Filipinos’ faith in God will once again be on display when they rise up early and be on their Sunday’s best to attend the nine-day Simbang Gabi starting at dawn today, Dec. 16.
Notwithstanding the cold mornings, busy schedules, and the threat of Covid-19, Filipino Catholics are expected to troop to the churches for the occasion.
Simbang Gabi, or the dawn masses, considered a novena to the Blessed Virgin Mary, are celebrated as a prelude to the commemoration of the birth of Jesus Christ. It culminates with the Misa de Gallo on Christmas Eve.
The religious event, deemed the longest and most revered tradition among Roman Catholics, traces its roots to Mexico when Pope Sixtus V granted in 1587 the petition of Fray Diego de Soria, prior of the convent of San Agustin Acolman, to hold Christmas mass outdoors as the church could no longer accommodate the multitude attending the evening mass.
In the Philippines, the Simbang Gabi dates back to 1565 when Miguel Lopez de Legazpi celebrated the first feast of the Nativity in the country. It was said to be a compromise for farmers, who start work before sunrise to avoid the noonday heat out in their farms. Scheduling masses at dawn gives farmers the opportunity to join the event.
It was in the 16th century when Pope Sixtus V decreed that these pre-dawn masses be held in the Philippines starting every Dec. 16. Apparently, the Pope’s decree was in keeping with Filipinos’ nine-day novena to the Blessed Mother.
From a very solemn event, the Simbang Gabi may have slowly evolved to keep in step with the times.
Nonetheless, the tradition lives on. After the masses, the faithful still treat themselves to the traditional puto bumbong, bibingka, rice cake, and kutsinta, paired with hot drinks of salabat (ginger tea) or chocolate. And after the Christmas Eve mass, families gather for Noche Buena, feasting on the best food and drinks to commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ.
While keeping up with this decades-old tradition, we hope everyone will take this opportunity to reflect on the significance of this celebration—the birth of Jesus Christ to save mankind from eternal death.
Because of our sinful nature (Romans 3:23), we were all doomed to perish as the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23).
But God demonstrated his love for mankind when “he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).
As you attend Simbang Gabi in the next nine days and celebrate with your family and friends, don’t forget to reflect on the true essence of Christ’s birth.
May the love of God abound in us.