The term “vigil” derives from the Latin vigilia which means, “a night to watch,” generally the fourth part of the night from sunset to sunrise. In the Christian Church, it is a religious service held during the night leading to a feast day. This practice dates back to early Christianity when the faithful would wake up in the middle of the night to pray. 

During the third and fourth centuries, it was very common to hold a vigil in preparation for a feast. The service would begin on the previous night to the feast day and end the next morning. During these vigils, the faithful gathered in the evening at an assigned place or in the church where the celebration would take place. The vigils involved prayers, readings from Sacred Scripture, Psalms, and sermons followed by a Eucharistic service. The vigil was a “preparation” for a more fruitful celebration of the feast.

The Christmas Vigil Mass is celebrated on December 24, and it is often confused with the Christmas Midnight Mass. During the Christmas Vigil celebration, the faithful participate in an “anticipated celebration” of the Nativity of the Lord before midnight. In the Christmas Vigil Mass, we are coming out of Advent to enter Christmas, but we are still in a time of waiting and anticipation. During this liturgical celebration, these readings are concentrated on the announcement of the coming of our Lord, and one last time, the Gospel prepares us for the big day. 

With the Vigil Mass Advent seems to draw to a close. Our weeks of longing and waiting are replaced by an assured confidence that "This Day you shall know that the Lord will come and save us, and in the morning, you shall see His glory" (Introit of the Vigil Mass). A hushed tone of cheerfulness pervades this day of vigil, subdued only by the holy fast that the Church gives us to prepare for the "day of rejoicing." The spirit of the Mass induces a spirit of silence--the family responds to the joyful restraint of the Church with a great hush of expectancy. Even the children will sense the peace that surrounds the awaited festivities if an air of serenity and stillness fills the house.