Midnight Mass

What it is

Midnight Mass is the opening liturgy of Christmastide, kept on the night of Christmas Eve. In Western Christian churches it is a joyful service in honour of the birth of Jesus, and it includes Holy Communion. Many denominations that rarely use the word Mass still borrow the term for this one service. Roman Catholics call it Missa in nocte, or Mass during the Night, and it officially need not begin at midnight. Anglicans speak of Midnight Communion, usually at 11 or 11:30 pm. Methodists often start at 11 pm and ring the church bells as midnight arrives. Lutherans may hold it alongside Christmas Vespers and Matins.

Origins and history

The earliest record of a midnight vigil at Christmas comes from Egeria, a woman from Galicia who travelled to the Holy Land around 381. She described how Christians in Jerusalem kept watch at Bethlehem at midnight and then walked back to Jerusalem by torchlight, reaching the Church of the Resurrection at dawn. The practice reached the West in 430, when Pope Sixtus III began a midnight Mass at the Basilica of St Mary Major in Rome, after the cockcrow. By the twelfth century all priests could say three Masses on Christmas Day, at midnight, dawn and day. In 1587 Diego de Soria, head priest at San Agustin de Acolman in Mexico, asked Pope Sixtus V for permission to hold the Mass outdoors.

Around the world

In Spain families light little oil lamps in their homes on Christmas Eve before going to church. The best known service there is at the Basilica of Montserrat, a Benedictine monastery on the cliffs of the Montserrat range, where the Escolania de Montserrat, described as Europe's oldest boys' choir, sings. Bolivians go to Christmas Eve Mass and then sit down to a meal with picana del pollo, a chicken stew. In the Philippines Simbang Gabi, or Night Mass, runs for nine days from 16 to 24 December, with a novena procession and a reenactment of Mary and Joseph looking for a place to stay. Poland keeps Pasterka.

Music and song

Lutheran Midnight Mass has been described with worshippers holding candles and clouds of incense filling the church, the congregation singing and praying through the night. In Puerto Rico people sing Christmas songs called aguinaldos; the religious ones are villancicos, and those with a Criollo character are décimas navideñas. In Venezuela the Misa de Aguinaldo, named for the Spanish word for a Christmas box, is a series of nine dawn Masses ending on Christmas Eve, and hymns of the liturgy give way to gaita, a folk style from Zulia state whose words are approved for use in the ceremonies.

How Midnight Mass is kept

Congregations gather in church late on Christmas Eve for the first liturgy of Christmas. Roman Catholic Masses traditionally begin at midnight with the Proclamation of the Birth of Christ, a reading through the story of salvation, and Holy Communion follows. Anglicans often hold Midnight Communion at 11 or 11:30 pm. Methodists may meet at 11 pm and ring the church bells as midnight comes. Lutherans sometimes worship by candlelight, and the Church of Scotland holds a service just before midnight with carols, though it has no Mass and is a watchnight service.

When and where

Midnight Mass is kept on the night of Christmas Eve, as Christmas Eve turns into Christmas Day, traditionally at midnight. Since 2009 the Vatican has begun earlier, first at 10 pm and then earlier still. In the Philippines the series of Masses runs for nine days, from 16 to 24 December.

It belongs to Western Christian traditions: Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican and Methodist churches. Misa de Gallo, its Spanish and Portuguese form, is kept in Spain, Portugal and many former colonies, and is strongest in Latin America and the Philippines. Bolivia, Puerto Rico and Venezuela each have their own customs. Eastern Christian churches do not observe it, holding an All-Night Vigil instead.

What Midnight Mass means

The Mass honours the Nativity of Jesus, the moment Christians believe God came into the world as a child. The late hour carries meaning too: worshippers keep vigil as Christmas Eve gives way to Christmas Day. The Roman liturgy opens by telling the story of salvation, setting the birth within a longer promised history. In Spain, lamps lit in every home carry the same thought of light through the night, while candles and bells mark the arrival of the day in many churches.

Days Midnight Mass is marked

Questions people ask about Midnight Mass

See also

Good FridayA solemn Christian holy day commemorating the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ.Holy WeekThe solemn seven days leading to Easter, recalling the final week and Passion of JesusFeast of Corpus ChristiA Christian feast celebrating the presence of Christ in the bread and wine of the EucharistCandlemasA Christian feast of candle blessings marking the end of the Christmas season

Good reading and sources

• Midnight Mass on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• More photos on Wikimedia CommonsPhotos and video
• Wikidata recordOpen data

It may contain mistakes. Traditions differ from one family, village and community to the next, and the people who keep them know them best. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-05.