To commemorate the triumphant spirit of the African American journey, the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation will host its second annual Juneteenth Sunrise Service on Sunday morning, June 16, at 6 a.m. at the majestic Compton Oak on Market Square. This landmark tree symbolizes life, endurance, shelter, and joy. Special keynote address by world-renowned poet and writer Nikki Giovanni.
The Juneteenth Sunrise Service is inspired by “Watch Night” (also referred to as “Freedom’s Eve”)—a tradition in Black churches across the United States born out of the enslaved community’s “waiting for the hour” on the night of December 31, 1862. With the coming dawn, the Emancipation Proclamation went into effect on January 1, 1863.
The first documented Sunrise Service was conducted for Easter in 1732 by the Moravian community in Herrnhut, Germany. It appears that Moravians who came to the American colonies spread the tradition, which was taken up by several denominations, including Black and white churches. Southern Black churches sometimes combined the Easter Sunrise Service with an all-night vigil, such as the Easter Rock, which still survives in Louisiana. Sunrise Services in Black churches also celebrated other significant events, like the fall of Wilmington, North Carolina, to Union forces in February 1865.
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Sunrise Service Keynote: Tina Lifford
Tina Lifford is a visionary thought leader in the field of Inner Fitness. As the strategist and architect behind The Inner Fitness Project, she brings deep wisdom, personal experience, and respect for the human condition that allows her to engage people in the process of internal transformation, healing, and resilience building.
Resources
- “The Easter Morning Sunrise Service,” This Month in Moravian History, no. 18 (April 2007)
- Kathy Black, Bishop Kyrillos, Jonathan L. Friedmann, Tamar Frankiel, Hamid Mavani, and Jihad Turk, “The Christian Year,” in Rhythms of Religious Ritual: The Yearly Cycles of Jews, Christians, and Muslims, 1:113–17. Claremont Press, 2018. .
- Lea Seale and Marianna Seale, “Easter Rock: A Louisiana Negro Ceremony,” The Journal of American Folklore 55, no. 218 (1942): 212–18.; and “Winnsboro Easter Rock Ensemble, Easter Rock Spiritual Ensemble, 2021 NEA National Heritage Fellow, Winnsboro, Louisiana,” National Endowment for the Arts, accessed May 2, 2023
- Abena Boakyewa-Ansah, “Crafted ‘By Their Own Hands’: The African American Religious Experience in Union-Occupied North Carolina, 1862-1865.” The North Carolina Historical Review 94, no. 3 (2017): 327.
Other Experiences
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Hands-On: Daily Life
Participate in the daily activities of an 18th-century family at the Geddy House.
CW Admission
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Special Event: An Evening with the Presidents
Nation Builders discuss their experiences as presidents.
Open to the Public
Event Ticket
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Traditions Fourth of July Dinner
Join us for a spectacular dinner buffet to celebrate Independence Day at the Williamsburg Lodge.
Open to the Public
Event Ticket