Watch Night marks the night African Americans across the United States watched and waited to hear the bells of freedom ring with the new year. ... ‘Watch Night’ service to ring in the new year.

A formerly enslaved woman named Aunt Phoebe Bias attended a watch night meeting in Washington, DC, shortly before her death. Bias’ account of the service was retold in the 1942 book, “They ...

Watch Night services, which date back to the Emancipation Proclamation in 1862, are still observed on New Year's Eve at many multiracial and predominately Black churches in the US.

The Seneca River Baptist Association’s Family Life Center, located at 298 S. Poplar Street, Seneca, SC, will host 31 churches for a joint watch night service that begins at 10 p.m.

"That's where the Watch Night service has its origin -- where Black people gathered in churches to pray, worship, sing, and wait." For Williams, Watch Night is both a spiritual and social tradition.