Holy Week Customs- Holy Saturday

In some places, a ceremony is made of having a mock funeral for Lent on this day after the Vigil. In Poland, for example, a real or wooden herring is "mourned" and buried in a "good riddance!" gesture that acknowledges the end of Lent and the return of feasting! ¹ In other places, Judas is burned in effigy -- often life-sized -- in these Easter fires or is blown up by pyrotechnics, as in some parts of Mexico! On a purely natural level (and though this isn't a "Catholic custom" per se), it might be a reassuring practice for families to write down their cares, problems, bad memories, past hurts, and such, and toss them into the flames, too.

Also, parishes and families who've literally "buried the alleluia" on Septuagesima Sunday now dig it up again.

From Fish Eaters