The ancient tower of a church, whose gruff old bell was always peeping slily down...out of a Gothic window in the wall, became invisible, and struck the hours and quarters in the clouds, with tremulous vibrations afterwards, as if its teeth were chattering in its frozen head up there...

But soon the steeples called good people all to church and chapel, and away they came, flocking through the streets in their best clothes, and with their gayest faces.











Either we're being sentimental of home (or perhaps of the tradition itself) or we're inherently religious that for nine mornings, Pinoys in Kuwait didn't mind the biting cold at unholy hour of five attend the first-ever Simbang Gabi at the Our Lady of Arabia Church in Ahmadi, Kuwait.

During workdays, most Pinoys go straight to the office after attending the morning mass.

These photos were taken on the last day of the Simbang Gabi - 24 December 2010.

(Come to think of it: our Muslim brothers do the same in their mosques -- unceasingly for 365 days a year. Their fajr prayers start at the first thin ray of light every morning).