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Sto. Niño Dela O 2008 (3)
The most unique image of Sto. Niño in the Philippines is the "Sto. Niño Dela O".
Dancing, singing in “Simbang Gabi”
SIMBANG gabi in the town of Pangil in Laguna is not just plain misa de gallo, the evening or dawn novena Masses that start Dec. 16 to usher in the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. It is also an occasion for dancing, singing and offering of infants.
About a thousand mothers wearing bandanas usually flock to the Our Lady of Nativity Parish Church with their babies, to dance and chant praises to God.
They recite the rosary and sing exaltations to the “Nuestra Señora de La O” (Our Lady of the “O” or Our Lady of Nativity). Holding the “Santo Niño de La O” (Holy Child of the “O” or Holy Child of the Nativity), they dance to the children’s Latin song “Dic Mihi” of the basic Christian catechism amid the beating of the drums.
Every Pangileño knows the tune by heart. The song enumerates the 12 important teachings of the Church.
The ritual is locally called “OO”, which many people believe has been derived from the Latin devotional verses and exaltations that start with “O”, such as: “O Maria! O Virgines Pulcra! O Mater Nostra!”
Long life…
For the elderly, the singing and dancing start immediately after the dawn Mass. For infants and children, the activities take place at 4-5 p.m.
As early as 3 p.m., women and their toddlers troop to the church for the ritual. Residents say the event ensures good health for the young ones and long life, success and prosperity for the families.
The ceremony lasts more than an hour.
The daily ritual runs until Dec. 24, in time for the Pregnant Madonna’s birth of Jesus on Christmas.
The “Santo Niño de La O” is hoisted by a chosen person who dances back and forth along the aisle as the churchgoers sing the “Dic Mihi”.
It is said that bearing the image during the annual feast day procession is a privileged task, for which people line up for years. For instance, someone who has his name listed in 2000 will have to wait until 2015 to carry the Santo Niño. If one has sinned, he or she would find the statue heavy; if guiltless, the statue would be light.
The religious devotion was transformed into a Grand Pa-OO Festival or the Bandana Festival in January 1999, when parishioners started dancing the Santo Niño in the streets, waving pine leaves while dancing.
The date of the festival, now on its sixth year, was changed to Dec. 18 in later years.
Pregnant Madonna…
A church document describes the pregnant Madonna as the life-sized statue of the “Nuestra Señora de La O”, which symbolizes the Blessed Mother heavy with the Child Jesus.
When one views the image closely, the Virgin’s hand expresses amazement while her beautiful face looks intently beyond.
The “Santo Niño de La O”, on the other hand, depicts the Child Jesus inside the womb. Thus, it is hoisted on a wooden pole with a silver circle representing the womb.
The two images are also considered miraculous. The “Nuestra Señora de La O”, in particular, is known to help women who have difficulty in child-bearing.
Four centuries…
The municipality of Pangil is as old as the Our Lady’s Nativity Parish. It is now 430 years old.
Church documents showed that the first church was built by missionaries Fray Juan de Placencia and Fray Diego de Oropesa in Barangay Sulib in 1579. Made of bamboo, the church was destroyed by an earthquake and storms.
In 1611, a stone church and a convent were built under Fray Gonzalo del Robles. At that time, the church was the biggest in Laguna.
Today, the convent of Pangil remains a historic place for one memorable reason: it was host to Prince Carlos III of Spain in 1743. The prince stayed in Pangil and spent time hunting in the forest and swimming in the river, which is now called the “Bambang Hari” by natives.
He stayed in the town for three or four years, church records show, and returned to Spain in 1759. Five years later, in 1764, he was crowned King Carlos III after the death of King Fernando VI, his stepbrother to his father, King Felipe V.
Upon his ascension to the throne of Spain as King Charles III, he sent the statues of “Santo Niño de La O” and “Nuestra Señora de La O” to Pangil as a sign of his gratitude and appreciation for the hospitality accorded to him.
The bandanas used by the festival participants, according to old Pangileños, seek to recall their ancestors who covered their heads as they received the two gifts from King Carlos III along the Laguna Lake on a rainy day of December 1764.
