What's so important about New Year's anyway? Join me and my mom as she helps me learn about faith, hope, and the history of Watchnight service in my community.
January 1st
My name is Elizabeth L. Moran, but my friends call me E.L. A few months ago, I learned that my mom named me after one of my ancestors born all the way back in 1810. Ever since then I’ve been in love with all things history, and learning the stories about me and my friends, that we can’t find inside of our social studies textbooks.
If there’s anything that beats my love for history though, it’s Christmas time. Free presents are just really hard to beat. What could be better than free presents?
Every year I sit up on Christmas Eve, hoping to catch Santa as he places the presents under the tree, but somehow I always end up right back in bed. Mom says that it’s Christmas magic, but I know who the real culprit is!
Christmas comes and goes super fast, though. One minute we’re putting up the Christmas tree and the next, we’re tossing it out the door. Then we have to wait a whole year for Christmas to come back again. One day in the car, mom overheard me ask myself this question:
“What are we supposed to do until then?”
“E.L., what are you doing back there?”, mom asked from the front seat.
“Sorry! I am just writing about how much I’m going to miss Christmas. I can’t stop thinking out loud”
“Christmas was just yesterday, sweetheart”, Mom chuckled.
“Yes, but that means we’re the furthest away from Christmas we will ever be. That’s not a good thing.”
Mom is always looking for the bright side of things. Most of the time, it helps out alot, but this time, I didn’t understand.
“There’s actually a lot to look forward to, really soon”
“Like what ?”, I asked.
“Well New Year’s is right around the corner….”
“I have to stop you right there mom. New Year’s is a holiday for grown ups. There’s nothing exciting about it for kids.”
“Well all kids aren’t history geniuses now are they?”
“Hmm…..ok you got me. What’s so special about New Years?”
As I asked my question, our car pulled into our driveway.
“I’ll tell you what, you go upstairs and get ready for bed, and I’ll meet you in your room and tell you all about it.”
“Only if you promise it's a super good one this time”.
“It’s definitely a good one, but ”, mom told me.
I rushed up the staircase and got into my PJs so fast. I don’t remember walking into the house, but Mom says I ran so fast that my walnut bracelet made it really feel like the holidays, with all of the jiggling.
Normally, I would fight to stay up a little longer, but I had no more energy from Christmas. Plus, the quicker I got into my p.j.s, the faster mom would tell me the story.
“I’m ready!”, I yelled.
“That fast. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you in bed so early, by choice.”
“It’s only on special occasions. Like this one….where you tell me why New Years is so exciting.”
Mom laughed and kissed my forehead.
“New years bring new beginnings my love, and for some folks, those beginnings change their lives forever.”
“Are you talking about the New Years “solutions” that you make every year, that you forget about around June ? Because I believe in you Mom, but this still sounds like a grown-up thing to me”.
“That’s a resolution, E.L and I actually stuck to mine this year. I promised I would share stories about our ancestors with you.”
“Well, I guess that’s a good thing”
“I would like to think so”, Mom giggled.
“So…..”, I hinted.
“Yes, E.L?”
“Do I get to hear one of those stories now?”, I asked.
“Ahhh yes, the story….well can you stay up until midnight”.
I quickly shook my head no. The back of my eyelids were calling my name, and I had been ignoring them for the last few days.
Mom smiled at me and rubbed my cheek.
“I thought you may have a little bit of new years magic in you, like our ancestors did, a while ago.”
Mom said magic and my ears opened wide. A few recent moments had made we wonder, but mom’s words sounded like confirmation to me.
“Like real magic. The actual thing?”, I asked.
“Something as strong as magic, for sure”, she answered.
That made me even more curious. If New Years made me magical, then that might just beat Christmas, after all (Sorry, Jesus!).
“Ok. You have my attention!”, I told mom and I raised our eyebrows a bit, so that she knew I was mature and serious about the conversation.
“ Well, you remember how I told you our ancestor Elizabeth was free? That wasn’t the same for all of our ancestors, and some of them were forced to work for and live under other people, under harsh conditions. It was unfair and wrong.”
I nodded to let mom know that I did understand. We had talked a little bit about it at school during Black History Month
“That was slavery and it lasted in America, even after they won the Revolution and said that all people should be free”.
