First of nine daily dawn masses ahead of Christmas

(16 Dec 2005) 1. Wide of crowd at Las Pinas church 2. Close-up of ringing church bell 3. Wide of crowd attending mass 4. Priest making the sign of the cross 5. Crowd lifting hands in the air 6. Wide of bible procession 7. Choir singing 8. Woman with sleeping child sitting audience 9. Priest raising the eucharist 10. Various of crowd 11. Close-up of man playing a drum 12. Wide of band in front of church STORYLINE: Church bells across the Philippines rang very early on Friday morning to usher in the start of the "misa de gallo", a series of nine dawn masses which serves as the countdown to Christmas day in the Philippines. Thousands of Catholic devotees across the country got up early to attend the first masses. At the Saint Joseph's parish church in the Manila suburb of Las Pinas, the "misa de gallo" had to be celebrated outside to accommodate the huge crowd. This religious tradition was introduced in the mid-16th century during the early years of Christianity in the Philippines. Spanish friars would hold nine days of masses in preparation for the birth of Jesus Christ on Christmas Day. These masses were celebrated during the early morning hours so the natives, who were mostly farmers, could attend them before they leaving for work. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...