A watchnight service (also called Watchnight Mass) is a late-night

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

church service A church service (or a worship service) is a formalized period of Christian communal Christian worship, worship, often held in a Church (building), church building. Most Christian denominations hold church services on the Lord's Day (offering Su ...

. In many different

Christian traditions Christian tradition is a collection of traditions consisting of practices or beliefs associated with Christianity. Many churches have traditional practices, such as particular patterns of worship or rites, that developed over time. Deviations fro ...

, such as those of Moravians, Methodists, Catholics, Lutherans, Anglicans, Baptists, Adventists and Reformed Christians, watchnight services are held late on

New Year's Eve In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve refers to the evening, or commonly the entire day, of the last day of the year, 31 December, also known as Old Year's Day. In many countries, New Year's Eve is celebrated with dancing, eating, drinkin ...

, which is the seventh day of

Christmastide Christmastide, also known as Christide, is a season of the liturgical year in most Christianity, Christian churches. For the Catholic Church, Lutheran Church, Anglican Church, Methodist Church and some Orthodox Churches, Christmastide begins ...

. This provides the opportunity for Christians to review the year that has passed and make confession, and then prepare for the year ahead by

praying File:Prayers-collage.png, 300px, alt=Collage of various religionists praying – Clickable Image, Collage of various religionists praying ''(Clickable image – use cursor to identify.)'' rect 0 0 1000 1000 Shinto festivalgoer praying in front ...

and resolving. The services often include singing, praying, exhorting,

preaching A sermon is a religious discourse or oration by a preacher, usually a member of clergy. Sermons address a scriptural, theological, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law, or behavior within both past and present contexts. E ...

, and

Holy Communion The Eucharist ( ; from , ), also called Holy Communion, the Blessed Sacrament or the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite, considered a sacrament in most churches and an ordinance in others. Christians believe that the rite was instituted by J ...

. Watchnight services can take the form of Watchnight

Covenant Renewal Service The Covenant Renewal Service, or simply called the Covenant Service, was adapted by John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, for the purpose of the renewal of the Christian believer's covenant with God. Wesley's ''Directions for Renewing Our Coven ...

s, Watchnight

Vespers Vespers /ˈvɛspərz/ () is a Christian liturgy, liturgy of evening prayer, one of the canonical hours in Catholic (both Latin liturgical rites, Latin and Eastern Catholic liturgy, Eastern Catholic liturgical rites), Eastern Orthodox, Oriental O ...

services, Watchnight

Vigil A vigil, from the Latin meaning 'wakefulness' ( Greek: , or ), is a period of purposeful sleeplessness, an occasion for devotional watching, or an observance. The Italian word has become generalized in this sense and means 'eve' (as in "on t ...

services, or Watchnight

Mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

es. As Watchnight services bring in the New Year by glorifying God, they are seen by many Christians as being preferable to "drunken revelry" in popular cultural celebrations that are commonplace in some localities. In addition to Christian denominational practices, the ethnic customs of Koreans and African Americans have a strong tradition of New Year's Eve watchnight services.

History

The

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

documents that at the time of the

Exodus from Egypt The Exodus (Hebrew: יציאת מצרים, ''Yəṣīʾat Mīṣrayīm'': ) is the founding myth of the Israelites whose narrative is spread over four of the five books of the Pentateuch (specifically, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuterono ...

, God ordered

Moses In Abrahamic religions, Moses was the Hebrews, Hebrew prophet who led the Israelites out of slavery in the The Exodus, Exodus from ancient Egypt, Egypt. He is considered the most important Prophets in Judaism, prophet in Judaism and Samaritani ...

to "set up the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation" on "the first day of the first month" (). In Christianity, since the time of the

early Church Early Christianity, otherwise called the Early Church or Paleo-Christianity, describes the historical era of the Christian religion up to the First Council of Nicaea in 325. Christianity spread from the Levant, across the Roman Empire, and bey ...

, Christians have held vigils (watchnights) before the celebration of feast days, a practice "inspired by Jesus's example of praying all night before important decisions." At that time, non-Christians of the

Greco-Roman world The Greco-Roman world , also Greco-Roman civilization, Greco-Roman culture or Greco-Latin culture (spelled Græco-Roman or Graeco-Roman in British English), as understood by modern scholars and writers, includes the geographical regions and co ...

observed the arrival of the New Year with "revelling" and Christians distinguished themselves by instead praying and fasting. Throughout history, Christian denominations including the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

Lutheran Church Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched the Reformation in 15 ...

and

Anglican Church Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

have variously observed the eighth day of

—New Year's Day—as the

Feast of the Circumcision of Christ The Feast of the Circumcision of Christ is a Christian celebration of the circumcision of Jesus in accordance with Jewish tradition, eight days (according to the Semitic and southern European calculation of intervals of days) after his birth, the ...

, Feast of the Holy Name and

Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God The Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God is a feast day of the Blessed Virgin Mary under the aspect of her motherhood of Jesus Christ, whom she had circumcised on the eighth day after his birth in accordance with Levitical Law. Christian ...

