Sunday, December 15 was the third Sunday of Advent this holiday season. It also marked the beginning of the dawn masses nine days before Christmas. In our barrios back home this is a big family tradition for many of its practitioners.
Simbang Gabi, Misa de Aguinaldo, and Misa de Gallo are commonly interchanged to refer to these nine masses. Even when history shows that this was not originally so.
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| Day 1 of Misa de Aguinaldo Novena, San Sbastian Cathedral, Bacolod City - image by Andrew Altarejos |
The novena masses held at dawn from December 15 to 24 are properly called Misas de Aguinaldo. They originated in Spain where “Aguinaldo” means a gift given during the Christmas season.
Misa de Aguinaldo should not be confused with Misa de Gallo (Rooster’s Mass) which in Spain referred to Mass on Christmas Eve.
Spain has long celebrated the Misa de Gallo at midnight of December 24 - then and now. Filipinos however have appropriated this to refer to the novena of dawn Masses celebrated all over the Philippines.
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| lighting community advent wreaths |
The third Sunday of Advent is traditionally called Gaudete Sunday. Gaudete is the Latin word meaning “rejoice.” This is symbolic of the joy and gladness in promised redemption - always present in the heart of the faithful.
Joy is an act of will - be joy filled. We evolve to be fitting garments for the divine cosmic self - the Word made flesh.
The winter solstice is the day of the year with the fewest hours of daylight. In the northern hemisphere this date falls in December every year. In 2024 the winter solstice will occur on Saturday, December 21.
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| evergreen smudge bundles for winter solstice |
Long nights, short days, for the Northern Hemisphere. Short nights, long days, for our friends south of the equator. No matter where we live on Earth’s globe, the solstice is our signal to celebrate seasonal change.
Winter solstice is the astronomical moment when the Sun reaches the Tropic of Capricorn. Regardless of what the weather is doing outside our window, the solstice marks the official start of winter.
The Shaman's Cave, now on Season 7 released a new episode on December 11 titled, "Oracle Work During the Solstice and Times of Change".
We wish everybody a beautiful Solstice! Do your inner work - that's how to find the resilience, strength, and new creative energy that moves through us. The cycle shifts and as we move into this new cycle we start to create the life we would like to live.
A life filled with purpose and passion. That's what we're all here for. Blessings everyone - happy holidays!
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