Christmas in Different Places

Merry Christmas everyone. Yeah, these days have been about preparing for the New Year but as long as the Christmas spirit is alive, it's Christmas. This post, I'll just be sharing some pics of places I've been to so far during the holiday season. Christmas is a great time to go to places, like the malls, because of all the decorations, ornaments and lights all over. It's only at this time of the year wherein almost every place looks attractive because of the decors contributing to the festive spirit of the season. Hope you enjoy some of these pics and apologies if they're not very good. :)

Of course, UST is one of the best places to visit this Christmas, you can check out my post on UST's Christmas decors here.

Here's the rest of my pics...

Trinoma, Quezon City...

SM North EDSA...

 Now, the next two are that of a house somewhere in Marikina. I took them during a bike ride with dad and a bike group he joined. The house was so nice I just had to stop and take pictures of it. It's all complete... and includes a dinosaur made out of lights!

Next are from Araneta Center. Haven't been here at night yet, though I've seen it while passing by. Maybe one of these days as long as the lights are still up.

 SM Megamall, Centris, Fisher Mall and Greenhills respectively...

SM Megamall

Centris

Angels and a Christmas tree in Centris

Santa Claus at Fisher Mall, Quezon Ave.

Greenhills. We weren't there for the Christmas on Display.

 And finally, Robinsons Magnolia...

And of course, churches are definitely worth visiting during the Christmas season. You can check out some of my pics of them at my Simbang Gabi posts and at my account on flickr.

While the decorations in different places are still up, its definitely worth visiting them before the holidays come to an end. :)

To cap off the pics, here's a picture of the most important thing to put up during Christmas: The Belen.

Belen at Sto. Domingo Church, Quezon City

This is also going to be my last post for the year. 2014 has been a good year although there were definitely some low points. I hope that 2015 will be a better year. I gotta admit, this year went by so fast... Nonetheless, no doubt there were blessings through the year. :)

Thank you Lord for every blessing this year and continue to guide and accompany us in the coming year of 2015 and in all the days and years to come...

Thanks for reading everyone and HAPPY NEW YEAR! :D

Update: made some additions and added Greenhills.

Christmas Greetings and Simbang Gabi 2014 - Days 7, 8 and 9

Before everything else... MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE! Hope you enjoyed your Christmas and while we're still at it, keep enjoying the holidays. Whatever you may have done and will be doing, I hope you all enjoy these days of the most wonderful time of the year. Keep the Christmas spirit alive everyone. :)

Now with this post, I will finally go on with the last days of the Misa de Gallo. With the last three days down, we finish another year's edition of the nine days of prayer and attending mass preparing for Christmas. Such a blessing to complete the nine days of Simbang Gabi...

Day 7 - Santissimo Rosario Parish, UST

Went back to the dawn mass after two days of not attending. For the seventh day, I returned (again) to UST. The gospel of the day focused on Mary's song, The Magnificat. The way the priest presided over this mass was very good. In his homily, he placed emphasis on preparing for Christ's coming and looking to Mary as good example for us. He emphasized also on Christmas as a time of remembering when Christ was born and remembering that he will come again in the future. During the mass, I met some friends from the UST Campus Ministry, where I usually hang out. After the mass, I made a quick visit to Sto. Domingo Church which is where I'd visit for the next day of the dawn masses.

Day 8 - Santo Domingo Church, Quezon Ave., QC

For this Simbang Gabi, I woke up pretty late (almost 4 AM) so I was in a hurry to get myself ready for the morning mass which was going to start at 4:30 AM. For Day 8, I went to Sto. Domingo Church. It's been a long time since I've attended a Simbang Gabi here. Last time I did was in 2009. Back then, the mass was held in English, but today the masses are officiated in Filipino. Like before, the crowds were huge, as it is for Simbang Gabi and this church has one of the biggest attendances for it that I've seen. Anyways, when I got to the church, the mass was about to begin. Good thing I wasn't late. The gospel of the day focused on the birth of St. John the Baptist. The priest in his homily preached about overcoming bitterness and what bad things it can do. During this Simbang Gabi, I know what some people mean when they say some aren't paying attention to the mass. Not to put them down, but some people were making conversations while the mass was ongoing. It's good to hang out with friends, even for church but there's a time and place for everything and mass is not a time for kwentuhan. They can always do that and hang out after the mass and besides, they can talk to each other in social media. Well, despite the irreverence of some, good thing many also paid attention to the mass. The setting overall was amazing with the altar decorated with Christmas ornaments and the choir, accompanied by the pipe organ, singing carols. All that for sure says it's Christmas. (^_^)

Day 9 - Santissimo Rosario Parish, UST

Originally, I had the thought of going to two masses for the final day. First was the anticipated mass and for that, I thought of going to SM Megamall for it since it's a great setting but heavy traffic forced me not to go through with the plan. Anyways, in spite of that, it's OK and guess its best that I only attend the dawn mass. For the final day, I was with ninang whom that morning since she wanted to go to Simbang Gabi. UST is where we were heading for the mass. I've said it already, but again, of all places for the dawn mass, UST's my fave place because it's a great setting for the mass (the best IMO) and its accessible, not to mention it's my school. For me, no Simbang Gabi would be complete without attending a mass in UST (this year alone, I had 4 out of 9 there). Only drawback though is that the mass is early, at about 4 AM and its far. For the last day, former UST rector Fr. Rolando de la Rosa, OP presided over and gave a great homily for the mass. In his homily, he talked about the importance of simplifying life and that we have to take away things that would complicate our lives. Noticeably enough at all the masses I went to, all the priests in their homilies made people laugh during at least one point, even a little bit. It was raining as the mass went on (and for a good part of Christmas eve). Good thing it wasn't held in the open field. After the mass, I met up with some friends again from the Campus Ministry. With this day, Simbang Gabi 2014 ends.

