturday of Holy Week, also known as Holy and Great Saturday, the Great Sabbath, Black Saturday, Joyous Saturday, or Easter Even, and called "Joyous Saturday" or "the Saturday of Light" among Coptic Christians, is the day after Good Friday. It is the day before Easter and the last day of Holy Week in which Christians prepare for Easter. It commemorates the day that Jesus' body lay in the tomb and the Harrowing of Hell.

In Eastern Orthodoxy this day, known as Holy and Great Saturday, is also called The Great Sabbath since it is on this day that Christ "rested" physically in the tomb. But it is also believed that it was on this day he performed in spirit the Harrowing of Hades and raised up to Paradise those who had been held captive there. In the Coptic, Ethiopian and Eritrean Orthodox Churches, this day is known as Joyous Saturday.

In Western traditions, the day is usually called Holy Saturday, although in the Anglican Communion, the Book of Common Prayer refers to the day as Easter Even. Although the term Easter Saturday is usually applied to the Saturday in Easter week, in English-speaking countries it is sometimes applied to Holy Saturday, including in legislation in the Australian states of New South Wales and Queensland, and by Australian government agencies. In the Catholic tradition, the Blessed Virgin Mary as Our Lady of Sorrows is on this day assigned the title Our Lady of Solitude, referring to her solace and grief at the death of her son Jesus. However, nowhere in Catholic liturgical documents is this day referred to as the feast of Our Lady of Solitude.