All over the Philippines, it’s called Simbang Gabi. A time-honored Filipino Catholic tradition of nine-day novena masses in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary, recalling her nine-month pregnancy of Jesus.
It’s also called Misa de Gallo (especially in the Spanish times, I suppose) as it coincides with the crowing the roosters.
Be that as it may, our Misa Dulom (also termed as Misa de Aguinaldo) here in Panay Island takes a special flavor with the accompanying songs for the mass known as Misa Pastoril.
Those songs in the major parts of the mass are lively and endearing to ones’ ears and hearts. They are so melodious that somehow could be the reason, at least one of the reasons, why the faithful keep on going to these masses, most of them would complete the nine days.
A scholarly article was written Fr. Dedert Duarte, a historian par excellence. Here’s a part of what he had written:
Misa Pastoril is a Latin mass setting composed for Aguinaldo Masses. Commonly called Misa Pastorella or Misa de Aguinaldo, it is an Ordinary of the Mass set into music: Kyrie (Lord, Have Mercy), Gloria (Glory to God), sometimes the Credo (I Believe/Profession of Faith), Sanctus (Holy), and Agnus Dei (Lamb of God). It originated from pastorela, a musical form with a simple and happy rhythm. It is classified as a form of lyric poetry describing the life of shepherds common in the Occitan, Catalan, and Galicia regions in Spain. It acquired a religious form when the rhythm was applied to Catholic religious celebrations such as the villancicos de pastorela during the Christmas season. In Spanish colonial churches, its theatrical character was applied by the missionaries in developing the posadas or the Nativity dramas (which became panunuluyan in the Philippines).
Malipayon nga Paskwa sa Inyo tanan!