Christmas Eve Mass - Daniel Comboni Seminary, Roosevelt Ave., QC

As it has been in the previous years, I've attended the Christmas eve mass at the Daniel Comboni Seminary. The place is under the Comboni Missionaries of the Heart of Jesus or simply the Comboni Missionaries. There's a bond that our family has with the missionaries; before, we had a priest friend among the missionaries (Fr. Rocco, an Italian) who is now assigned to another country, we support some of their projects and personally, I had a spiritual adviser by the name of Fr. Victor who is now a missionary to Central America. Now, unlike the days of the Simbang Gabi where I went to grander settings (like UST, Sto. Domingo, SM Megamall, etc...), this mass was simple. While it wasn't as grand as the previous masses I went to, it still captured the joy of Christmas. Of course, the readings focused on the Birth of Christ. In his homily, the presider told the congregation to become missionaries proclaiming the joy of Christmas to other people. After hearing homilies where the priests made people laugh, the presider this time didn't but still, its a good homily. After the mass, there was a veneration of the Child Jesus in the manger. Not wanting to be late, I went ahead of ninang and ninong who got to the mass later than I did. All in all, a great way to mark Christmas and to remember why we celebrate this season. :)

After attending the nine days of the Simbang Gabi plus the Mass of Christmas Eve, there's this sense of fulfillment. For sure, I'll be attending this again next year. I admit, I'm starting to miss the experience but it's great that I was able to go and celebrate Christmas in such a meaningful way. Hope everyone who attended the nine days will get blessed as well and keep this tradition alive, since its one of the best Christmas traditions here in the country. :)

As for Christmas day, what I did was we visited our relatives and went to Christmas parties. All in all, yesterday was an awesome day, being with my relatives that I see only at this time of the year. The food yesterday was great too by the way. :)

To end this post, again, Merry Christmas to you all! May you have blessed, happy days ahead and also, a happy new year to all of you! o(^o^)o

Simbang Gabi 2014 - Day 5 and 6

Simbang Gabi really isn't an easy task to fulfill, waking up very early in the morning and going to church to attend mass and preparing for Christmas. Even going out at the late hours of night for the anticipated Simbang Gabi isn't easy as well. But the experience is definitely worth it and there is a sense of fulfillment and blessing when you attend even at least one time. Whether you complete the days or just attend one, it's always great to go and keep this tradition alive.

For the last two Simbang Gabi masses, I attended the anticipated masses so I didn't wake up early in the morning.

Day 5 - Santuario de San Pedro Bautista

Experiencing the Simbang Gabi in other churches is fine, but it always pays to be careful (especially at dawn) and its best to go to a church that's near your place (such as Christ the King), accessible (such as UST) or both. San Pedro Bautista isn't that far from my place but it's not that accessible and going here at dawn might not be that safe. I wanted to go here though and I went here for the anticipated mass for the 5th day. It was the second mass I attended that day since earlier in the morning, I attended dawn mass at UST. The church was full, like always but not as filled as in the dawn mass. The readings though were the same as in the dawn mass. The priest emphasized on the power of prayer. We have to be consistent in prayer, be humble and God would bless us in due time. Good thing that with this, I finally went here for a Simbang Gabi. :)

Day 6 - Chapel of the Eucharistic Lord, SM Megamall

I usually go to SM Megamall whenever I'm in the Ortigas area or if there's a cosplay event and very few times, I go to SM Megamall's chapel for Mass and this was the case when I went there for the 6th Day of the (anticipated) Simbang Gabi. It was also an anticipated mass for the 4th Sunday of Advent. Since it's the last weekend before Christmas, many people flocked the mall and before the mass began, I went around. Like in many Simbang Gabi masses, the chapel was filled. The gospel focused on the event of the Annunciation, when the Angel Gabriel came to Mary and told her that she would become the mother of Jesus. The homily for this mass was the best one yet. The monsignor said that for those who put God above everything, nothing is impossible and we will go through many difficult moments, and yet God will always be with us as we go through them. He also made people laugh as well. The choir was amazing. Overall, a great setting to attend Simbang Gabi. Unlike last year I went, I took the MRT on the way home. Dropped at Quezon ave. Station, near Centris and checked the place out before taking the bus home. Good thing, the traffic, especially near Araneta was bad.

Monsignor Roberto Canlas, main presider and homilist.

With this, only 3 days of Simbang Gabi to go then it's gonna be Christmas. Not to mention, 2015 is fast approaching. Are we ready? :)