Getting Ready for Simbang Gabi, Even Before the ‘Ber’ Months
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2018 Simbang Gabi Commissioning Mass at Saint James Cathedral in Seattle. (Photo courtesy of Simbang Gabi of Puget Sound)
In the Philippines, it is normal to see people preparing for Christmas celebrations as soon as the “ber” months hit. Yup, as early as September some Christmas songs start to hit the Philippine airwaves. In a country that is over 90 percent Christian, Christmas is definitely one of the most, if not the most, anticipated times in the Philippines. But to witness such Christmas fervor this early outside of the Philippines is a little surprising. It’s even considered a brave thing to do in this part of the world where you’re likely to hear plenty of vocal critics sneering at those who put up Christmas decors or play Christmas tunes before Thanksgiving.
This Filipino choir, for the last four years at least, had started practicing for the Seattle Archdiocese’s Simbang Gabi Commissioning Mass in December as early as August. The choir is no small production with almost 75 singers from different parishes across the Puget Sound area participating every year. These individuals are some of the most dedicated singers who have volunteered many of their Sunday afternoons to practice and to make sure that they deliver some of the best and joyous Simbang Gabi music.
“According to a count in 2014, there were about 80 parishes in the Seattle Archdiocese taking part in Simbang Gabi.”
A Filipino Christmas is not complete without Simbang Gabi, a tradition that is deeply embedded in Filipino culture and history. It can be traced back to the 16th Century when the Spanish Christian missionaries came to the Philippines. It was a tradition originally practiced in Spain and Mexico but became really popular in the Philippines. Simbang Gabi, in its original form, is celebrated before dawn, before the early morning roosters crow. Simbang Gabi, in English, literally means “Night Mass.” It’s also called “Misa de Gallo” meaning “Mass of the Rooster.” It was celebrated as early as the first rooster crows so that the farmers and the fishermen could partake in the Masses before they started their work. It still gets celebrated early in the morning in the Philippines, now fortuitously accommodating the modern economy workers in off-shore call centers working overnight shifts. And with modern-day Filipino migration patterns, Simbang Gabi had found its way back to the Americas 400 years since it made its way from Mexico to Philippines. In the US, Simbang Gabi Masses are on the increase, but they are usually celebrated in the evening and mostly on a weekend to accommodate the American work schedules and way of life. And that works out fine because celebrating on the weekends also gives Filipinos to gather and feast bigger and longer!
Traditionally and historically, Simbang Gabi is a novena that lasts nine days. At the conclusion of this novena is the festive celebration of Noche Buena, which means “good night.” After completing the 9-day novena, the night of Noche Buena is when they give thanks to God for a good, bountiful harvest, in time for Christmas Day. This is the night when households bring out all the special dishes like lechon, pancit, lumpia, puto bumbong, bibingka, and quezo de bola to be shared with the family, which in the Filipino culture really extends to the larger community including the titos and the titas (uncles and aunties), kapitbahay (neighbors), blood relatives or not, Filipino or not, to join in on a sumptuous feast.
With the steady stream of Filipinos migrating to different parts of the world, this tradition continues to spread, grow, evolve, and even get passed down to the next generations. Overseas Filipino workers and migrants are in so many ways the modern-day missionaries of the kind of faith and fervor cultivated in the Philippines. The Filipino’s continued enthusiasm for Simbang Gabi is so contagious that other Americans are also getting into the whole experience. In 1997, the Archbishop of Seattle was so moved by his experience of the Simbang Gabi celebration that the Filipino community so diligently and elaborately put together, that he encouraged the entire archdiocese to participate. And so since then, it has been a regular part of the Advent in the Seattle Archdiocese. According to a count in 2014, there were about 80 parishes in the Seattle Archdiocese taking part in Simbang Gabi. And that number has continued to grow as more parishes realize the evangelizing power of Simbang Gabi. Archbishop J. Peter Sartain, in his homily during the 20th anniversary celebration of Simbang Gabi at Saint James Cathedral, said that Simbang Gabi is one of the many ways the Filipinos share their faith joyfully. The churches touched by Simbang Gabi are provided an opportunity to recover the spiritual meaning and joy of Christmas.
There is something about Simbang Gabi that strengthens the faith and spirituality of a Filipino especially as a Filipino in America. There is something about seeing the parols (Christmas star) hanging by the altar, the choir filling the air with Christmas carols in Tagalog. And for some lucky parishes with a thriving Filipino community, the air is filled with the aroma of bibingka, lumpia, and lechon coming from the parish hall. Simbang Gabi is a heartwarming reminder of “home.” There’s a sense of connectedness knowing that our fellow Filipinos around the world as well as our ancestors, our great, great lolos and lolas, celebrated the joy of Christmas in the same way. There’s something about it that makes the “heart swell with Filipino pride,” as writer Suzanne Goloy-Lanot writes. And it’s not just the finished products—it’s not just the colorful parols or barong. It’s not just the choir’s harmony on every note and every syllable of “Pasko na Naman.” It’s not just the bibingka or queso de bola. It’s the dedication, the passion, the commitment, the excitement, the zeal, and the labor of love that the Filipino faithful put in months in advance just so that they could share the joy of Christmas—in grand Filipino style.
Simbang Gabi Choir. (Photo courtesy of Simbang Gabi of Puget Sound)
Simbang Gabi has evolved over the centuries, particularly as Filipinos bring this tradition with them as they migrate to other countries, but its essence and meaning remain the same. It is a celebration that reminds all of us of the importance of faith, family, community, and tradition, no matter where we are.
At Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton parish in Bothell, the Filipino group’s very name is “Simbang Gabi Ministry.” It’s a testament to how Filipinos treat the importance and centrality of the celebration of the coming of Jesus Christ into this world. On its website, it says that “The Mission of the Simbang Gabi Ministry is to promote the vision of our parish as an inclusive family in a caring faith community by strengthening the unity among all the cultural groups through prayer, hospitality, and service.”
Through Simbang Gabi and the various Filipino celebrations throughout the year like the Feast of Santo Nino in January and the Feast of the Filipino Saints in September, are opportunities to gather, to work together to prepare not only what Filipino delicacies to serve or what songs to sing, but to prepare the hearts of the faithful and prepare the way for Christ. The group’s namesake of “Simbang Gabi Ministry” serves as a reminder for the Filipino faithful that ministry is rooted in preparing the way for the coming of Christ into this world, even if it takes more than the “ber” months.
BJ Gonzalvo
BJ Gonzalvo, PhD, is a psychology researcher, consultant, and writer about faith and culture. He is currently collecting and archiving histories, stories, kuwentos, images, narratives, and reflections on what faith means to Filipinos in America today. Visit http://www.saintlynest.com/ to learn more.
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