As the year winds down, people look for signs of divine intervention to give them inner strength. Simbang Gabi, a nine-day (novena) series of Masses in honour of Mother Mary, is a cornerstone of the Filipino community’s celebration of Christmas.

“[Simbang Gabi] encompasses everything the traditional Filipino [culture] is: religious, fun, community,” says Mike Guia, a leader of the Archdiocese of Vancouver’s Filipino Ministry; and coordinator of this year’s celebrations across the Lower Mainland.

According to Guia, a novena, meaning nine, is a prayer for divine intervention. The goal of the devotee is to complete all nine days of the Simbang Gabi. The Archdiocese of Vancouver will begin this year’s celebrations with a Commissioning Mass, featuring representatives from its participating parishes, Dec. 13, at the Holy Rosary Cathedral.

A growing celebration

Guia was an early member of the Filipino ministry established under the leadership of Archbishop Miller around six years ago. One of the first projects of this Ministry was planning a Simbang Gabi celebration, which was new to Canada at the time. The celebrations have since grown to include over 30 of their parishes – a trend Guia hopes will continue.

“Of all the projects of the Filipino ministry, this is the most attended,” he adds. “It’s the highlight of the year, and it’s good it comes at the end of the year. It closes out the year and starts the new year.”

Guia notes that while celebrations for Simbang Gabi have traditionally begun on Dec. 14, this year’s opening mass will be held on Dec. 13 (because the 14th falls on a Saturday). Led by The Most Reverend J. Michael Miller, CSB, the event begins with a procession of parish banners and parols, followed by a Mass.

“It’s a beautiful tradition, it’s a novena, and that’s actually what attracts some non-Filipino cultures and ethnicities: because they want to pray to the novena as well,” adds Guia.

Simbang Gabi is a prayer for the blessed Mary. While “Simbang” means “to worship” and “Gabi” means night, Guia notes there is no official translation for the term. The emphasis on “night,” however, is rooted in the celebration’s history of becoming a novena.

“Simbang Gabi is a night mass, but it is held in the morning,” he says. “In Mexico, where it originated as a novena, it was a nine-day evening mass.”

Guia states that as the tradition reached the Philippines, it adapted to the Filipino agricultural society by becoming a morning mass. This adaptation provided worshippers a chance to practice their faith before work. While Simbang Gabi masses are still held early in the morning in the Philippines, the timing of the masses is more flexible in the Canadian context.

Bonding through traditions

In Canada, the Filipino Ministry has also adapted to including bilingual (English and Tagalog) elements, due to the shortage of Filipino priests. For Guia, Simbang Gabi is notable for its diverse appeal, with some parishes even encouraging cross-cultural attendance and cross-generational contact.

“Catholic celebrations are dominated by young kids, seniors, or young adults, but this one is cross-generational,” he adds. “More and more I see Filipinos born here that are curious about their culture, and they attend this event.”

For Guia, Simbang Gabi provides the Filipino community with a chance to reconnect with their culture. He points out that many Filipinos miss their social culture when living in a more work-focused society like Canada. Aside from its religious function, Simbang Gabi also provides connections to Filipino culture through the sharing of food, as Guia notes that his parish sponsors breakfast for the nine days of the Masses.

“In the Philippines, it has evolved into a social event as well,” he explains. “After the Mass, there is a tradition of street food in the church plaza, along the streets.”

He adds that the event, being a common place where people meet their future partners, is highly appealing for teenagers in the Philippines. For Guia, these celebrations are becoming even more of an international phenomenon, having been recognized by Pope Francis as a valuable event for the church.

For more information, see https://rcav.org/filipino-ministry/programs#simbang-gabi