They sang and danced in extreme joy along the streets, carrying the images on their way to the parish church. (INQ7)
Sto. Niño Dela O 2008 (3)
The most unique image of Sto. Niño in the Philippines is the "Sto. Niño Dela O".
Dancing, singing in “Simbang Gabi”
SIMBANG gabi in the town of Pangil in Laguna is not just plain misa de gallo, the evening or dawn novena Masses that start Dec. 16 to usher in the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. It is also an occasion for dancing, singing and offering of infants.
About a thousand mothers wearing bandanas usually flock to the Our Lady of Nativity Parish Church with their babies, to dance and chant praises to God.
They recite the rosary and sing exaltations to the “Nuestra Señora de La O” (Our Lady of the “O” or Our Lady of Nativity). Holding the “Santo Niño de La O” (Holy Child of the “O” or Holy Child of the Nativity), they dance to the children’s Latin song “Dic Mihi” of the basic Christian catechism amid the beating of the drums.
Every Pangileño knows the tune by heart. The song enumerates the 12 important teachings of the Church.
The ritual is locally called “OO”, which many people believe has been derived from the Latin devotional verses and exaltations that start with “O”, such as: “O Maria! O Virgines Pulcra! O Mater Nostra!”
Long life…
For the elderly, the singing and dancing start immediately after the dawn Mass. For infants and children, the activities take place at 4-5 p.m.
As early as 3 p.m., women and their toddlers troop to the church for the ritual. Residents say the event ensures good health for the young ones and long life, success and prosperity for the families.
The ceremony lasts more than an hour.
The daily ritual runs until Dec. 24, in time for the Pregnant Madonna’s birth of Jesus on Christmas.
The “Santo Niño de La O” is hoisted by a chosen person who dances back and forth along the aisle as the churchgoers sing the “Dic Mihi”.
It is said that bearing the image during the annual feast day procession is a privileged task, for which people line up for years. For instance, someone who has his name listed in 2000 will have to wait until 2015 to carry the Santo Niño. If one has sinned, he or she would find the statue heavy; if guiltless, the statue would be light.
The religious devotion was transformed into a Grand Pa-OO Festival or the Bandana Festival in January 1999, when parishioners started dancing the Santo Niño in the streets, waving pine leaves while dancing.
The date of the festival, now on its sixth year, was changed to Dec. 18 in later years.
Pregnant Madonna…
A church document describes the pregnant Madonna as the life-sized statue of the “Nuestra Señora de La O”, which symbolizes the Blessed Mother heavy with the Child Jesus.
When one views the image closely, the Virgin’s hand expresses amazement while her beautiful face looks intently beyond.
The “Santo Niño de La O”, on the other hand, depicts the Child Jesus inside the womb. Thus, it is hoisted on a wooden pole with a silver circle representing the womb.
The two images are also considered miraculous. The “Nuestra Señora de La O”, in particular, is known to help women who have difficulty in child-bearing.
Four centuries…
The municipality of Pangil is as old as the Our Lady’s Nativity Parish. It is now 430 years old.
Church documents showed that the first church was built by missionaries Fray Juan de Placencia and Fray Diego de Oropesa in Barangay Sulib in 1579. Made of bamboo, the church was destroyed by an earthquake and storms.
In 1611, a stone church and a convent were built under Fray Gonzalo del Robles. At that time, the church was the biggest in Laguna.
Today, the convent of Pangil remains a historic place for one memorable reason: it was host to Prince Carlos III of Spain in 1743. The prince stayed in Pangil and spent time hunting in the forest and swimming in the river, which is now called the “Bambang Hari” by natives.
He stayed in the town for three or four years, church records show, and returned to Spain in 1759. Five years later, in 1764, he was crowned King Carlos III after the death of King Fernando VI, his stepbrother to his father, King Felipe V.
Upon his ascension to the throne of Spain as King Charles III, he sent the statues of “Santo Niño de La O” and “Nuestra Señora de La O” to Pangil as a sign of his gratitude and appreciation for the hospitality accorded to him.
The bandanas used by the festival participants, according to old Pangileños, seek to recall their ancestors who covered their heads as they received the two gifts from King Carlos III along the Laguna Lake on a rainy day of December 1764.
They sang and danced in extreme joy along the streets, carrying the images on their way to the parish church. (INQ7)