Misa de Gallo - The Philippine Experience

Simbang Gabi or Misa de Gallo (direct meaning: mass of the rooster) is a traditional 9-day novena before Christmas day. It it celebrated at dawn (usually at 4am), about the time where roosters do their wake-up calls. It was said that the mass was done this early because Filipinos during the early days time work at farm fields, so that after the mass, they can go straight to their fields to do their farming. Some Filipinos, also during that time, are fishermen. They start fishing at midnight and have done their catch at dawn. They can attend the mass after they have done their fishing.

This tradition is unique in the Philippines and is known worldwide as a Filipino tradition. Filipino immigrants around the world still continue to celebrate Simbang Gabi albeit at a different time, usually at 8pm and not at dawn due to the weather of the country they now live.

Nowadays the Simbang Gabi may be celebrated at a different time, not the usual 4am as was once done. There are churches that celebrate this mass at 8pm, some have two dawn masses, one at 4am and the other at 5:30am. This is done to accommodate the large following of the faithfuls, while most churches give consideration to the elders who can not join the usual 4am mass because it is usually too crowdy.

The Simbang Gabi is culminated by the Misa de Aguinaldo, done during Christmas Eve, at around 10pm.

But Simbang Gabi is more than a tradition, it is an experience. Festive and jolly that the Filipinos are known for, Simbang Gabi is a fiesta. An hour before the mass, jolly Christmas carols are played to call on the faithfuls. Bells are continuously rang. The church is adorned by colorful Christmas decorations and bright lights, and the patio at some parishes have colorful banderitas. After the mass, you can feast your taste buds with the traditional Christmas delicacies like the immortal puto-bumbong (bamboo rice cake) and bibingka with topped salted eggs, with salabat, corn broth or hot chocolate for beverage.

However, the Simbang Gabi nowadays also becomes a hype, as most teenagers attend the Simbang Gabi just for the sake of attendance, without understanding the true meaning of it. You can see them at parking lots and patios of churches, chatting with their peers. It is as if they just want to have the experience of waking up early, and maybe having their food trip after the mass is done. Sadly, the tradition may have been too commercialized.

But for most of us faithfuls, the Simbang Gabi is a sacrifice, a devotion, a spiritual preparation. The 9-day novena prepares us for the coming of the Messiah, the "word became flesh", the Emmanuel, the Son of Man. It is during this 9-day novena where in we repent for the sins we have done, thank the Almighty Father for the continuous grace that he have and will bestow, and rejoice, for Jesus Christ is born!