Time for the Easter Vigil (USCCB)

Sitemeter is fascinating since the "search strings" show what people are searching for. Apparently, the term "Easter Vigil" is misunderstood since many Catholics have their routine Sunday "Vigil" Mass at 4:30 or 5:00 on Saturday.

This is taken from the USCCB website:

9. When should the Easter Vigil take place?

The Vigil, by its very nature, ought to take place at night. It is not begun before nightfall and should end before daybreak on Easter Sunday. The celebration of the Easter Vigil takes the place of the Office of Readings. The Easter Vigil begins and ends in darkness. It is a nocturnal vigil, retaining its ancient character of vigilance, and expectation, as the Christian people await the resurrection of the Lord during the night. Fire is blessed and the paschal candle is lighted to illumine the night so that all may hear the Easter proclamation and listen to the word of God proclaimed in the Scriptures. For this reason the Service of Light takes place before the Service of the Word. Since sunset varies at different locations throughout the country, local weather stations can be consulted as to the time of sunset in the area.

Furthermore, the issue of sundown/sunset is not taken lightly. Here is a post from the Diocese of San Jose dated 2006 which takes this time issue quite literally. This is further updated for 2008. This Diocese is following the Rubrics of the Sacramentary "to the letter" which I commend. This explains why some Vigils are to be found at 7:30 or 8:00 depending on the Diocese.