There’s a belief that anyone who completes all the 9-day, or more properly, 9-night, traditional Simbang Gabi, gets a wish granted. The Simbang Gabi is a practice dating back hundreds of years ago when the Philippines was still a colony of Spain. The mass was celebrated before dawn (nowadays, there’s an option to have Simbang Gabi in the evening). Farmers would attend the mass before heading off to work and because it’s dark, the parol would serve as the light leading to the churches. It’s like the string of light in this photo by the lovely B E T H ( thewanderingwish_ ). Interesting. Just like the fact that the longest Christmas season is celebrated in the Philippines. Distinctly Filipino. Anyway, if you intend to complete the 9-day cycle, you better wait next year because the first mass was celebrated early morning of today (December 16-24). Nothing to lose in trying it, right? Here’s the photo (click to enlarge):

Photo reproduced with permission (thanks). [Tag your instagram Philippine travel photos with #visitpinas so we can track it down. Photos will be featured in this blog’s photo of the day and in instagram/VisitPinas. While we’d love to assume that tagging your photos #visitpinas is a form of consent, we always seek your explicit consent.]