Simbang Gabi, a Christmas holiday tradition celebrated in the Philippines for centuries, is now one more example of the diverse holiday customs celebrated during the winter holidays in the West Windsor-Plainsboro community.
The nine-day festival runs from Saturday, December 15, through Sunday, December 23, with different churches hosting Simbang Gabi each day. The Church of St. David the King on New Village Road in West Windsor will host the event on Monday, December 17, beginning at 7 p.m.
The coordinator for St. David is Richard Usuquen, who along with his family has been involved with the Simbang Gabi celebration at St. David since 2008, after they moved from New York to West Windsor. Usuquen says that he “volunteered to help out with the event, and every year I helped out more and more, until finally it was suggested that I become the coordinator.” As coordinator, he has the responsibility of scheduling the date of the Mass, finding a celebrant to host the mass, arranging for traditional Filipino refreshments and decorations, and helping to arrange the service, in particular the music portion.
Usuquen explains that “every year, the coordinators from the nine churches get together and work out the schedule and the ‘theme’ for each year’s celebration. This year the ‘theme’ is the focus on the music. In the Philippines, music is a large part of our worship. In the United States, not as much. We wanted to highlight that aspect of worship. Music helps enliven the service, makes, it more joyful and festive, especially at Christmastime. We want to share that here in the U.S.”
This year the music sung and played at St. David will “focus on the vocals. We often have instrumental accompaniment, but this year there will be less of that, so that the beauty of our choir can be enjoyed. The songs will be lively and welcoming to everyone.”
For Usuquen, Simbang Gabi is more than just a festival; it is a family affair. His entire family — wife Arlene, son Matthew, who is a student at Village School, and daughter Isabelle, who goes to Dutch Neck Elementary School — will all be singing at the mass. “My wife sang in a family band that played in cities throughout Asia and the Middle East before she moved to the United States. Her sister Lisa was also in the band in the Philippines and now sings in the Filipino Choir of St. David the King with us.” They are two of four vocal soloists whose voices will be showcased during the mass this year.
The choir is composed of approximately 25 adults and 10 children, all of whom will be singing at St. David on December 17. “The children are an important part of the choir. In fact, this year some of the pieces have been arranged specifically so that the children’s voices can be heard.” Usuquen adds that former West Windsor resident Bob Fernandez arranged all of the music for this year’s event. Fernandez, along with his family, has been involved with the Fliipino Choir at St. David’s for many years,
“But,” Usuquen says, “that is not the only special feature of the service this year. Our celebrant will be Father Alex Enriquez, the resident priest of St. Alphonsus in Hopewell, who is a ‘singing priest.’ This year the entire mass will be sung. We hope this will enliven the celebration. We are using the music to make it more joyful, welcoming and acceptable to non-Filipinos, and even non-Catholics. In this way, the mass will be similar to other religions’ services.”
Usuquen grew up in metropolitan Manila, the eldest of four children. His mother worked in training for Avon; his father was an architect who worked as an engineer. Usuquen went into marketing for Colgate Palmolive and moved between the U.S., Asia, and Europe for many years. But he would return home to the Philippines to visit his parents and family during the Christmas season.
Those Christmas visits led to a meeting with his future wife. “We would meet every year because she was a sister of my best friend’s wife,” he says. Although she traveled all over Asia and the Middle East, she also returned home every year to celebrate Christmas with her family. They were married in 2001.
The family left New York because they were looking for “the right environment to raise our family. After seeing many houses in the area, we fell in love with our house in Windsor Park Estates,” Usuquen says. “When we saw St. David the King right in front of the community, we knew this was the sign we needed.” The next sign was when Usuquen was offered a job at Johnson & Johnson in Skillman, thereby eliminating the need to commute to New York.
The Philippines is 70 percent Catholic, so most of the country celebrates Christmas. Christmas is an important holiday in the Philippines, beginning with the nine-day Simbang Gabi and culminating with Three Kings Day, a holy day of obligation that marks the end of the Christmas holiday. Santa Claus is a beloved tradition and Filipino children make lists for Santa just as kids do in the United States.
Simbang Gabi, which has become increasingly popular in the United States, literally means “night mass” in Tagalog. The mass was traditionally celebrated by the ringing of church bells and the playing of music at the start of the mass, which was held at dawn so that farmers, fishermen, and others could attend before starting their workday. Its origins can be traced to the celebration of Christmas in 1587 in Mexico, when the Pope allowed a parish to hold its Christmas mass outdoors (“Misa de Gallo)” because the church was too small to accommodate all of its parishioners.
In the Philippines, the culmination of Simbang Gabi is held on Christmas Eve (Misa de Gallo). Families attend church and celebrate with friends and family after church at the Noche Buena, the Christmas Eve feast. Presents are also exchanged at that time.
In Mercer County, home to a large Filipino population, each of the nine parishes in the Catholic diocese of Trenton hosts a special Simbang Gabi mass, starting on December 15 and culminating on December 23 at St. Anne’s Church in Lawrenceville. This organized celebration of Simbang Gabi was originally conceived by Romy Buerano and his wife, Mona, of Lawrenceville, who “wanted to bring one of the most beautiful and moving Filipino traditions to the area.” Romy explains that in Mercer County the last day of Simbang Gabi is December 23, so that participants can celebrate Christmas Eve with their families.
Romy explains that when and his wife began the event, he quickly realized that they would need more help to coordinate with all of the churches in the diocese. “Each of the churches has its own coordinator, and now many have their own choirs and celebrants as well. While we all work together to coordinate the nine masses, each church holds its own Mass, with its own special celebration.”
To further encourage others to attend, the songs are sung in Tagalog and English, and each visitor is given a booklet which contains not only the lyrics, but an explanation of what each song means, as well as background information on Simbang Gabi itself. “The St. David’s program even looks like a New York playbill, to make it more familiar to people,” Usuquen says.
All of the masses are open to everyone, and all are welcome to attend. Usuquen estimates that every year 40 percent of the attendants at the mass at St. David’s are non-parishioners, and that he hopes that number will increase. He urges people to come to the service on St. David’s, to hear the beautiful music and learn about this festive Filipino tradition. “Refreshments will be served afterwards, to allow people to mingle and sample some traditional Filipino food, including empanadas, desserts, and salabat-ginger tea.”
Editor’s note: Writer Sue Roy is also a member of St. David’s, and met the Usuquen family in the course of reporting for this article.
In the Choir
The Filipino Choir of Saint David the King Church includes sopranos Terry Bautista, Elisa Belarmino, Florence Bondoc, Annie May Calingo, Glenda Capili, Cindy Fernandez (Diva), Ruby Kirkup, Virgie Luz, Arlene Usuquen, and Pilar Garcia-Villacorte.
Altos are Cecilia Cariaga, Fe Cruz, Gabby Gamo, Josie Lim, Ralyn Mirandilla, and Aurelia Youngken.
Tenors are Jerry Bondoc, Ed Calimag, Chris Calingo (cellist), Augie Cruz, Bob Fernandez, and Richard Usuquen.
Bass singers include Armando Aguilar, Jim Belarmino, Manolo Capili, Irwin Cariaga, and Wendell Lim.
The kids chorus consists of Joshua Aguilar, Allison Bondoc, Lauren Bondoc, AJ Cariaga, Katie Cariaga, Nolan Cruz, GJ Mirandilla, Geralyn Mirandilla, Isabelle Usuquen, Matthew Usuquen, and Gabriela Youngken.
On percussion is Titchie Sarabia. The accompanist is BJ Visto. Gerard Mirandilla is the musical director.
