In keeping with the Filipino holiday traditions, the Cultural Center of the Philippines will hold Misa de Gallo (Simbang Gabi) from December 16 to 24, at 5a.m., at the CCP Main Ramp. It will culminate with a Misa de Aguinaldo on December 24, 8p.m., at the CCP Main Theater, featuring a mass choir with live music by the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra.
There will also be a pre-mass performance on December 24, starting at 7p.m., at the Main Theater. During the open house, the PPO will play Christmas carols at the lobby. It will be followed by a live except of Panunuluyan, the dramatic re-enactment of the Holy Family’s search for a place to stay in Bethlehem before Jesus Christ’s birth.
The mass will begin at 8p.m., celebrated by Fr. Mario Sobrejuanite, with the support of ACTS Catholic Prayer Community members, and in cooperation with The Our Lady of Sorrows Parish, and various agencies such as the Philippine Navy, Manila Broadcasting Company, Star Parks Corporation, Harbour Square, Amazing Philippine Theater, Gloriamaris Restaurant, Design Center of the Philippines, Ticketworld, Inc., Philippine International Convention Center (PICC), Senate Spouses Foundation, and the CCP Complex Employees’ Organization (CCPCEO), which will be participating as hermanas.
As the finale, the audience will join the celebration for the “birth of Jesus,” featuring the 100-voice chorale, composed of five choirs from different churches and schools in Metro Manila.
Simbang Gabi, the nine-day novena to the Blessed Mother, is one of the most well-preserved and enduring Filipino traditions. The novena, which usually starts on the early morning of December 16, and culminates with a midnight mass on December 24, traces its origin back in Mexico in 1587, when the Pope granted the petition of Fray Diego de Soria, prior of the convent of San Agustin Acolman, to hold Christmas mass outdoors to accommodate those who wanted to attend the evening mass but could not enter the already crowded Church.
There will also be a Christmas Book Sale on December 12 to 15, from 12nn to 5p.m., at the CCP Little Theater Lobby. Various CCP Publications and multi-media products will be sold from as low as P10, or with as much as 75 percent discount. The book sale is open to the public.
The CCP ushered in the holiday season with the unveiling of “Habi ng Pagkakaisa,” the winning entry of the Holiday Light Installation Competition, last November 3, 2017, at the CCP Liwasang Asean Park.
Co-organized by the CCP and OMNI (Yatai International Corporation), the competition aimed to highlight the Philippine lantern-making technology.
“Habi ng Pagkakaisa: Weaving the Multi-Cultural Filipino Together” installation was designed by young architects Rochelle Ong and Louie Suico of WTA Architecture & Design Studio. The winning installation design was inspired by the geometrical patterns of various Filipino weaving traditions including those by the Kalinga in Luzon, the Bagtason of the Visayas, and the Bagobo, the Mandaya, and the T’Boli of Mindanao.
Their winning design “aims to empower the weaving industry of our nation, which is deeply rooted on our rich culture as it is the same for all ASEAN countries,” as well as to showcase artistic excellence through Filipino creativity.
For more information, contact the CCP Production and Exhibition Department at 832-1125 loc. 1404 or 1412. (Photo by Kiko Cabuena)
