Here in Singapore, there is so much Christmas merrymaking every where. Orchard Road is dressed up for its Sweet Christmas. All the malls are very attractive with their Christmas decorations and also with their holiday sales. Thousands of shoppers flock here to do their last minute shopping and also to admire the Christmas decorations at hand.
In the midst of this revelry, it is not difficult to forget that there is a reason why this holiday exists in the first place. Christmas day is the day Jesus Christ, our Savior, is born. Born more than two thousand years ago in the town of Bethlehem He is God made Man. This joyous event is celebrated by Christians all around the world as Christmas Day.
In Bugis, at the Church of Sts. Peter and Paul, people are also packing it in. Here a “midnight” Mass will be celebrated. I quoted the word “midnight” because it actually starts at seven in the evening. This is a midnight Mass organized by the Filipino community. Incidentally, it is also quite convenient for me since I need to meet someone after.
An hour before the start of the Mass, I arrived at the church. However, I was taken aback by the huge number of people there. Since this was organized by the Filipino community, it wasn’t surprising to see the vast majority of worshippers there are Filipinos. Filipinos are a fiercely religious people and without a doubt, Christmas is the most anticipated holiday of the year. In fact, the official start of the Christmas season, starts nine days before actual day of Christmas itself. It marks the start of a nine day Novena called Misa de Gallo (literally translated to “Rooster’s Mass”), Simbang Gabi or Midnight Mass. This is traditionally celebrated by major Catholic nations in Latin America and of course the Philippines which was a former Spanish colony.
The belief is if one completes the nine day novena, their prayers will be answered. In Latin America this is celebrated at midnight or Christmas Eve, however in the Philippines, it is celebrated as a nine day novena before dawn prior to Christmas day. I didn’t manage to attend any of these for one reason or another. However, I make it a point to try to attend the Christmas Eve Midnight Mass.
As expected, the place is packed with people and even if a seat seems to be empty, it is apparently “reserved” by someone who got there first. This practice irked me a little but there is little that I can do. I positioned myself by a side door so I can get some air since the small church doesn’t seem to have good ventilation. It has been drizzling the whole day so I wasn’t really that hot. However, the people kept pouring into the church, even though you’d think there isn’t really any more space for people to stand. It is really heartening to see the faith Filipinos have to be celebrating Christmas Eve in church when the rest of the world does it outside like a shopping center.
After an hour of standing, the Mass began, the choir was led by an impressive singer, although the sound system could have been organized a little bit better since some of the singers tend to be heard more than the others, they are a choir, right? The Mass itself was conducted in English but most of the songs were in Filipino. The choir sounded great in leading the congregation in singing of the songs. Most of the songs were familiar to everyone so everyone sang along.
By the time homily came, my feet were already aching, but I’m already halfway through. There was a meaningful sermon by the priest about the meaning of Christmas. Afterwhich there was a short program by the Filipino Catholic community in Sts. Peter and Paul. They sang a medley of Christmas carols but they didn’t really take too much time, since the Mass still needed to continue.
Communion was a logistical nightmare since the church was filled to the rafters with people. People were already spilling outside the church since there was really no more space inside. The people at the aisles received communion first and had to squeeze against the people lining up to receive communion. I ended up outside the church after communion since I was standing along the aisle and there would be no space for the people to go back to their seats if I stayed where I was.
After almost two hours, the celebration ended and the people streamed out of the church to the common area outside. There was free food! Traditionally, on Christmas Eve Filipinos eat a Christmas dinner after church. This is called noche buena or “Good Night”. This is a tradition of eating late dinner on Christmas Eve practiced in Latin America and the Philippines.
Hungry as I was, I wasn’t about the join the crowd lining up for noche buena since I still have to meet up with someone. Then I quickly left the church to go for my own noche buena. Despite the discomfort of having to squeeze in with thousands of people in a church made only for hundreds of worshippers, it was a heart warming experience that will linger in me. This is how you experience the magic of Christmas.
Have a Blessed and Meaningful Christmas everyone!
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