vigil

1. 1. A watch kept during normal sleeping hours.
   2. The act or a period of observing; surveillance.
2. The eve of a religious festival observed by staying awake as a devotional exercise.
3. Ritual devotions observed on the eve of a holy day. Often used in the plural.

[Middle English vigile, a devotional watching, from Old French, from Latin vigilia, wakefulness, watch, from vigil, awake.]

noun

The act of carefully watching: lookout, surveillance, vigilance, watch. Idioms: watch and ward. See awareness/unawareness.

This article is about a period of intentional sleeplessness. For all other usages, see Vigil (disambiguation).

Vigil, tacuinum sanitatis casanatensis (XIV century)

"A Knight's Vigil" by John Pettie

A vigil (from the Latin vigilia, meaning wakefulness) is a period of purposeful sleeplessness, an occasion for devotional watching, or an observance.

It can also be the eve of a religious festival observed by staying awake as a devotional exercise or ritual devotions observed on the eve of a holy day ^[1], such as the Easter Vigil held on Holy Saturday. In the Eastern Orthodox Church an All-Night Vigil is held on the eves of Sundays and all major feasts during the liturgical year.

In Christianity, especially the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic traditions, a vigil is often held when someone is gravely ill or dying. Prayers are said and votives are often made. Vigils extend from eventual death to burial, ritualistically to pray for a loved one, but more practically so they are never alone. Vigils are also commonly observed on Holy Days in the Anglican and Methodist Churches.^[2]

During the Middle Ages, a squire on the night before his knighting ceremony was expected to take a cleansing bath, fast, make confession, and then hold an all-night vigil of prayer to God in the chapel, readying himself for his life as a knight. He would dress in white, which was the symbol for purity.

When a Jew dies, a watch is kept over the body and Tehillim are recited constantly, until the burial service.

See also

• All-night vigil
• Wake
• Vigils
• Candlelight vigil

References

1. ^ Eve of a Feast, Catholic Encyclopedia
2. ^ http://www.umc.org/site/apps/nlnet/content3.aspx?c=lwL4KnN1LtH&b=2072519&ct=6763853

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Dansk (Danish)
n. - nattevågen, nattevagt

Nederlands (Dutch)
het waken, waakzaamheid, nachtwake, dag/avond voor rooms-katholieke feestdag, nachtgebed, wacht

Français (French)
n. - (gén) veille, veillée, (Relig) vigile, (Pol) manifestation silencieuse

Deutsch (German)
n. - Wachen, Vigil

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - νυχτέρι, ξενύχτι, (θρησκ.) ολονυκτία

Italiano (Italian)
veglia, vigilia

Português (Portuguese)
n. - vigília (f), véspera (f)

Русский (Russian)
бодрствование, канун праздника, круглосуточная демонстрация протеста

Español (Spanish)
n. - vigilia, vela

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - vaka, helgdagsafton

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
警戒, 守夜, 监视

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 警戒, 守夜, 監視

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 철야, 불면, 철야 기도

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 寝ずの番, 徹夜の祈り, 祝日の前夜, 徹夜

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) سهر, عشيه ( عيد)‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮עירות, אי-שינה, הפגנת מישמר שקטה, ערב חג‬

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