Hubo Mass officially closes the Fiesta Señor
The feast of the Sto. Niño was officially closed yesterday with the Hubo Mass held at the
Thousands of devotees witnessed the traditional closing ritual of bathing the Holy Child and replacing its garments with a new set during the Mass led by the Archdiocesan Commission on Worship.
Balloons tied with petitions and prayers filled the basilica during yesterday’s closing ceremonies.
The Hubo Mass opens the Lenten season just as the feast of the Sto. Niño closes the Christmas season.
“We are trying to complete the devotion and we are doing this within the cultural context. We are trying to help retain our culture and faith,” Msgr. Cristobal Garcia, commission chairman, said. Garcia said that the devotion and ritual could be done in other parishes if they wish to perform it.
He said that the symbolism of the “bathing” of the Holy Infant Jesus is “that he emptied himself for us.”
The ritual involves immersing the image of Sto. Niño in a basin of perfumed water, bathing it and dressing it up in less ornate attire symbolizing the end of the fiesta.
In the past, the ritual was limited to the privacy of the Augustinian friar’s quarters and witnessed only by a chosen group of women.
When the public learned of the closed-door ritual, they asked the priests to allow them to witness it.
The Augustinians made the ritual public for the first time in 1990.
The ritual begins with the removing of the crown, followed by the orb and scepter and armlet, the bands, cape, tunic, the inner garments and boots. Then the icon is dressed up again with a new set of less ornate garments. A prayer is recited for each piece of clothing, signifying an event in the life of Jesus. — Jasmin R. Uy/QSB
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