, with the evening before having the Vigil Mass (Watchnight Mass) for the feast. The

Moravian Church The Moravian Church, or the Moravian Brethren ( or ), formally the (Latin: "Unity of the Brethren"), is one of the oldest Protestant denominations in Christianity, dating back to the Bohemian Reformation of the 15th century and the original ...

came to hold a lovefeast on New Year's Eve, followed by a watchnight service in the evening. These watchnight services last three hours and have been held since they became popular in the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

in 1733. After attending a Moravian watchnight service on New Year's Eve in 1738,

John Wesley John Wesley ( ; 2 March 1791) was an English cleric, Christian theology, theologian, and Evangelism, evangelist who was a principal leader of a Christian revival, revival movement within the Church of England known as Methodism. The societies ...

, the father of the Methodist Churches, recorded that "as we were continuing instant in prayer, the power of God came mightily upon us, insomuch that many cried for exceeding joy, and many fell to the ground." The Methodist Churches, strongly influenced by the

and

Radical Pietism Radical Pietism are those Ecclesiastical separatism, Christian churches who decided to break with denominational Lutheranism in order to emphasize certain teachings regarding holy living. Radical Pietists contrast with Church Pietists, who chose t ...

in general, herald the practice of the Watchnight Service, with John Wesley having emphasized that it was "customary with the ancient Christians to spend whole nights in prayer". The practice of holding watchnight services on New Year's Eve became common throughout

Christendom The terms Christendom or Christian world commonly refer to the global Christian community, Christian states, Christian-majority countries or countries in which Christianity is dominant or prevails.SeMerriam-Webster.com : dictionary, "Christen ...

, with many

Christian denomination A Christian denomination is a distinct Religion, religious body within Christianity that comprises all Church (congregation), church congregations of the same kind, identifiable by traits such as a name, particular history, organization, leadersh ...

s now offering them.

By Christian denomination

Moravianism

In the

, congregations observe a watchnight service on New Year's Eve, which is preceded by the celebration of the lovefeast. The three-hour watchnight service of Moravian Christians traces back to at least 1733.

Methodism

Following the lead of the Moravian Brethren who began having "watch" services in 1733, the founder of the

Methodist Church Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

, adopted watch night services in 1740, sometimes calling them ''Covenant Renewal Services''. The services provided Methodist Christians with a godly alternative to times of drunken revelry, including

. A Methodist watchnight service includes singing, spontaneous prayers and

testimonials In promotion (marketing), promotion and advertising, a testimonial or show consists of a person's written or spoken statement extolling the virtue of a product (business), product. The term "testimonial" most commonly applies to the sales pitc ...

, as well as scripture readings and

; the liturgy for this service, which is held on New Year's Eve, is found in Methodist liturgical books, such as '' The United Methodist Book of Worship''. In Britain, this tradition is preserved in the Covenant Service, and the British Methodist Church lists hymns when this is done as a "Watchnight Service into New Year".

Lutheranism

In the Lutheran Churches, Watchnight Masses are celebrated with the purpose of "welcoming the new year with praises to Almighty God."

Catholic Church

In the

Roman Rite The Roman Rite () is the most common ritual family for performing the ecclesiastical services of the Latin Church, the largest of the ''sui iuris'' particular churches that comprise the Catholic Church. The Roman Rite governs Rite (Christianity) ...

of the

can be held on New Year's Eve into New Year's Day around midnight; these are sometimes called the "Watch Night Mass" or "Watchnight Mass". The Archdiocese of Nassau has watchnight services at parishes throughout the ecclesiastical territory.

Anglicanism

Many Anglican parishes hold watchnight services, including several cathedrals, among them being

Ripon Cathedral The Cathedral Church of St Peter and St Wilfrid, commonly known as Ripon Cathedral, and until 1836 known as Ripon Minster, is a cathedral in Ripon, North Yorkshire, England. Founded as a monastery by monks of the Irish tradition in the 660s, ...

St Andrew's Cathedral, Singapore Saint Andrew's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Singapore. It is located near City Hall, Singapore, City Hall, Downtown Core, within the Central Area, Singapore, Central Area in Singapore's central business district. It is the cathedral chur ...

and

Cathedral Church of Christ, Lagos The Cathedral Church of Christ Marina, Lagos is an Anglican cathedral on Lagos Island, Lagos, Nigeria. History The foundation stone for the first cathedral building was laid on 29 March 1867 and the cathedral was established in 1869. The cathedr ...

. The

Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America The Episcopal Church (TEC), also known as the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America (PECUSA), is a member of the worldwide Anglican Communion, based in the United States. It is a mainline Protestant denomination and is ...

contains a liturgy for the Watchnight Service in ''The Book of Occasional Services''. In '' The Living Church'', Fr. William M. Lawbaugh stated that "Watchnight Services on New Year’s Eve have a lot to offer the Episcopal Church, not only to dispel the ugly notions of alcohol abuse but also to reform ourselves." The Anglican watchnight service includes "lessons, psalms, and collects" as well as

Presbyterianism

In the Presbyterian Churches, watchnight services are held on New Year's Eve (

Hogmanay Hogmanay ( , ) is the Scots language, Scots word for the last day of the old year and is synonymous with the celebration of the New Year in the Scottish manner. It is normally followed by further celebration on the morning of New Year's Day (1 ...

