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Mayor’s Commission on African= and Caribbean Immigrant Affairs Philadelphia, PA
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Vol= ume 1 Issue 2 |
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For the First Time , ODUNDE is a 3–= ; day Celebration |
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“Watch Night Service” i= n Historical Perspective: A New Year of Freedom Contributed by Philadelphia Juneteenth
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The original Watch Night Service occurred on December 31, 1862, the da= y when Africans gathered in churches in anticipation of news pertaining to = their freedom, which was to come down from the White House the following da= y. During these Watch Night Services, Africans from the many nations in Afr= ica in unison prayed to their higher power, praying to their God, their All= ah, to hear and act on their prayers. These Africans prayed that their pray= ers would cause President Lincoln to do the right thing- free all Afr= icans enslaved in America.
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Followi= ng the North’s defeat of the South in the Civil War, and following th= e separation clauses enacted into law by way of Jim Crow -1876-1965 (which = required separate facilities for whites and blacks), African-Americans bega= n owning and operating their own Churches. They then began hosting Watch Ni= ght Services at their churches. Shortly after the Civil War, the A.M.E chur= ch brought Watch Night Service to the South, and Watch Night has flourished= into an annual celebration, taking place December 31st to January 1st. |
