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Today, Watch Night is an annual New Year’s Eve tradition that includes the memory of slavery and freedom, reflections on faith, and celebration of community and strength. Watch Night service is rooted in African American religious traditions. During the first Watch Night, many enslaved African Americans gathered to pray, worship, sing, and dance.
Freedom's Eve: Awaiting the Passage of the Emancipation Proclamation. On December 31, 1862, enslaved and free Black Americans across the country stayed up until midnight to await the passage of the Emancipation Proclamation, which President Abraham Lincoln was to sign on January 1, 1863. Lincoln first announced his plans for the Emancipation ...
Watch Night, Christian religious service held on New Year’s Eve and associated, in many African American churches, with a celebration and remembrance of the Emancipation Proclamation (enacted January 1, 1863), which freed slaves in the Confederate states during the American Civil War.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Dec 12, 2006 · The Watch Night Services in Black communities that we celebrate today can be traced back to gatherings on December 31, 1862, also known as "Freedom's Eve." On that night, Blacks came together in ...
Dec 31, 2023 · The tradition of Watch Night services in the United States dates back to Dec. 31, 1862, when many Black Americans gathered in churches and other venues, waiting for President Abraham Lincoln to ...
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Why is it called Freedom's Eve?
When does 'freedom's Eve' take effect?
What happened on December 31 1862?
That Watch Night of 1862 came to be known as "Freedom's Eve." When midnight and the New Year arrived, they celebrated with prayers, shouts, singing, and great thanksgiving to God. Today, more than 150 years after that first "Freedom's Eve" Watch Night, African Americans continue to gather in worship, prayer, and thanksgiving.
Dec 30, 2023 · FILE - The original Emancipation Proclamation is shown on display in the Rotunda of the National Archives in Washington, Feb. 18, 2005. The tradition of Watch Night services in the United States dates back to Dec. 31, 1862, when many Black Americans gathered in churches and other venues, waiting for President Abraham Lincoln to sign the Emancipation Proclamation into law.
