Death….. New Life Today we are learning about the Easter Vigil and we will design a Paschal candle.

On Holy Saturday night, there is a special vigil service. A vigil is about keeping watch. The Holy Saturday Vigil is about welcoming the Good News that Jesus is risen.

Lent is a season of the Church’s year. It starts on Ash Wednesday and finishes on Holy Thursday. It is forty days long. It leads to Holy Week. On Holy Thursday, the Church celebrates Jesus’ giving of himself to his friends at the Last Supper; and the giving of himself to his enemies in Gethsemane to be crucified.

The special Easter symbol is a candle. It is a sign of Jesus, the Light of the World and of the New Life which he shares. The candle is lit from the Easter fire which is lit and blessed at the vigil.

Holy Saturday, the Church waits at the tomb of Jesus. At night, the Christian family keep vigil. There is a special blessing for the Easter candle. On the candle, the priest marks the sign of the cross - a reminder of Good Friday when Jesus died. Next, he writes the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, Alpha and Omega, a reminder that Jesus is the beginning and end. The date comes next, 2007

When the candle is lit, the priest or deacon carries it and leads everyone into the church. He sings: ‘Christ our Light’, and all the people answer: ‘Thanks be to God’.

Then everyone lights a candle from the Easter candle. The light spreads all round the church, a sign that the Good News of what Jesus did and the New Life he shares is for everyone.

Do you remember? When do new members of the Church receive the sacraments of initiation?

Do you remember? What colour are the vestments on Good Friday?

Do you remember? What is lit during the Easter Vigil to signify the light of Christ?

Do you remember? What do we call the liturgy which takes place on Holy Saturday

Do you remember? After which Mass is the altar stripped and the church laid bare?

Do you remember? What did Jesus do to his disciples to show that love and service?

Do you remember? What religion remembers their Holy day from sunset to sunset?

Do you remember? After which Mass is the altar stripped and the church laid bare?

Your task today is to design an Easter Candle. You can also do the Easter quiz on the back of the sheet.

Plenary Who can show me their design and tell me when their candle would be used and what the symbols mean that they have put on their candle?