Simbang Gabi, a Filipino Christmas tradition, is being celebrated in area Catholic churches through Monday, Dec. 23, with each day having a lesson and theme.
Churches in Glenview, Tinley Park, Lake Villa, Niles, Morton Grove, Des Plaines, River Forest, Elmwood Park, Round Lake, Mundelein, Berwyn, Orland Park, Skokie, Chicago and Gurnee are hosting Simbang Gabi masses.
In Skokie, daily masses are being celebrated at Saints Peter and Lambert Parish in the St. Peter Chapel at 8116 Niles Center Road. The 4 p.m. first novena mass on Sunday, Dec. 15 packed the pews, according to staff at the Skokie church.
“We have a big number of people from the Filipino tradition here,” said Rev. Anthony Castello of Saints Peter and Lambert Parish.
The 6:30 a.m. mass on Monday, Dec. 16, the second day of Simbang Gabi, included the placement of two candles on a table near the nativity scene by the altar.
“The light is always a big symbol,” Castello said. “We must go from the darkness to the light. We have to draw in that light.
“In order to draw in that light, we must be ready to give up our darkness because light and darkness cannot meet,” Castello said.
Simbang Gabi is a nine-day novena to Mary, who Catholics revere as the blessed mother, and it is traditionally celebrated in a series of pre-dawn masses by Filipino Catholics worldwide.
Nora Turcuato of Skokie, a parishioner at Saints Peter and Lambert Parish, used a microphone to read from the large overhead screen during Monday’s pre-sunrise mass.
“It is part of our Filipino tradition,” Turcuato said about Simbang Gabi.
“We have experienced acceptance from the parishioners,” Turcuato said with a smile.
Carrie Remando, also a Skokie parishioner at the church, said, “Since our childhood, we’ve been celebrating this way back in our homeland, so we brought the tradition here.”
Sponsored by the Archdiocese of Chicago Asian Catholic Initiative office, Simbang Gabi is promoted as one of the oldest and most revered Filipino Christmas traditions.
“Simbang Gabi is a vibrant tradition which reminds us Advent is a season of hope and anticipation,” said Cardinal Blase Cupich, archbishop of Chicago, in a statement.
“Simbang Gabi connects Filipino Catholics in Chicago with their homeland to celebrate the shared joy for the birth of the Lord at Christmas, and for us to bring his light into the world.”
The masses include liturgies and music, followed by native delicacies such as a roasted pork roll called lechon and at some masses, the parol, a Filipino star-shaped lantern representing the star of Bethlehem.
According to the archdiocese, Simbang Gabi can be traced to the arrival of Spanish missionaries in the Philippines.
At the time, the Filipino people adopted the tradition of celebrating pre-Christmas masses before daybreak known by the Spanish name “Misa de Gallo” or “Rooster Mass.” Many of the faithful then continued their day by working in the fields.
Simbang Gabi culminates with the Misa de Gallo on Christmas Eve.
In the Archdiocese of Chicago, Filipino Catholics have organized novena masses since 1986. This year, 55 parishes will celebrate Simbang Gabi evening or morning masses.
For Simbang Gabi’s local schedule of masses, visit aci.archchicago.org/events/simbang-gabi.
