Watch Night
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
December 31st, to see the Old Year out and the New Year in by a religious service. John Wesley grafted it on the religious system, and it has been adopted by many Christian communities.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Watch Night” mean?
December 31st, to see the Old Year out and the New Year in by a religious service. John Wesley grafted it on the religious system, and it has been adopted by many Christian communities.
Is “Watch Night” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.