December 3, 2004

St. Francis of Assisi Parish

Celebrating Simbang Gabi: A Filipino Christmas tradition

Compiled by Fredy Guevara
Special to the Times

The Filipino ministry of St. Francis of Assisi Parish is again abuzz planning the evening Mass, “Simbang Gabi,” a tradition we brought with us from the Philippines so many years ago.

Now each Advent we gather together to prepare the buffet feast to be shared each evening and create beautiful decorations called “Parol,” paper lanterns, used for the procession.

These lanterns represent the sort used by the farmers to guide them in the dark to the Holy Mass. Over time these simple lanterns evolved into elaborate hand-made sparkling stars with colorful lights, and today, they are displayed in window sills, balconies and Christmas trees to signify the season.

Though traditionally celebrated in the early morning hours, for practical reasons, Simbang Gabi will be celebrated at St. Francis of Assisi in the evening.

For as far back as early immigrants have come to these shores, various cultures have brought with them pieces of their own homeland and faithfully carried on their traditions wherever they’ve settled. The Filipino people are no different, and Simbang Gabi is one of those traditions that never left the Filipino family.

Recent research found in an article by Francis Earl A. Cueto will help shed some light on a tradition that even some of the Filipinos might not be aware of:

Preparing for Simbang Gabi
“The alarm clock is buzzing. Just as you had drifted merrily to sleep, the clock is telling you to get up, as you have to start your day. But it’s three in the morning, and the sweet allure of your bed and the enchanting feel of your pillows are simply hard to resist.

But then your senses start drumming up fast and the main reason why you had to wake up early has also started ringing in your mind: Simbang Gabi or “Misa de Gallo.”

While trying at best to stay awake amid the cool breeze and trying to listen to the Mass itself as it unfolds so early in the morning, Simbang Gabi has become so much a part of our lives as it has been part of the Christian family tradition.

Simbang Gabi was adopted from the Catholic Misa de Gallo, which literally means “Mass of the rooster,” to indicate it is held at dawn when the rooster crows.

Dawn, midnight Masses
Simbang Gabi lasts for nine consecutive days beginning Dec. 16. Traditionally, it is held at dawn, but some parishes offer anticipated Masses one night in advance. This religious event dates back to the time when Miguel Lopez de Legazpi celebrated the first feast of the Nativity in the year 1565 in the archipelago.

Simbang Gabi traces its roots in Mexico when, in 1587, Fray Diego de Soria, head of the convent of San Agustin Acolman, petitioned the Pope for permission to hold Christmastide Masses outdoors because the church could not accommodate the multitude that attended the dawn services. When the request was granted, the Masses became known as Misa de Aquinaldo.

It was in the 16th Century when Pope Sixtus V decreed that these pre-dawn Masses also be held in the Philippines starting every Dec. 16. The decree was in keeping with the nine-day traditional festivals of Filipinos in celebrating auspicious occasions like harvest time. It was also meant to give farmers a chance to hear Mass before setting out for the fields. Rural Filipinos were used to starting the day two hours before sunrise.

Church bells rang to call the faithful to Simbang Gabi. In some provinces, brass bands played traditional Christmas music and parish priests would go as far as knocking on the doors of every home.

Simbang Gabi is said to have started in the 18th Century by a Spanish friar who intended it as a novena for a bountiful harvest the following year. The Masses were set at dawn to accommodate the farmers. After the harvest proves bountiful, the dawn Masses became an annual tradition.

The tradition continued, even when freezing cold, when Filipinos wear their native light weight “barong,” women their elegant “ternos.” Choirs singing Tagalog songs such as “Pasko na Naman,” “It’s Christmas Again” and “Himig Pasko,” would bring back happy memories of their homeland and families.

After the Mass, the parishioners are treated to a sumptuous Filipino dinner with the traditional puto, kutsinta and bibingka, made with sweet rice and rice dough, to remind them of how wonderful it is to experience Christmas, the Filipino way.”

Source: “Misa de Gallo: Getting ready for Simbang Gabi,” Manila, Dec. 15, 2003, by Francis Earl A. Cueto
The Simbang Gabi tradition is celebrated for nine days starting Thursday, Dec. 16 through Friday, Dec. 24 at 7:30 p.m. each night with the following exceptions; Saturday, Dec. 18 at 5 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 19 at 6 p.m., and Friday, Dec,. 24 at 6 a.m. at St. Francis of Assisi Parish, 5111 San Felipe Rd.

For more information, contact the parish at (408) 223-1562 or visit the Web site at www.stfrancisofassisi.com.

Evergreen celebrates the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe

By Aida Fotovat
Special to the Times

December is here again, and twinkling lights bedeck the streets, stores showcase their celebrative displays, and people decorate their houses in anticipation of the season’s holidays.

At St. Francis of Assisi Parish, we celebrate diversity and welcome you to join us for the celebration of the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Amid all of the excitement, let’s remember that Evergreen residents have one of the most cosmopolitan representations of cultures from all over the world, thus giving us the opportunity to witness and participate in some of these old traditions.

One of the most popular local traditions in the Hispanic community is the feast of “Our Lady of Guadalupe,” named by Pope John Paul II as the “Queen of the Americas” in 1999.

Our Lady of Guadalupe is an icon whose message of peace and unity has far surpassed the bounds of religion. She is revered as a guiding mother and as a protector. There are those who see her as someone who is open and sensitive to the diversity of present life.

Today she attracts followers from every walk of life. Many invoke her image at home, as an icon of religious significance, on modest folkloric altars, or wear small artistic renditions of decorative art. Here is her brief story, which took place in Spanish Mexico:

Origin of the tradition
Near dawn on Dec. 9, 1531, Juan Diego, an Aztec Indian and recent convert to Christianity, was on his way to Mass from his home near Tepeyac. As he approached the Tepeyac hill, he heard music and climbed the hill to find its source.

The music took him to an appearance of a young mestizo (mix of native and European) woman. Speaking in Nahuatl, the language of the conquered people, she asked Juan Diego to deliver a special message to the archbishop of Mexico.

He was to tell the bishop that the Virgin Mary wanted a temple built in her honor on the hill at Tepeyac. The temple would serve as a site from which Mary’s message of “love, compassion, help and defense” could be proclaimed “to all the inhabitants of this land” and from which she could “hear their cries and remedy their miseries, pain and suffering.”

The bishop was hesitant to accept Juan Diego’s account of Mary’s appearance, and told him to ask Mary for a special sign. On Dec. 12, 1531, Mary sent Juan Diego to pick roses, an out-of-season flower, in a place where only desert plants grew. She arranged the roses in Juan’s tilma (cloak) and sent him once again to the bishop.

When Juan opened his tilma before the bishop, the miraculous image of the Lady of Guadalupe was imprinted on it. She looked just as Juan Diego had seen her on Tepeyac hill, wearing a pinkish dress and a blue green mantle with golden stars, adorned with distinct symbols of high meaning to both cultures.

It is her message that united the “New World” and it is what keeps many returning to pay their respects to her. The image in Juan’s tilma is now displayed in the Basilica of Guadalupe in Mexico City, and the shrine remains one of the most celebrated places of pilgrimage in the Americas.

The Evergreen community is invited to celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe on Sunday, Dec. 12, at St. Francis of Assisi Parish, 5111 San Felipe Rd. You may offer a red rose at the altar and stay for a sip of hot Mexican chocolate with some “pan dulce” after Mass. Masses are celebrated at: 8:30 a.m., 10:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and 6 p.m.

For more information, please contact: (408) 223-1562 or go to the Web: www.stfrancisofassisi.com.