EVERY Christmas season, Filipino Catholics flock to churches to attend Simbang Gabi, a series of nine dawn Masses celebrated from Dec. 16 to 24 in anticipation of Christmas.
Liturgically, these Eucharistic celebrations are votive Masses—offered in response to the devotion of the faithful—particularly in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Yet the tradition is often conflated with two other terms: “Misa de Aguinaldo” and “Misa de Gallo,” which, while related in practice, have historical distinctions.
Misa de Aguinaldo
According to a 1999 historical study by the late University archivist Fr. Fidel Villarroel, O.P., the novena Masses held at dawn from Dec. 16 to 24 are properly called Misas de Aguinaldo.
“Aguinaldo” is a Spanish term referring to a gift given during the Christmas season, typically on Christmas Day, New Year’s Day, or Epiphany.
“One interpretation could be that the Christian faithful offer to God nine Masses as a gift on the occasion of the Birth of Jesus, to Him and to His Mother,” Villarroel wrote.
Misa de Gallo
The Misa de Aguinaldo should not be confused with the Misa de Gallo, or “Mass of the Rooster.”
Villarroel noted that the Misa de Gallo is a separate tradition in Spain associated with—but distinct from—the Aguinaldo Masses.
Historically, the Misa de Gallo is celebrated at midnight on Dec. 24, or Christmas Eve.
The term, Villarroel added, is “wrongly used by many Filipinos” to refer to the dawn novena Masses celebrated in the country.
Simbang Gabi
The term Simbang Gabi, meanwhile, is commonly used as a catch-all reference to the Misas de Aguinaldo, whether celebrated as anticipated evening Masses from Dec. 15 to 23 or as dawn Masses from Dec. 16 to 24.
Whatever name it is called, the nine-day anticipation of Christmas is distinct to the Philippines and reflects the deep devotion of Filipino Catholics.
In 1953, the First Plenary Council of the Philippines petitioned the Vatican to allow the continuation of the tradition. The Holy See granted an indult, or special privilege, permitting the Misas de Aguinaldo to continue.
The Vatican later approved a five-year extension of the indult in 1961, and after its expiration, the practice has continued with ecclesiastical recognition.
