Misa de Gallo: Are You Team AM or Team PM?

Church bells will begin to sound very early in the morning on December 15th, starting around midnight, and continuing until Christmas Day. The Christmas novena, or Simbang Gabi in Tagalog, will soon start. The nine-day celebration before Christmas is a long-standing custom among Catholics in the Philippines, notably in the province of Bataan.

Simbang gabi, which translates to "night worship," got its name from the Catholic practice of assembling for the Eucharistic celebration in the early hours of each of the nine days leading up to Christmas. Catholic churches around the nation will start ringing their bells at 3 or 3:30 in the morning, well before the roosters crow. Hence, this ceremony is also known by its common Spanish name, the misa de gallo, or "mass of the rooster."

In order to satisfy the demands of people with a wide range of work hours, many urban parishes now celebrate simbang gabi around 8 or 9 in the evening rather than merely in the morning. This has resulted in deeper changes. The practice is still practiced among Bataeños who worked early in the morning. The annual simbang gabi is a powerful indicator of the depth of Catholicism in Filipinos' hearts, regardless of how or when it is celebrated. Simbang gabi describes the faith of Filipinos who share with all Christians the fundamental conviction that God is present in human history, including the straightforward joys and difficulties of life's most basic activities.

So choose now whether you are team AM or PM and let the Misa de Gallo bells pierce the Bataan region's early morning calm and hope for Bataeño’s blessings and world peace for all.