For a significant portion of Black Americans, Watch Night Service is the only festive New Year's ceremony
Interestingly, this service has become a hallmark of Black churches – White churches (that is, churches where the congregation is predominantly white) focus on Christmas rather than New Year. In their view, New Year is a secular, not religious, holiday. Charles Johnson and Patricia Smith, authors of the book 'Africans in America: America's Journey through Slavery', emphasize that the Watch Night Service tradition has political, rather than religious, roots. On December 31, 1862, the US was in the midst of the Civil War, and Black residents gathered in the only public places available to them at the time – churches. They were awaiting word that President Abraham Lincoln would sign the proclamation abolishing slavery.
In the early stages of the Civil War, Lincoln's primary goal – despite being a fierce opponent of slavery – was not to free the slaves, but to preserve the American Union from which the Southern states had seceded to form the Confederacy. In September 1862, Lincoln officially informed the Southerners that if the Confederates did not lay down their arms and return to the Union, on January 1, 1863, he would declare the emancipation of slaves in Confederate territory (it was the slaves who ensured the prosperity of the Southern economy, which was largely based on cotton cultivation).
The Confederates refused to accept these terms, and Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, which freed 4 million people. Awaiting this news, Black Americans and white abolitionists – opponents of slavery – gathered in churches and sang religious hymns. This service went down in history as Freedom's Eve – analogous to Christmas Eve.
However, there is evidence that this service was held even earlier. The reason is that on January 1, estate and business owners, many of whom owned slaves, would tally the financial results of the year and often decide to urgently sell slaves (for example, to cover debts). As a result, New Year's Eve sometimes became the last chance for family members and friends to see each other before a long, and sometimes eternal, separation. Perhaps that is why the modern Watch Night Service symbolizes freedom and hope for a better future.
Based on materials from Washington ProFile.