The custom existed among the pagans, almost universally, before the time
of Christ. The Jews practised this ancient night prayer, as the
scripture in several places shows, _"in noctibus extollite manus
vestras in sancta"_ (Psalm 133). Our Saviour sanctified this use by His
example, and the early Christians were, on account of these night
assemblies, the objects of fear and dread, of admiration and of hatred.
Organised vigils lasted till the thirteenth century in some countries,
but owing to abuses and discord they became not a source of edification,
but the occasion and cause of grave scandals, and were forbidden
gradually and universally. The Church now retains for the faithful one
congregational vigil, the vigil of Christmas. Formerly, it was customary
to observe a fast on a day or night of a vigil, but that custom was
suppressed sometimes, or fell into disuse. Vigil fasts are now few.
Almost the only relic of the vigil now remaining is the Mass and Office.

When were vigils held? In the early ages they were held only on Saturday
nights and on nights preceding great solemnities or the festivals of the
Martyrs. The early converts, if they had been pagans, knew few or no
prayer formulae, and very little of the psalms was learned by them even
in their Christian practice. But Jews who became Christians knew psalms
and hymns and prayers. So that in the early Christian vigils, there was
no attempt made at reciting the Divine Office, and the custom of such
recitation was not introduced until about 220 A.D. and was not
obligatory (Duchesne, _Christian Worship_, Chap. VIII.).

It is difficult to speak with certainty about the hour of beginning or
the hour of ending these vigil services. Some think that the first
nocturn was said about 9 p.m. Lauds was said before sunrise and hence
was called _Laudes-matutinae_. But "after the middle of the ninth
century, we gather from contemporary documents, that the office of