Holy and Great Saturday

Make sure your Adobe Acrobat Reader is working and go here for a fascinating article on the liturgical and social traditions of Holy Saturday and the Easter fire. Scroll down to the second page to begin.

A sample:

The people also bring their own sticks of oak, walnut, and beech, which they char in the Easter fire and then take home with them. Some of these sticks are then burned at home in a newly-kindled fire, with a prayer that God will preserve the home from fire, lightning and hail. Thus every house receives "new fire".