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 churches and private homes all across the nation, anxiously awaiting news that the Emancipation Proclamation actually had become law. However, there is a reason for the importance of New Year's Eve services in African American congregations. In fact, there were instances where clergy in mainline denominations wondered aloud about the propriety of linking religious services with a secular holiday like New Year's Eve. Still, it seemed that predominately White Christian churches did not include Watch Night services on their calendars, but focused instead on Christmas Eve programs. Like many others, I always assumed that Watch Night was a fairly standard Christian religious service - made a bit more Afro centric because that's what happens when elements of Christianity become linked with the Black Church. For others, church is the only New Year's Eve event. Some folks come to church first, before going out to celebrate. and ends at midnight with the entrance of the New Year. The service usually begins anywhere from 7 p.m. Many of you who live or grew up in Black communities in the United States have probably heard of "Watch Night Services," the gathering of the faithful in church on New Year's Eve. The earliest versions we encountered attributed it to Agnes Barron-Steward, the director of Multicultural Student Services at Pierce College in Los Angeles, but her authorship has yet to be confirmed: A piece about the importance of "Watch Night" within the African-American Christian community began circulating on the Internet in April 2001.
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