CHILDREN gather around Santa Claus outside Cebu Cathedral as “Misa de Gallo” starts. Carinne Asutilla/INQUIRER VISAYAS
CEBU CITY—Wearing a Santa Claus costume and a beard of tangles of white yarn, Bayani Deja rode in a LED-lighted horse-drawn carriage, locally known as “tartanilla,” to distribute goodies to children attending the first “Misa de Gallo” (dawn Mass) at Cebu Cathedral on Sunday.
Deja was playing St. Nick for the Cebu People’s Cooperative, as part of the group’s advocacy to spread the Christmas spirit through sharing.
“This is just a simple act of celebrating Christmas. This is the cooperative’s way of giving back the blessings.” he said. “It may be a simple way, but the joy we bring through having a Santa is priceless. We will be in different churches every Misa de Gallo until the ninth day.”
Some 7,000 Catholics came to the first Misa de Gallo, with the “Three Kings, the Holy Family and Santa Claus” adding color to the tradition. They spilled to the church compound and the street, following the Mass shown on two wide screens.
Figures of the “Three Kings” of Barangay (village) Tinago, a tradition that the village started in 1960, were paraded on large, wooden camels atop wheeled platforms and stayed outside the cathedral. These were made of indigenous materials.
Members of San Diego Dance Troupe performed in a play depicting the story of Mary and Joseph’s journey to Bethlehem and the birth of Jesus Christ, signaling the start of the Mass celebrated by Msgr. Robert Alesna.
Most of the churchgoers brought their own chairs. “I know that there will be a lot of people, so I decided to bring my own chair,” said Sandra Luchavez, who believed that her wishes would be granted when she completes all the dawn Masses.
“I can’t tell you what I wish for this year, but based on experience, it is effective,” she laughed. “But of course, you have to pray and work for it at the same time.”
Cebu Archbishop Emeritus Ricardo Cardinal Vidal, who celebrated a separate Mass at the compound of Cebu Catholic Television Network (CCTN) reminded the public about the true meaning of the dawn Masses.
“Misa de Gallo is the proximate preparation for Christmas, nine days. The Church has given us these novena days to prepare at once. We are not only there to enjoy our ‘puto bumbong’ (rice delicacy), but it is precisely the human heart, the will which are purified so we can receive God this Christmas,” Vidal said in an interview over CCTN.