Some believers will rise several hours earlier Easter morning to celebrate a tradition that dates back to early Christianity.
The tradition is the sunrise service. Between 6 and 7 a.m. Sunday, the pews and lawns of many local Lutheran and Methodist churches will be filled with people celebrating Easter, the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.
The tradition goes back to the early church’s observance of Lent, which was the time when prospective Christians prepared for baptism, said the Rev. Mae Jean Zelle, interim pastor at First Lutheran Church in Janesville.
At that time, becoming a Christian was a radical, countercultural step. Early believers often were cut off from family and friends, Zelle said.
After preparing themselves over the 40 days of Lent, believers spent the night of Holy Saturday in fasting and prayer.
Baptisms took place at sunrise Easter Sunday, the time of the resurrection, Zelle said.
Many mainstream denominations still use Lent as a time to prepare for baptism. Easter vigil services on Holy Saturday mark the transformation from night into day by starting the service in darkness and ending in light.
The Moravian Church held one of the first “modern” sunrise services in German in 1732, according to a church history on the Moravian Church of North America’s website.
Sunrise services mark another important moment for Christians.
“The Gospel writers tell us that Mary Magdalene and some of Jesus’ other female followers went to his tomb early in the morning Sunday,” writes Joe Iovino, a communications official and blogger for the United Methodist Church. “They went to grieve and to tend to Jesus’ body, as was the custom at the time. When they arrived, they found the stone rolled away and the tomb empty.”
The transformation of darkness into light also reminds people of the great joy of the Resurrection, Iovino writes, quoting Isaiah: “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light.”
