All in all, 60 churches on the island will celebrate a mass on December 24 at night, at various times.
In Spain and Portugal, this mass is called “Mass of the Rooster”. The tale goes that during Jesus’ birth, a rooster crowed, giving this celebration its name. Another one says that in Spain, a rooster was sacrificed to mark the birth, and that the meat was distributed to needy people. The usus was created by Pope Sisto III, in the 5th century; only, nobody at the time celebrated Jesus’ birth.
Anyway, it’s a nice name for an important event in the catholic community.
Ursula Hahn
info at madeira-weekly.com
