E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.
Watch Night.
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, but it has been followed by most Christian communities.
1
“Southey in his biography of the evangelist (Wesley) denounces watch-night as another of Wesley’s objectionable institutions.”—Nottingham Guardian, January 1, 1895, p. 5.
