Simbang Gabi

It is that same indescribable feeling.

Source: rhoelilagan (Flicker)

I remember attending the ‘Simbang Gabi’, or ‘Misa de Gallo’ when I was still a kid in our small town. We usually wake up early, around 3:00 or 3:30 in the morning, and brave the cold weather outside to walk the kilometer or so to the church. (This is the time when global warming hasn’t started to be a major world issue yet.) We normally reach the church with a little time to spare, and, being a kid, I remember spending that ‘precious’ time loitering near the small shanties dotting the fence in front of the church patio for an initial taste of that delicious ‘bibingka’ and very hot ‘salabat’. (Well, it sure is welcome to have something to help you ease that cold somehow.) I don’t know the real reason now, but I have no recollection of somebody selling ‘puto bumbong’ during Misa de Gallo when I was still a kid.

‘Simbang Gabi’ in our small town starts at 4:00 in the morning. I think it’s how the Philippines, as a predominantly Catholic country, customarily celebrate the nine-day mass in preparation for the nativity of Christ on Christmas Day. That is also probably why it is called ‘Misa de Gallo’. This practice remains the same until now.

This tradition has been part of my growing up. The only thing changed was that, instead of my parents, it was my friends who were with me in attending the masses during my teenage years, and that the frequency of attending it dwindled as I reached adulthood.

Then, all of a sudden it was gone when I decided to relocate to a Muslim country. 

Until last night.

There may be no bibingka, salabat or puto bumbong dotting the church patio… the mass may be celebrated late at night (10:00pm) instead of the customary 4:00am… instead of walking a kilometer, there may be that long 200-km drive from our place to the church (and another exhilarating 200 kms back!), but these differences aren’t really important. What’s important is that, after a long while, I got to experience ‘Simbang Gabi’ all over again. (...and as a bonus, share this moment with my family!)

Once in a while, it’s nice being a kid again.