BANTAYAN ISLAND, Cebu—It’s the call of local government units.
Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said there’s no national government directive on allowing or barring the faithful from attending Misa de Gallo, or dawn Masses, leading up to Christmas.
Roque, interviewed on Friday (Nov. 27) at the inauguration of the upgraded Bantayan airport, said the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) “has decided to let local government units decide.”
Roque said mayors in Metro Manila had adjusted curfew hours in their jurisdictions from midnight to 3 a.m. to let people be physically present in the traditional nine-day Misa de Gallo, a tradition during the Christmas season among Catholics.
Attendance in Church services had been restricted during the pandemic to prevent the transmission of SARS Cov2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
Misa de Gallo, Spanish for Mass of the Rooster, starts on Dec. 16 until Dec. 24, Christmas Eve. It was called as such because this traditional Mass is often celebrated at dawn during which roosters usually crow to signify the start of a new day.
The tradition was introduced by Spanish friars in the 17th century in agricultural communities so that farmers could attend Mass before heading off to the fields early in the morning.
Filipinos associate the experience with cold mornings, snacks of hot chocolate and puto (rice cakes) after Mass. The nine-day tradition also offers opportunity for the faithful to plead for favor from God.