Folk Catholicism

Folk Catholic practices occur where Catholicism is a major religion, not only in the oft-cited cases of Latin America and the West Indies.

Folk accommodations between Catholicism and local beliefs can be found in Gaelic Scotland, Ireland, Spain, Portugal, France, Italy, Poland, Germany, Austria, the Philippines, and southern India.

Within these stories a variety of recurring characters and themes appear such as the Virgin Mary, priests, Paul the Apostle, Satan, and Jesus himself.

On the last day of the Simbang Gabi, which is Christmas Eve, the service is instead called Misa de Gallo (Spanish for "Rooster's Mass").

It has its origins in the early days of Spanish rule over the Philippines as a practical compromise for farmers, who began work before sunrise to avoid the noonday heat out in the fields.

On the last day of Simbang Gabi, which coincides with Christmas Eve, the most important service is held, called in Spanish Misa de Gallo ("Mass of the Rooster").

This is an ancient tradition celebrated since 1669, brought to the Philippines by Spanish missionaries: originally, the nine masses were held very early in the morning, because most of the country's inhabitants were farmers who had to go to work before dawn, to avoid being in the fields during the hottest hours of the day.

While evening novenas were more common in the rest of the Hispanic world, this Christmas custom eventually became a distinctive feature of Philippine culture and a symbol of shared participation of popular faith.

The belief is that the saint will pass through Ireland that night and touch the ribbon which is then kept by individuals and venerated as a holy object which may be used to help the sick or for protection.

[5] Another custom in Ireland sees people take a piece of straw from the crib in a church at Christmas and this is supposed to bring financial security for the year ahead.

[17] The Amorsbrunn chapel in Amorbach, Franconia, Bavaria, has a fountain that is purported to help in conceiving children if bathed in and is a pilgrimage site for both Christians and non-Christians, who share the water.

The water's purported powers and the pilgrimage to them predates the construction of the chapel; the pre-existing sacred site was intentionally incorporated into the new building and its associated religion, i.e. Catholicism, creating a "cult of continuity".