“That’s right. It took hundreds of years for many of them to be given their freedom. Even though it was their right, they were denied it for centuries. And yet, they still remained smart, hardworking, caring, and important to so many things that helped America grow.”
“Hundreds of years?”, I asked. That’s a really long time! I had already begun to fall asleep a little, but I really wanted to hear about the magic.
“I thought this story was about magic mom.”, I said.
I don’t know how she understood me, because I was so sleepy, I barely understood myself.
“Something as strong as magic”, she said to me.
“You see back during those times, the people in slavery, couldn’t do anything they wanted at all. They couldn’t sleep when they wanted to. They couldn’t see their families. They weren't even allowed to have faith or hope or they would be punished.”
“That’s sad and unfair mom. Our ancestors must’ve been super strong people to push through.”
“ The strongest! And though they were forbidden to have hope and faith, they did so anyway! They kept pushing through for themselves and their loved ones, believing that one day they would be free. One day, in 1862 those enslaved heard that the President of the US had signed a piece of paper which said that they were all to be free. They would have to wait until January 1st of the next year before it would go into action though.”
“Then what happened mom? Were there celebrations everywhere? Were they upset that they had to wait?”, I asked. My eyes had started to close faster than I had expected, but I had to hear the end of the story. More importantly, I had to know what all of this had to do with New Years.
“Well, on the night of December 31st, New Years Eve, all the enslaved folks gathered in the center place of hope, the magic that carried them through all the years, their church. Together, with faith and expectation, they waited all night for the clock to strike 12 and for it to be January 1st. Once that happened, they knew that they would be free. As the clock turned 12, they celebrated together and promised to keep that remembering that magic and night for years to come”
“So the hope and faith was their magic?”, I asked mom.
“It was their hope and their faith as a community and the belief that things would be better for those in the future that gave them much of their strength to survive. It was just as important and still is as strong as magic”.
While a bit of me wished that it was real magic, the story of my ancestors and how strong they were made this story even more special to me. As always, I wanted to know more.
“Do people still remember this day Mom?”, I asked.
“ They do. Every year many people come together on New Year’s Eve and wait for the clock to strike Midnight. It’s called a Watchnight Service. Together they wait for the new year and remember the hope and faith that guided our ancestors. My grandma took me every year when I was growing up.”, she told me.
“Can we go to one this year?”
“Of course! But right now it's getting late, and the only place you need to go is to sleep”, she teased me.
There was no push back from me there. As soon as mom walked out of the room….well actually I don't remember what happened when she left. I was that tired.
When New Year’s Eve arrived though, I was super excited and full of energy. Me and mom were heading to the local Baptist church, to take part in the Watchnight Services. I was getting ready when I heard her call out, “Elizabeth L. Moran, it’s time to go!.” I had been taking a long time upstairs, so I wasn’t surprised.
As we headed out the door, mom looked at me and asked, “Are you sure you want to go? The service will go pretty late”.
“Mom, I’m more than sure!”, I said. “If it means sharing faith and hope and connecting with our ancestors, then I want to catch the moon and stay up forever!”.
“Haha, well let's see if you make it past 11 o’clock.”, she laughed.
Driving to the service, my stomach was really excited and I guess a little bit nervous too. When we got there, everyone was up in the rows of seats singing and dancing. Mom and I hopped right in, put our stuff down, and mom joined right in.
“Mom, you know all the songs?”, I asked her.
She reached down and handed me a red book with a little flame on the front.
“My grandma taught me all the songs. I can teach you too”, she smiled.
She opened the book and flipped to a page that had the words to the song everyone was singing. With her help I looked on the page and began to sing along.
All through the night everyone sang, prayed, and joined in waiting for the clock to strike 12. Although mom didn’t think I would, I stayed up the entire time. I loved every minute of it.
Right before the clock struck 12, everyone bowed their heads and prayed. In the prayer we remember all things we have overcome, from our ancestors to this last year, and looked forward in hope for all the good things coming. Then at 12, we all sang together one final time.
As the service ended and Mom and I got ready to walk to the car, she turned to me and asked, “So, is New Year’s magic as good as Christmas magic?”
I looked up and replied, “It’s even better!”