Watch Night

Watch Night (Bolden, Georgia)

December 31

Watch Night services are held every New Year's Eve at 10:00 p.m. at Mt. Calvary Baptist Church in the village of Eulonia, near Bolden, Ga. The heart of the event is a "ring-shout" performance by the McIntosh County Shouters. Call-and-response singing, counter-clockwise dance movements, and interlocking rhythms created with hand-clapping and stick beating on the wooden floor are key elements of the ring-shout, which has indisputable roots in African tradition. The ring-shout was written about by outsiders as early as 1845, but many believed it had died out until this church's group of performers came to light in 1980. The McIntosh County Shouters have since been featured in concerts, on television, and on a CD. The Watch Night service is open to all.
Watch Night is a solemn yet joyful Christian vigil on the last night of the year in which hymns, testimonies, and prayers are shared. Because the Emancipation Proclamation freeing slaves in the United States went into effect at midnight on January 1, 1863, African Americans have invested the occasion with added significance. Some even refer to Watch Night as Freedom's Eve.

SOURCES:
AAH-2007, pp. 413, 416
HolSymbols-2009, p. 1036

Celebration day: Dec 31

Celebrated in: Georgia