As the clock nears midnight on New Year’s Eve, many African American churches and households across the country gather not to just ring in a new year, but to honor a powerful tradition rooted in freedom.

Councilwoman Ju’Coby Pittman, the Ritz Theater & Museum and the City of Jacksonville hosted the fifth annual Jacksonville Emancipation Celebration at Lift Ev’re Voice and Sing Park on Saturday.

The tradition of Watch Night services in the United States dates back to Dec. 31, 1862, during the Civil War.

The community is invited to attend a Freedom's Eve Service at Historic Mt. Zion A.M.E. Church December 31.  Watch Night:  A Gullah Geechee Emancipation Day Celebration runs from noon to 2pm.  There will be a reading of the Emancipation Proclamation, music, history, food and more.

Juneteenth is all about celebrating Black culture, history, and life, bringing people together to honor all those who came before us and fought for the rights and privileges we hold today.

The festival honoring Emancipation Celebration Day in Jacksonville has become an annual tradition for James Weldon Johnson Park.

See how much you know about America's youngest federal holiday.

The Senate has passed a bill that would make Juneteenth, or June 19th, a federal holiday commemorating the end of slavery.

On this day 156 years ago, the Emancipation Proclamation was read aloud in Florida’s capital city, officially ending slavery in the state.

FILE - This Feb. 18, 2005, file photo shows the original Emancipation Proclamation on display in the Rotunda of the National Archives in Washington. President Abraham Lincoln first issued the Emancipation Proclamation declaring all slaves free in Confederate territory on Sept. 22, 1862. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)LAKELAND, Fla. – A Florida city is planning to formally recognize May 20 as the date slaves were emancipated in the state. The city commission plans to approve a resolution Monday declaring May 20 as Florida Emancipation Day, The Ledger in Lakeland reported. Lakeland commissioner Philip Walker says there are efforts around Florida to have cities and counties recognize May 20 as the date of slave emancipation in the state.

(AP Photo/John Locher)LOUISVILLE, Ky. The outcry has reverberated for weeks online and at demonstrations nationwide: Arrest the cops who killed Breonna Taylor. Calls for action against the officers have gotten louder during a national reckoning over racism and police brutality following George Floyd's death in Minneapolis. That has left people, from protesters to celebrities, wondering why justice is slow to come in Taylor's case. It's definitely taking too long, it's definitely frustrating, said Kirstia Drury, 32, who joined street protests in Louisville after Taylor's death. He's executive director of advocacy group Christopher 2X Game Changers and has often served as a conduit between the Black community and Louisville officials during conflicts.

(AP Photo/Jim Mone)MINNEAPOLIS A special session of the Minnesota Legislature ended Saturday without agreement on remaking policing in the state where George Floyd was killed. I'm deeply disappointed that Senate Republicans ended the special session before our job was done," Senate Minority Leader Susan Kent tweeted. Were not walking away from Minnesota here, but I think we could all benefit from a breather, Gazelka said just before adjournment, Minnesota Public Radio News reported. The special session was necessary for Democratic Gov. If Walz seeks to extend his emergency powers an additional 30 days, he's required to call another special session for July 12 to let lawmakers object.

Protesters march in a Black Lives Matter demonstration organized by the Dallas Black Firefighters Association on Juneteenth 2020 in Dallas, Friday, June 19, 2020. Juneteenth marks the day in 1865 when federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas to take control of the state and ensure all enslaved people be freed, more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation. Former President Abraham Lincoln first issued the Emancipation Proclamation on Sept. 22, 1862, and it became effective the following Jan. 1. Word didnt reach the last enslaved black people until June 19 of that year, when Union soldiers brought the news of freedom to Galveston, Texas. Kristi Noem proclaimed Friday as Juneteenth Day, but the proclamation does not make the day a state-recognized holiday.