Misa de Gallo

Misa de Gallo is the Spanish phrase for the Midnight Mass celebrated on Christmas Eve, more literally translated as "Rooster's Mass". Its Portuguese counterpart is Missa do Galo.

It is said that the "Rooster's Mass" owes its name to the idea that a rooster would have been among the first to witness the birth of Jesus, and thus be the one to announce it. Also, being a late mass, people would come back home at cockcrow. In most Spanish speaking countries, La Misa del Gallo entails a typical midnight mass, starting at around 12:00 a.m. on Christmas Eve. Some television channels broadcast the Pope conducting the midnight mass.

In the Philippines, the prayer is done early in the morning on Christmas Eve, and it is the last day of a nine-day ritual known as Simbang Gabi. Completing the nine days culminating with the Misa de Gallo is said to make a wish come true, and many Filipinos believe this centuries-old promise to this day. One of the customs related to the Philippine Misa de Gallo is the selling of traditional Philippine food, such as puto bumbong (a purple colored rice pastry, seasoned with grated--coconut and brown sugar), tsokolate (a hot chocolate drink), bibingka (flour and egg cakes cooked on top and under), and salabat, or ginger tea, which are sold by vendors to the faithful outside churches.