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, Americans of African descent came together in churches, gathering places and private homes throughout the nation, anxiously awaiting news that the Emancipation Proclamation had become law. Then, at the stroke of midnight, it was January 1, 1863, and according to Lincoln’s promise, The Emancipation Proclamation, all slaves in the Confederate States were legally free. When the actual news of freedom was recieved later that day, there were prayers, shouts and songs of joy as people fell to their knees and thanked God.
Black folks have gathered in churches annually on New Year’s Eve ever since, praising God for bringing us safely through another year. Generations have passes since that first Freedom’s Eve and many of us were never taught the African American history of Watch Night, but our traditions still bring us together at this every year to celebrate once again “how we got over.”
Charleston Emancipation Proclamation Association 