Simbang Gabi
Parishioners were still dusting snow off their jackets as the crowd of about 1,000 filed into the star-studded sanctuary of Holy Family Roman Catholic Church in northwest suburban Inverness on Tuesday.
For more than 86,000 Filipino Catholics in the Chicago area, the joy of Christmas already had begun.
Simbang Gabi (Sim-BONG-guh-bee), a series of nine festive masses leading up to Christmas Eve, culminated with a final service at Holy Family Parish Tuesday night, with Cardinal Francis George presiding.
Gone were the purple vestments and other hallmarks of the church during the Advent season. Instead, priests and some parishioners wore white. Brightly-colored stars iced with tinsel and twinkling with electricity flanked the altar and choirs caroled "Alleluia."
"You can't escape the exuberance of Christmas," said parishioner Almira Gilles of Palatine. "This is a showcase for our tradition, our culture."
Celebrated in the Philippines at dawn on Christmas Eve, the final mass of Simbang Gabi is often called "Misa de Gallo," or Mass of the Rooster. Families rise for church at 4 a.m., so fishermen and farmers can be blessed and proceed with their daily chores.
Teresita Nuval, who came to the U.S. in 1969, remembers stories of how her mother awoke to the cadence of wooden shoes outdoors. Growing up in urban Manila, Nuval awoke to the sound of cars. Still, the anticipation was the same.
"When you say Simbang Gabi, you know right away you need to prepare yourself spiritually for the coming of Jesus," said Nuval, now director for the office of Asian Catholics for the Chicago Archdiocese. "It really is based on the joyful anticipation. Everything emanates from that."
Symbolizing the Star of Bethlehem is the parol, the Filipino symbol of Christmas, often made from bamboo and colored tissue paper and suspended outside some Filipino homes.
"In the Philippines, when you see a parol that is hung outside a home, that means the family has accepted Jesus," Nuval said. "It is also telling Joseph and Mary `You are most welcome to come in.'"
In Holy Family, stars shone from every corner. George likened it to evangelization.
"We've come on a snowy evening looking for light following a star," George said in his homily. "God uses stars at times ... but most of all God uses others. ... God finds others to show us the way to Jesus."
Chicagoans began celebrating Simbang Gabi in nine parishes in 1986, Nuval said. Since then, the novena has spread to more than 70 parishes in the city and suburbs.
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"This is a showcase for our tradition, our culture."
Funny, I thought the Mass was a sacrifice with Jesus as the star.....
Celtic masses, polka masses, ad infinitum.
This is the kind of ethnic me, me, me crap that got us into the mess we're in. Correct it whenever you see it--it's NOT Catholic Christianity. The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is not a cultural fair, a showcase for your kids, a tupperware party or a PTA meeting! It's the HOLY SACRIFICE OF THE MASS.
If it doesn't mean anything to a person in that way, too bad they don't *get* it, but it doesn't change what it IS.
You have misunderstood.
The 'showcase for our tradition' she was referring to is the custom of going to pre-dawn Masses for 9 days immediately prior to Christmas Day, NOT the Mass itself.
This custom is a long-standing tradition in my country and predates Vatican II. It is definitely NOT 'ethnic me, me crap'.
But...Christmas didn't start until today, and doesn't stop until January 6th. Why do you need to celebrate for nine days to prepare for the twelve days of celebrating? I'm all for going to pre-dawn Masses to prepare for Christmas, but not wearing white, not while it's still Advent.
Noted that the author to this article was writing about a midnight mass celebrated on Christmas Eve. This means, pardon the redundancy(?, that the celebration indeed took place at Christmastime,hence, the white vestments or people wearing white.
Once again, we are in the midst of planning another series of Simbang Gabi. I personally hope that the true intent of these spiritual preparations be emphasized and not just stage another excuse for feasting i.e. foodfest.