This article examines the history of Watch Night, the Emancipation Proclamation, and the Gullah Geechee tradition of Jubilee Freedom Day.
Every Jan. 1 brings with it a calendar year full of hope and optimism, marked by gatherings in restaurants, homes, and bars on Dec. 31 to usher in and celebrate the New Year. For Black Americans, however, the significance of New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day goes beyond the festivities; it is a fabric woven with threads of history and culture.
Culture is a cumulative reflection of our experiences, heritage, and lineage, passed down through generations. For many Black Americans, the cultural significance of New Year’s Eve is rooted in the tradition of Watch Night. This practice, dating back to Dec. 31, 1862, holds historical importance when freed Blacks in the Union States gathered to pray for the liberation of enslaved Blacks in Confederate states.
Simultaneously, thousands of enslaved Blacks prayed on plantations, awaiting President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation on Jan. 1, 1863. Dec. 31 became synonymous with Freedom’s Eve, as freed and enslaved Blacks, along with White abolitionists, ‘watched’ in anticipation for the proclamation that would symbolize freedom from slavery. While the Watch Night service endures in Black churches, the historical context is often lost over time.
The Emancipation Proclamation, while a significant symbolic act, had limited impact on the immediate liberation of enslaved Blacks, as it applied only to Confederate territories beyond Union control. Even events like General Sherman ‘gifting’ Savannah to President Lincoln in 1864 were more focused on economic considerations, particularly the value of cotton as currency, than on the liberation of Blacks. However, the by-product of the war was freedom for many, and this legacy is observed annually in Gullah Geechee tradition with Jubilee Freedom Day on Dec. 21.
Economics continued to shape the narrative in January 1865, as Black clergy in Savannah, recognizing its importance for a newly freed people, sought 40 acres of land from General Sherman.
The radical request at Charles Green’s mansion revealed that nine of the 20 Black clergy were only free due to Union forces liberating them following the Emancipation Proclamation.
In essence, New Year’s Eve and Day for Black Americans hold a profound historical and cultural resonance, reminding us of the struggles, sacrifices, and triumphs that shape the community’s collective identity.
