One of the Christmas traditions in the Philippines is Simbang Gabi.
But have you ever asked why Simbang Gabi is celebrated by dawn and not
at night?
But before that, what exactly is Simbang Gabi?
Simbang Gabi, may be classified in Catholic terms as a novena.
A novena is a form of worship consisting of special prayers or services on
nine successive days.
That is why, Simbang Gabi is held from December 15 to December 24.
The last night is more commonly known as the Misa de Gallo or Mass of
the Early-Morning Rooster for very obvious reasons.
According to various sources the practice of Simbang Gabi was brought to
us by Spanish Colonizers around the 17th century.
Like many of the traditions of organized religions, Simbang Gabi was used
to teach doctrine.
In particular, simbang gabi was used as a vehicle to teach converts on the
meaning of Christmas and encourage the faithful to come together as a
community to anticipate the coming of the Lord and rejoice in the promise
of the Messiah - or saviour.
Back to our question, Why is simbang gabi at the break of dawn?
If you do a Google Search, like a reasonable person would, you’d find
something like:
That in old times Simbang Gabi was actually at night but because of the
friars taking pity on farmers attending masses when they were exhausted
they petitioned the pope to grant a special privilege to Filipinos and allow
the holding of “Simbang Gabi” at daybreak so they could eat and attend the
mass before going to the fields.
But the truth is much more complicated than that.
Rev. Fr. Fidel Villaroel, OP in 1999 wrote a paper which he called: The
Aguinaldo Masses: Origins, Setbacks and Survival
Here, using historical references he tried explaining the origins of Simbang
Gabi as a practice in Spain or Mexico. How they were prohibitive because
the attendees were too festive. And that how the Church viewed these
festive spirit as abuses not fitting for the proper mood of Christmas which
they thought should be sober.
And then these masses were celebrated again and continued up until
today.
But the relevant detail in that paper is this:
Even then, the masses were already held in the morning.
(Shrugs)
Over the years, like most religious activities, the real meaning of the
tradition gets diluted.
There are additions which aren’t actually part of the canon of the Church.
Example, it is a popular belief that if you complete the 9 masses you are
qualified to make a wish which will have a high likelihood of being granted.
It is also believed by many that the 9 days of masses represent the 9 days
of Mary’s pregnancy with Jesus.
Of course these are teachings not endorsed by the Catholic Church.
But this isn’t weird. This is actually expected.
The assimilation of local beliefs to the official teachings of an organized
religion is observable everywhere.
In the past, religion played a central role in the lives of people.
The Church was then the most powerful figure in the world.
But now, religion is but a fraction of the things we can do in the world.
Before, not much was done except for well, survival.
And any activity related to the church was a respite from the mundane
nature of everyday life.
Now, religion, or faith competes with many other aspects of life.
And this may have something to do with cognitive ease.
Cognitive Ease is the ease with which our brain processes information.
The higher the cognitive ease associated with a task, the more
invested we are in it.
When cognitive ease goes down, the mental effort required to
complete a task becomes too high and we switch to a state of cognitive
strain which can lead us to become more suspicious resulting in a
decrease in confidence, trust and - pleasure.
In other words, we believe things that do not require much effort to
comprehend. Especially when the stimulus is repeated on a loop.
Things that are true feel good, and we therefore associate things that
feel good as true.
And this may also be the reason why we believe stories more than
research. Stories resonate with us while historical facts may be cold,
impersonal.
Between a complex history of the origins of Simbang gabi and a
touching story of how church authorities accommodate the needs of the
farmers. Which do you think is easier to process?
Which is easier to believe?
So why is Simbang Gabi at dawn?
Well, the answer is simple and anticlimactic.
It is because of Martial Law. When the Philippines was under martial
law a curfew was imposed from 12 am to 5am. So, how would people
attend the masses which were held at around 4? The church then opted to
hold the masses in the evening, thus Simbang “gabi”.
Marital law was lifted and the curfew with it, and therefore, early
morning masses were once again held, but the monicker stuck:
And that is why, Simbang Gabi is at dawn.