My youngest sister, Amor Katague Gregorio posted on her Face Book page, photos of her oldest daughter and grand kids and Hubby attending Simbang Gabi in the Jaro City Cathedral,š„
I thought it would be of interest to my blog readers to write about this Filipino Catholic Traditions- a devotional nine day masses in preparation to Christmas Eve. Below is a reprint from Wikipedia for your reading pleasure and information.
š„The Metropolitan Cathedral of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, is also known as the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Candles(Filipino: Pambansang Dambana ng Mahal na Birhen ng Candelaria; Spanish: Santuario Nacional de Nuestra SeƱora de la Candelaria) and colloquially as Jaro Cathedral. It is a cathedral located in the district of Jaro in Iloilo City, on the island of Panay in the Philippines. The seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Jaro, it was placed under the patronage of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary. It was established in 1575 as a visita (chapel-of-ease) of Oton by the Augustinians and as a separate parish in 1587. The present-day structure of Jaro Cathedral was built in 1874.
The Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines formally declared the cathedral the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Candles (Nuestra SeƱora de la Candelaria) in 2012. The cathedral is the fourth national shrine in the Visayas and Mindanao, after the Basilica del Santo NiƱo in Cebu (1965), Mandaue Church(2001), and Virgen de la Regla Church in Lapu-Lapu City (2007). Likewise, it is also the second Marian-dedicated national shrine in Visayas and Mindanao, and the first in Western Visayas.
The image of Nuestra SeƱora de la Candelaria (Candelaria) perched atop the faƧade of the cathedral, is the first Marian image canonically crowned personal by a Pope and Saint (John Paul II) in the Philippines and Asia. Also, through the said canonical crowning, the Nuestra SeƱora de la Candelaria has been declared as the official Roman Catholic patron of Western Visayas and Romblon, and made known Jaro as the 'center of Candelaria devotion in the Philippine islands'.
Sister Amor and Hubby Pol Gregorio on their E-bike on their way to Simbang Gabi to the Jaro Cathedral.š„
My Youngest Sister Family in front of the Jaro Cathedral balcony where St. John Paul II crowned the miraculous Lady of Candles statue.
Simbang Gabi is held daily from December 16 to 24, and occur at different times ranging from as early as 3:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m. Anticipated celebrations, meanwhile, are held from December 15 to 23, typically at 8:00 p.m, or as late as 11:00 p.m or at midnight. On the last day of the Simbang Gabi, which is Christmas Eve, the service is instead called Misa de Gallo (Spanish for "Rooster's Mass").
Simbang Gabi originated in 1669 during the Spanish colonization of the Philippines, as a practical compromise for farmers who began working before sunrise. When the Christmas season would begin, it was customary to hold novenas in the evenings, which was more common in the rest of the Hispanic world, but the priests saw that the people would attend despite the day's fatigue. As such, with the Philippines being an agricultural country known for its rice, coconut and sugarcane plantations, the clergy began to say Masses in the early morning while it was still dark before people went out to work the land.
For more details visiit:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simbang_Gabi
A Simbang Gabi Painting by Cesar Buenaventura depicting a Provincial Scene during the Christmas Season in the Philippines.
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