The Easter Vigil is a service for Roman Catholics, Anglican, and Eastern Orthodox churches that starts any time after sunset on Holy Saturday, the day before Easter.

In the Catholic Church, it generally begins about 10:00 p.m. with the Easter Mass beginning at midnight right after the Vigil. The service is divided into four parts: the lighting of candles, the reading of the Word (usually the Passover story), baptism, and the Lord's Supper (communion). In Protestant churches, the vigil can even begin at sunrise on Easter Sunday, which is commonly known as a Sunrise Service that happens before the regular church service. In the Greek and Russian Orthodox churches, there's a procession around the church in search of Jesus before the Vigil begins.

In the early days of Christianity, the Easter Vigil was a time for new converts to prepare for baptism which was done on Easter Sunday.