Christmas Eve

Today is the day where people become so busy like any other days [at least one of the days in the 12 evolution of the moon, 365 days, 24 hours, 60 sec... okay, I get carried away]! Today marks the 9th day of the novena masses for the birth of Jesus Christ [merely 2000 years ago] that the Catholic Church worldwide celebrated every year. And Christmas is the holiday where people set aside special religious observance and commemorate the birth of Jesus in the Nativity. It is the day of forgiving and most especially giving {gifts}. A day where there are lots of foods in our table and families gather to pray and eat together.

I can still remeber how my family prepares the holidayfic christmas foods in our table and eat the noche buena together with my family members and helpers. Oh! We have hamonada, spaghetti, fruit salads, cakes{fruit cakes, chocolate cakes and chiffon cakes}, roasted chicken, et cetera... et cetera... blah blah!

Catholic preparation starts with 4 Sundays of Advent followed by the nine novena mass which is letirally called by the Filipinos as Mesa de Gallo, Simbang Gabi, or Mesa de Aguinaldo in some parts of the Philippines. Mostly, these masses is observe during 4:00 AM in the morning [nganu kaha noh, kay para ma feel daw ang katugnaw sa kadlawn? also for sacrifice purposes]. Then after the mass, sometimes people had a quick buys at some small stalls ni Manangs that sells hot chocos [sikwate'], bibingkas and puto. They come hand-in-hand together! I mostly dip my puto to my sikwate so that the taste of the puto can be more exciting! haha! chocolatey!! Anyway, people would say that if you had completed the nine days of this novena masses then your prayers will be answered. Mostly to other people, any other nine novenas performed are also worthy for wishing. :P

Not only in the Philippines that there is simbang gabi but also around the world where there are community of Filipinos. As well as here in Taiwan where I am back now, we had this 9 days novena, but we just sometimes call it Simbang Hapon because near our dormitory in Chupei chapel, the mass celebration is held during 4:30 in the afternoon so that the night shift workers can still have time preparing their things for work, since the bus pick-up to each of the companies of the workers here in our dormitory is due at 6:20, 6:30, 6:45 or even 7:00 pm in the evening. In Hsinchu City the cathedral has its mass too in the Bishops Curia at 5th floor where it is held at 6:00 in the evening. And so with our dormitorys' chapel, at 8:30pm so that the night shift workers can have a chance to attend the mass... I just choose the first schedule even though its too early for me because I had a night shift sched. But surprisingly, I managed to attend these 9 day masses. And something from one of my wishes came true during the ninth day of the mass...

I wanted to serve in these one of the masses. I barely ask my friend that I wanted to join the choir... That would be nice I guess if I can share my talent... but I said to myself, there's no time to join the practice anymore. Its hard to level them since the members had practiced many times already. So I was thinking of reading one of the Readings but I think I will just get the tongue-tied and can never pronounced the words properly. Until this day, the ninth day, the president of the chapel which happen t be my colleage approach me to read the second reading since the priest wanted to celebrate the High Mass. But when my other workmate ask me to shift places, instead I was serving with priest in the altar. I was able to be the acting Eucharistic Minister, where I would help the priest to give the holy communion to my fellow church goer... its really is a good feeling... until now I still get shivers in my spine... hehe.

Well everyone seems so busy now tonight preparing for their little parties in their rooms while in our rooms we[my roomates] are still "fighting" if what will we be preparing, but we havent prepared any money for the celebration so we just decided to have it nalang during the New Years Eve [para bongga!]. But on some point we are still pathetic that we haven't decided to have a little party in our own room. I can see it in my roomates' eyes, so I decide we just buy a drink for the celebration. But the eagernes of the spirit in our room is so low that we just ended up climbing on each of our own bed and just call to each of the family members to greet the Holidays with them. At least that way they can dissolve the feelings of loneliness that bottled-up in them. While I, continue my websurfing the net and making this blog right now. At least, I got my wishes awhile ago to serve one of the 9 days novena of simbang gabi for the preparation of ourselves in welcoming Jesus in our hearts. I just offered my celebration of Christmass throught prayers with the rest of the Pinoys here. I am now contented with that.