Misa de aguinaldo celebrated tonight

Tonight, Christendom will celebrate the eve of the most joyful event in the Roman Catholic faith: the birth of Jesus Christ.

For Filipino Catholics, the celebration culminates in the misa de aguinaldo or midnight Mass highlighted by the traditional reenactment, in tableau form, of the panunuluyan, in which St. Joseph searches for a place where his wife, Mary, could give birth to Jesus.

The story of the first Christmas more than 2,000 years ago will be retold through a reading of Luke 2:1-20.

"In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire world. This was the first census that took place while Quirinus was governor of Syria. And everyone went to his own town to register.

"So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem, the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.

"While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn — a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

"And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.

"An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.

"But the angel said to them: ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.’

"When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.’

"So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told."

Just like the shepherds, the faithful — backed by church choirs — will burst into joyful singing of carols and hymns of thanks and praise for the birth of the Holy Child.

Filipino Catholics will then head home from church, looking forward to noche buena, the traditional Christmas eve feast.

Despite the economic crunch, the noche buena table will likely be laden with queso de bola, jamon, pan de americano, menudo, mechado, morcon, embotido, relleno, lechon, halayang ube, leche flan, macapuno, garbanzos and a lot of other goodies downed with either tsokolate (thick hot chocolate), coffee, herbal tea (a concoction of banaba, tsaang gubat, and pandan leaves), fruit juice or soda.

Tonight, too, families will exchange gifts and strengthen their bond with one another. Everyone will then head off to bed with hearts filled with peace, love and hope that only Christmas can bring.