The Origin Of The Easter Sunrise Service

Publish date: 2024-05-04

The first of these sunrise services was held in the Morovian community of Winston-Salem, North Carolina in 1772, according to Time. The ceremony on April 17, 2022 marks its 250th Easter sunrise service.

The first sunrise service in Winston-Salem was held with largely the same traditions and customs as the German service 40 years earlier, according to Salem Congregation, the church that hosts the service. The congregation begins at 2 a.m., when the church band — now some 500 people — plays hymns throughout the town, both to remind listeners about the resurrection and to wake people up for the morning service. The first song played is "Sleepers, Wake!", with its melody by Johann Sebastian Bach.

After parishioners gather in Salem Square by 6 a.m., the service begins, according to Morovian Sunrise, which streams the church service. After the initial readings, the congregation then walks in "prayerful silence" to Winston-Salem's own "God's Acre."

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