''Misa de Gallo'' (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

for "Rooster's Mass", also ''Misa de los Pastores'', "Shepherds' Mass;" Portuguese: ''Missa do Galo''; Catalan: ''Missa del gall'') is the

Midnight Mass In many Western Christian traditions, Midnight Mass is the first liturgy of Christmastide that is celebrated on the night of Christmas Eve, traditionally beginning at midnight when Christmas Eve gives way to Christmas Day. This popular Christm ...

celebrated in Portugal and many former Portuguese colonies and also in Spain and many former Spanish colonies on

Christmas Eve Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas, the festival commemorating nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus. Christmas Day is observance of Christmas by country, observed around the world, and Christma ...

and sometimes in the days immediately preceding

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

History

The tradition of midnight Mass on Christmas Eve was first chronicled by Egeria, a Galician woman who went on a pilgrimage to the

Holy Land The term "Holy Land" is used to collectively denote areas of the Southern Levant that hold great significance in the Abrahamic religions, primarily because of their association with people and events featured in the Bible. It is traditionall ...

around 381. She witnessed how the early Catholics of

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

honored the Christmas mystery with a midnight vigil at

Bethlehem Bethlehem is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, located about south of Jerusalem, and the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate. It had a population of people, as of . The city's economy is strongly linked to Tourism in the State of Palesti ...

. This was followed by a torchlight procession to Jerusalem, arriving at the Church of the Resurrection at dawn. Half a century later,

Pope Sixtus III Pope Sixtus III, also called Pope Xystus III, was the bishop of Rome from 31 July 432 to his death on 18 August 440. His ascension to the papacy is associated with a period of increased construction in the city of Rome. His feast day is celebrate ...

, inspired by the midnight vigil, instituted the practice of a midnight Mass after the cockcrow in the grotto-like oratory of the famed

Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore Santa Maria Maggiore (), also known as the Basilica of Saint Mary Major or the Basilica of Saint Mary the Great, is one of the four Basilicas in the Catholic Church#Major and papal basilicas, major papal basilicas and one of the Seven Pilgrim C ...

. There are discrepancies, however, as to the exact time of the cockcrow due to the fact that the ancient Romans set it at the start of the day. In 1587, the head priest of the Church of San Agustin de Acolman in Mexico, Diego de Soria, petitioned

Pope Sixtus V Pope Sixtus V (; 13 December 1521 – 27 August 1590), born Felice Piergentile, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 24 April 1585 to his death, in August 1590. As a youth, he joined the Franciscan order, where h ...

to allow the Mass to be held outdoors because the church could not accommodate the large number of attendees at the evening celebration.

''Misa de Gallo'' in different countries

The tradition of ''Misa de Gallo'' is still observed today, mostly by Spanish-speaking

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

countries in

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

and in the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

Spain

In Spain, locals begin Christmas Eve by lighting small oil lamps in every home, then proceed to church to hear Midnight Mass. The most popular of these holy services is in the Basílica de Montserrat also known as Santa Maria de Montserrat, a Benedictine monastery built on the steep cliffs of the Montserrat mountain range. The Escolania de Montserrat, Europe's oldest boys' choir known for their angelic voices, graces the celebration.

Bolivia

Bolivians attend

Mass, and the celebration is followed by a sit-down meal featuring a traditional bowl of ''picana del pollo''. It is a stew made of chicken with peas, carrots, and potatoes.

Philippines

''Simbang Gabi'' ( Tagalog for "Night Mass"), also called ''Misa de Aguinaldo'' ("gift mass"), is the Filipino version of the ''Misa de Gallo''. It traditionally begins on December 16 and ends on December 24. In most parts of Philippines, however, the term "''Misa de Gallo''" specifically only refers to the last mass on

. In Zamboangueño Chavacano, the series of masses is also called ''Misa de los Pastores''. ''Simbang Gabi'' is associated with a nine-day

novena A novena (from , "nine") is an ancient tradition of devotional praying in Christianity, consisting of private or public prayers repeated for nine successive days or weeks. The nine days between the Feast of the Ascension and Pentecost, when the ...

procession, as well as a reenactment of the search for lodgings by

Joseph Joseph is a common male name, derived from the Hebrew (). "Joseph" is used, along with " Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the modern-day Nordic count ...

and the pregnant

Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

known as the Panunulúyan.

Puerto Rico

In Puerto Rico, locals celebrate Mass by singing Christmas songs, which they call ''aguinaldos''. The more religious versions of these songs are called ''

villancico The ''villancico'' ( Spanish, ) or vilancete ( Portuguese, ) was a common poetic and musical form of the Iberian Peninsula and Latin America popular from the late 15th to 18th centuries. Important composers of villancicos were Juan del Encina, P ...

s'' and the ones with a

Criollo Criollo or criolla (Spanish for creole) may refer to: People * Criollo people, a social class in the Spanish colonial system. Animals * Criollo duck, a species of duck native to Central and South America. * Criollo cattle, a group of cattle bre ...

inspiration are called ''décimas navideñas''.

Venezuela

In Venezuela, the ''Misa de Gallo'' is only one of a series of Masses held at dawn called ''Misa de Aguinaldo''. The name comes from the Spanish word for "Christmas box". The Masses are held for nine days and culminate on Christmas Eve. The songs of the liturgy are replaced by songs of the " gaita" genr

which is a folk genre from the

Zulia Zulia State (, ; Wayuu: ''Mma’ipakat Suuria'') is one of the 23 states of Venezuela. The state capital is Maracaibo. As of the 2011 census, it has a population of 3,704,404, the largest population among Venezuela's states. It is also one of t ...

state, and which are heard most widely throughout the country during Christmas. The lyrics of these gaitas are liturgical and approved to be played during ceremonies.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Misa Del Gallo Catholic Church in the Philippines Christmas in the Philippines Nativity of Jesus in worship and liturgy Latin religious words and phrases Mass in the Catholic Church tl:Simbang Gabi