Christmas in Poland is a major annual celebration, as in most countries of the Christian world. The observance of Christmas developed gradually over the centuries, beginning in ancient times; combining old Polish pagan customs with the religious ones introduced after the Christianization of Poland by the Catholic Church. Later influences include the mutual permeating of local traditions and various folk cultures. It is one of the most important religious holidays for Poles, who follow a somewhat strict traditional custom. Christmas trees are decorated and lit in family rooms on the day of Christmas Eve. Other trees are placed in most public areas and outside churches. Christmas in Poland is called "Boże Narodzenie", which translates to 'God's Birth'.
Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas, the festival commemorating the birth of Jesus. Christmas Day is observed around the world, and Christmas Eve is widely observed as a full or partial holiday in anticipation of Christmas Day. Together, both days are considered one of the most culturally significant celebrations in Christendom and Western society.
The Mass is a form of sacred musical composition that sets the invariable portions of the Christian Eucharistic liturgy, known as the Mass.
Las Posadas is a novenario. It is celebrated chiefly in Latin America, El Salvador, Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and by Latin Americans in the United States. It is typically celebrated each year between December 16 and December 24. Latin American countries have continued to celebrate the holiday, with very few changes to the tradition.
Folk Catholicism can be broadly described as various ethnic expressions and practices of Catholicism intermingled with aspects of folk religion. Practices have varied from place to place and may at times contradict the official doctrines and practices of the Catholic Church.
In the Philippines, Christmas is a major annual celebration, as in most countries of the Christian world. It is celebrated as a public holiday in the country on December 25, concurrent with other countries.
The observance of Christmas around the world varies by country. The day of Christmas, and in some cases the day before and the day after, are recognized by many national governments and cultures worldwide, including in areas where Christianity is a minority religion. In some non-Christian areas, periods of former colonial rule introduced the celebration ; in others, Christian minorities or foreign cultural influences have led populations to observe the holiday.
Pasterka is a midnight mass celebrated by Roman Catholics during Christmas between December 24 and 25 across Poland. A close translation of the name would be the "Shepherds' Mass", in reference to the Biblical shepherds, who were visited by an angel and told of the birth of Christ. During the Pasterka Mass, Polish people sing traditional kolędy, Christmas carols in the spirit of joy.
Mexico, officially the Municipality of Mexico, is a 1st class municipality in the province of Pampanga, the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 173,403 people. It was also formerly known as Nuevo México during the Spanish period.
Midnight Mass is a Christmas Eve liturgical tradition in the Roman Catholic, Anglican, and Lutheran churches.
In Christian liturgy, a vigil is, in origin, a religious service held during the night leading to a Sunday or other feastday. The Latin term vigilia, from which the word is derived meant a watch night, not necessarily in a military context, and generally reckoned as a fourth part of the night from sunset to sunrise. The four watches or vigils were of varying length in line with the seasonal variation of the length of the night.
Simbang Gabi is a devotional, nine-day series of Masses attended by Filipino Catholics in anticipation of Christmas. It is similar to the nine dawn Masses leading to Christmas Eve practiced in Puerto Rico called Misa de Aguinaldo. Originally intended as a practical compromise for farmers that started working in the fields before sunrise, this cherished Christmas custom eventually became a distinct feature of Philippine culture and became a symbol of sharing.
Bibingka is a type of baked rice cake in Filipino cuisine that is cooked in a terracotta oven lined with banana leaves and is usually eaten for breakfast or as merienda, especially during the Christmas season. It is also known as bingka in the Visayas and Mindanao islands.
A parol is a Filipino ornamental lantern displayed during the Christmas season. Parols are traditionally constructed using bamboo and Japanese paper, and are illuminated with candles, oil lamps, or carbide lamps. Modern parols can be made using other materials such as plastic, metal, and capiz shells and are usually illuminated with electric lighting. Its most-common form is a five-pointed star, although it can come in various shapes and sizes. Large disc-shaped electronic versions of parols produced in Pampanga are known as "parul sampernandu", the phonetic spelling of parol San Fernando, owing to the city where these lanterns are a major product.
The Philippines is ranked as the 5th largest Christian-majority country on Earth in 2010, with about 93% of the population being adherents. As of 2019, it was the third largest Catholic country in the world and was one of two predominantly Catholic nations in Asia.
A watchnight service is a late-night Christian church service. In many different Christian traditions, such as those of Moravians, Methodists, Catholics, Lutherans, Anglicans, Baptists, Adventists and Reformed Christians, watchnight services are held late on New Year's Eve, which is the seventh day of Christmastide. This provides the opportunity for Christians to review the year that has passed and make confession, and then prepare for the year ahead by praying and resolving. The services often include singing, praying, exhorting, preaching, and Holy Communion.
"Rorate caeli" or "Rorate coeli" are the opening words of Isaiah 45:8 in the Vulgate. The text appears at several points in the Christian liturgy of the Western Church during Advent.
A luminaria is a traditional small bonfire typically used during Las Posadas, a nine-day celebration culminating on Christmas Eve. The luminaria is widely used in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Luminaria is a loanword from Spanish that entered English in New Mexico.
In many Western Christian traditions, Midnight Mass is the first liturgy of Christmastide that is celebrated on the night of Christmas Eve, traditionally beginning at midnight when Christmas Eve gives way to Christmas Day. This popular Christmas custom is a jubilant celebration of the mass or service of worship in honour of the Nativity of Jesus; even many of those Christian denominations that do not regularly employ the word mass uniquely use the term "Midnight Mass" for their Christmas Eve liturgy as it includes the celebration of Holy Communion.
Missas do Parto are one of the greatest Christmas traditions of the Autonomous Region of Madeira in Portugal. They consist of nine masses celebrated in the novena before Christmas Day - from 16 to 24 December - in all the parishes of the Autonomous Region, at the end of the morning. They are a Marian devotion and celebrate the pregnancy of the Virgin Mary, in the figure of Our Lady of Ó who, in Madeira, is called Our Lady of Birth. After the Masses of the Childbirth there follows the Mass of the Rooster, on the night of 24 December.
