White Rock Baptist Church (Durham NC) New Years Eve Svc (Watch Nite Svc)

Contemporaries speculate why many black American Christians annually observe what is termed "Watch Night" services, a yearly religious observation to bring in the New Year. The Watch Night tradition dates back to 1862 when President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation that took effect on January 1, 1863, as the nation approached its third year of the bloody civil war. The proclamation declared that "all persons held as slaves" within the rebellious states "are, and henceforward shall be free."

The Emancipation Proclamation was zealously anticipated. Historians pointed out that many black Americans gathered in groups around clocks or watches eagerly awaiting the arrival of midnight on December 31, 1862 because the Proclamation was to take effect on the first moment of January 1, 1863.

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