Misa de Aguinaldo starts today

Early this morning, I’m sure many of our kababayans trooped to the churches to mark the start of the dawn masses known as misa de aguinaldo. The early morning masses, which are held for nine consecutive days, begins at four in the morning. Aguinaldo is a Spanish word that means a “Christmas gift”, a gift given during the Christmas season, especially on Christmas Day, New Year’s Day and the Epiphany or “Three Kings”. One reason why this word is used to refer to the dawn masses is that the Christian faithful offer to God nine masses as a gift to Jesus and His Mother on the day of His birth. This is also an expression of joy and thanksgiving by the Church upon receiving the most precious gift of salvation from God when He gave His only begotten Son to become man who died on the Cross to save us from sin.                                 

From its origins in Spain as early as the sixteenth century, the dawn masses were really celebrated much earlier than the usual daily Masses — summon mane, “very early in the morning”, ad auroram, “at dawn” and antequam dies illuxerit, “before daybreak”. The masses were popularly celebrated because of the people’s love and devotion to the Virgin Mary. The Spanish devotees also offered the Mass pro re gravi, “for a grave reason”, praying for blessing on the recently sowed fields and for the well-being of the whole people.

Since Spanish conquistador Miguel Lopez de Legazpi celebrated the first feast of the Nativity in 1565 in our archipelago, our Christmas season celebration became the longest in the world. The priests held the nine-day pre-dawn masses upon a decree by Pope Sixtus V, and in line with evangelization objectives, they were meant to give the farmers a chance to hear mass before setting out to till the fields. During those times, it was said that priests would knock at each home to rouse up everybody for the misa de aguinaldo. Brass bands also played traditional Christmas music all over town to herald simbang gabi. After each mass, churchgoers look forward to eat bibingka (rice flour and egg-based cake, cooked with coals over and under the mixture) or puto bumbong (violet-colored glutinous rice) steamed in small bamboo tubes, served on a piece of banana leaf garnished with brown sugar and grated dried coconut, with hot salabat (ginger tea) or tsokolate (thick Spanish cocoa).

The Filipinos sometimes wrongly use the word misa de gallo to refer to the dawn masses, or misa de aguinaldo. This is because misa de gallo is the Spanish phrase for Midnight Mass, more literally translated as “Rooster’s Mass”, coming from the idea that a rooster was among the first to witness the birth of Jesus, and crowed to announce it. Actually, misa de gallo marks the end of misa de aguinaldo on Christmas eve, after which families eat together a midnight meal called noche buena and exchange gifts.              

This old tradition strengthened Filipino families for generations, both morally and spiritually. Now because times have changed, and we now live in a global village and more Filipinos work abroad, more and more families are forced to spend the holidays apart from each other or alone. Of course, there is now the internet where people can chat and see each other online and the cell phone which allows people to keep conversing with each other any time of the day. Somehow, these factors diminish the spirit of Christmas for many. The puto bumbong is now conveniently made with instant ingredients, while the noche buena table features take-out, not home-made, food because many mothers are now working to help make ends meet for the family. Sadly, more and more families just sleep out on the simbang gabi. It is now a common thing for people to work even at nights, Sundays and holidays, even on Christmas and New Year’s eve. What is sad is there are more and more poor and hungry Filipinos who hardly have food on the table for their families.

The Christmas season will only be as meaningful as we make it. We cannot fight all these innovations and changes arising from the demands of our world today, but one way we can keep the Christmas spirit alive is by sharing it with others, especially to those who are in need. Let’s all do something to help our less fortunate brothers and sisters have a good Christmas this time.