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The occasion, known as Watch Night or “Freedom's Eve,” marks when African Americans across the country watched and waited for the news of freedom. 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, 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.
A watchnight service (also called Watchnight Mass) is a late-night Christian church service. In many different Christian traditions, such as those of Moravians, Methodists, Catholics, Lutherans, Anglicans, Baptists, Adventists and Reformed Christians, watchnight services are held late on New Year's Eve, which is the seventh day of Christmastide ...
Dec 30, 2023 · Over its 160-year history, Watch Night has evolved into an annual New Year’s Eve tradition — it not only commemorates freedom from slavery, but also celebrates the importance of faith ...
Dec 17, 2023 · The Meaning of Watch Night. A late-night tradition in many African American churches celebrates New Year’s Eve—and the end of slavery—with praise, fellowship, and hope for the future. By. Safiya Charles. Updated on December 17, 2023.
Dec 30, 2023 · Over its 160-year history, Watch Night has evolved into an annual New Year’s Eve tradition — it not only commemorates freedom from slavery, but also celebrates the importance of faith, community and perseverance.
Dec 31, 2023 · Though true freedom would not be granted until the 13th Amendment was ratified on December 6, 1865, and slavery was abolished, the 1862 watch night services provided a glimmer hope for those...
Dec 28, 2018 · Exactly 156 years ago on December 31, 1862 at around 7 p.m., enslaved Black men, women, and children unknowingly created something historians would later refer to as Watch Night, which was our...
Dec 23, 2012 · In Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Baptist Church has held its own Watch Night services for 35 years. The Rev. H. Beecher Hicks Jr. says this year's service will begin with praise, testimony and...
Dec 19, 2012 · With end-of-year watch and see anxieties lurking, it’s important to know that the Watch NIght was a wait for news of freedom.
