Today(December 16,2014) is my fathers birthday, it is also the first night of Simbang Gabi (Filipino for "Night Mass") is a devotional nine-day series of Masses practised by Roman Catholics and Aglipayans in the Philippines in anticipation of Christmasand to honour the Blessed Virgin Mary. The masses are held daily from December 16 to December 24, and occur at different times ranging from as early as 03:00 to 05:00PST. On the last day of the Simbang Gabi, which is Christmas Eve, the service is instead called Misa de Gallo (Spanish for "Rooster's Mass").