MISA DE GALLO

            Misa de Gallo or “Mass of the Rooster” was started as an ordinary early morning mass to allow the farmers to hear the words of God before going to their respective farming field. It was introduced by the Spanish Missionaries as a way of instilling the values of the Christian Faith and as a tool for the Filipinos to deepen their understanding and belief.

 On December 16 of 1587, the Missionaries introduced the nine days dawn Masses to prepare the people spiritually for the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. The bell starts ringing as early as 3 in the morning to wake the people up for the 4 in the morning mass. The culmination of the nine day mass was at midnight of December 24 and we termed it as Midnight Mass.

 The practice was passed on to generation after generation and became a part of our culture. During our time, I can remember very well after the mass, people make different kind of noises, firecrackers, torotot, or just simply shouting Maayong Pasko, some mount a bunch of empty cans to their bike and drive around the plaza, then to the poblacion area. Indeed, Christmas is very Merry and Happy for us Catmonanons. Then, these merry making is followed by the Noche Buena… YUMMY, yes, Y – U- M – M – Y… I can just imagine the biko, puto wrapped in banana leaves triangular in shape, budbud pilit, sikwate, budbud kabog, bibingka,.. ug uban pa.

 The tradition is still enjoyed by many today, and I hope it will continue for a much longer time.