Various ministries across the Diocese of Brooklyn adapted to new norms amidst coronavirus safety protocols, including limiting church capacity, wearing masks, and socially distanced seated in the pews. For Filipinos celebrating “Simbang Gabi,” or “Mass at Night” at the Queens Village church, the adjustment meant a scaled-down version of its traditional celebration.
Simbang Gabi
Before Christmas, Filipinos Celebrate a Special Custom
For Filipinos, the heart of the Christmas season is “Simbang Gabi,” or “Mass at Night ” — a nine-day novena of dawn or evening Masses that ends on Dec. 24.
In Queens Village, Filipinos Keep a Christmas Tradition
The Filipino community at Incarnation parish, Queens Village, opened the church doors in the early afternoon Dec. 10 as they celebrated one of the most long-standing Christmas traditions in the Philippines known as Simbang Gabi.