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Vigil
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A vigil (from the Latin vigilia, 'wakefulness') is a period of sleeplessness, an occasion for devotional watching or 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, such as the Easter Vigil held on Holy Saturday.
- In Christianity, especially Orthodox and Roman Catholic faith 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.
- It is also part of the title of a poem by Walt Whitman, "Vigil Strange I Kept on the Field One Night".
- When a Jew dies, a watch is kept over the body and Tehillim are recited constantly, until the burial service.
It could also refer to:
- The Quebec political website Vigile.net.
- Vigil as in the Vigil Honor achieved by a member of the Order of the Arrow. See Vigil Honor.
- The name of a person