CCP's online Simbang Gabi 2020 to feature churches from all over Philippines
MANILA, Philippines — In a time of social distancing, the Cultural Center of the Philippines found a way to make room for everybody in its 2020 Simbang Gabi celebration.
The event, held traditionally on ground in the last 15 years, will transition to the digital platform in a similar fashion to the center’s other programs.
The virtual Simbang Gabi will be held at 9 p.m. on December 15 to 23 (anticipated masses) and at 5 a.m. on December 16 to 24 (dawn masses).
This will be streamed via the official CCP Facebook page and YouTube Channel, as well as broadcasted on the CNN Philippines Channel.
CCP Production and Exhibition Department head Ariel Yonzon said that instead of holding the virtual novena (nine) masses in one site, they decided to distribute it across nine different parishes in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao — outside of the National Capital Region.
“Not only did we de-centralize the celebration from our premises, we also get to reach out to parishioners who would otherwise not be able to come to the CCP Complex. It also lays ownership over the hosting to the parish or community assigned to a particular mass,” Yonzon told Philstar.com in an email interview.
Through its altered setup, the CCP aims to cater to employees working graveyard shifts, OFWs and Filipinos abroad, as well as stranded locals who cannot return to the provinces.
The center expects to hit four-folds the usual thousand attendees for this year's Simbang Gabi: still a conservative projection, according to Yonzon.
The partner parishes will videotape, in advance, or stream the respective mass that they will celebrate. Certain parishes were also encouraged to hold their mass in the local dialect.
“And, it isn't about what they can contribute; rather, it is our way of shining a light on some far-flung parish or community that may be reeling from the pandemic and/or the series of supertyphoons that may have hit them,” Yonzon said.
The Simbang Gabi will culminate with a special Christmas Day Mass featuring Cardinal Luis Tagle at 10 a.m. on December 25. His Eminence will celebrate mass from the Pontificio Collegio Filippino in Vatican City.
“Technically, it's a Christmas Eve Mass; but, with Italy seven hours ahead of us, we realized it would be perfect for a Christmas Day Mass. It would be most meaningful for families gathered on that special day, to receive sacramental blessings, before we break bread with our loved ones over lunch,” Yonzon said.
All set to begin today, the Simbang Gabi did not come to fruition without its own share of challenges.
“We usually begin preparations in July. This year, though, because of the pandemic and the unpredictable terms and varying quarantine restrictions, we had a few false starts; each misstep, bringing us back to square one,” Yonzon said.
“We initially planned for a relaxed restriction that will allow for actual, physical person-to-person, live masses. But, with NCR still in GCQ, that would mean lesser attendees; with safety protocols like RT-PCR Testing and creating ‘quarantine bubbles’ for everyone involved in the service, which would have been extremely difficult, if not risky, jeopardizing the safety of staff, lay ministry and attendees, in the process.
The turbulence of 2020, it turns out, is not enough to shake up this highly-anticipated tradition.
“In the times of crises and pandemics, art and spirituality help us rise from despair; and, supported by the Filipino's close ties to familial bonds, we get to form psychic sanctuaries... much needed and most timely, in this season."