); they often include the singing of hymns and the sharing of testimonies by congregants, such as how God has blessed them that year.

St Cuthbert's Church, Edinburgh The Parish Church of St Cuthbert is a parish church of the Church of Scotland in central Edinburgh. Probably founded in the 7th century, the church once covered an extensive parish around the Old Town of Edinburgh, burgh of Edinburgh. The church ...

, a parish of the

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland (CoS; ; ) is a Presbyterian denomination of Christianity that holds the status of the national church in Scotland. It is one of the country's largest, having 245,000 members in 2024 and 259,200 members in 2023. While mem ...

, is known for its New Year's Eve watchnight service. In the Church of Scotland, a Watchnight service also refers to a popular ceremony marking the beginning of

Christmas Day Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A liturgical feast central to Christianity, Chri ...

Congregationalism

In many

Congregationalist Church Congregationalism (also Congregational Churches or Congregationalist Churches) is a Reformed Christian (Calvinist) tradition of Protestant Christianity in which churches practice congregational government. Each congregation independently a ...

es, such as the

United Church of Christ The United Church of Christ (UCC) is a socially liberal mainline Protestant Christian denomination based in the United States, with historical and confessional roots in the Congregational, Restorationist, Continental Reformed, and Lutheran t ...

, watchnight services are held on the night of New Year's Eve.

Continental Reformed

The

Continental Reformed Church Continental Reformed Christianity or Continental Reformed Protestantism is a part of Reformed Christianity within Protestantism that traces its origin to continental Europe. Prominent subgroups are the Dutch Reformed, Swiss Reformed, French Hug ...

es, such as parishes of the

United Reformed Church The United Reformed Church (URC) is a Protestant Christian church in the United Kingdom. As of 2024 it had approximately 44,000 members in around 1,250 congregations with 334 stipendiary ministers. The URC is a Trinitarian church whose theolog ...

, offer Watchight Services on New Year's Eve.

Baptists

Watchnight services are held on New Year's Eve in many

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

churches, with a focus on "renewed consecration and drawing nearer to the Saviour".

Adventism

Adventist Adventism is a branch of Protestant Christianity that believes in the imminent Second Coming (or the "Second Advent") of Jesus Christ. It originated in the 1830s in the United States during the Second Great Awakening when Baptist preacher Willi ...

churches, watchnight services are celebrated on New Year's Eve with "testimonies, praise songs, ndpsalms" in order to "give God thanks for keeping us through a trying year and asking his guidance as we anticipate the new year and Him leading us in that period".

Pentecostalism

Many

Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a movement within the broader Evangelical wing of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes direct personal experience of God in Christianity, God through Baptism with the Holy Spirit#Cl ...

churches hold watchnight services in the late hours of New Year's Eve.

Orthodox Christian

In most Russian Orthodox churches as well as in other Orthodox churches of Slavic origin, there is a weekly Vigil. This takes place usually on Saturday evening. It is a combination of Vespers and Matins. A similar arrangement is also used on the eve of most feast days. Usually an Intense Litany is added. On Christmas eve, Epiphany eve and Annunciation eve there is also a Vigil, however it is a combination of Great Compline and Matins. Greek Orthodox churches usually have Vespers in the evening and celebrate Matins before the Divine Liturgy. In some Greek monasteries Vigils are held before major feast days, particularly on the eve before the celebration of the patron saint or event after which the monastery is named.

Ethnic traditions

African Americans

African-American Methodists long celebrated watchnight services as

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

parishes in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, such as St. George's United Methodist Church and Mother Bethel A.M.E. Church, held them on

in accordance with Methodist customs. Watchnight services gained additional significance and history in the

Black church The Black church (sometimes termed Black Christianity or African American Christianity) is the faith and body of Christian denominations and congregations in the United States that predominantly minister to, and are led by, African Americans, ...

es in the United States, since many

African Americans African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa ...

were said to have gathered in churches on New Year's Eve in 1862, on what was called Freedom's Eve, to await the hour when President

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...

Emancipation Proclamation The Emancipation Proclamation, officially Proclamation 95, was a presidential proclamation and executive order issued by United States President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, during the American Civil War. The Proclamation had the eff ...

was to take effect on January 1, 1863. As such, watchnight services in the

Black Church The Black church (sometimes termed Black Christianity or African American Christianity) is the faith and body of Christian denominations and congregations in the United States that predominantly minister to, and are led by, African Americans, ...

are widely attended.

Korean community

Korean Christians have a strong tradition of watchnight services on New Year's Eve.

References

External links

Liturgy for Watchnight ServiceCovenant Renewal Service for Watchnight on New Year's EveVideo: Watchnight Service at Fairview Moravian ChurchVideo: Watchnight Covenant Renewal Service at Trinity Methodist ChurchVideo: Watchnight Service at St. Agnes Anglican ChurchVideo: Watchnight Service at Trinity Mar Thoma ChurchVideo: Watchnight Mass at Sacred Heart Catholic ChurchVideo: Watchnight Service at Maze Presbyterian Church
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