 Christmas is the biggest holiday, and one of its most beloved rites is the "Simbang Gabi" or "Misa de Gallo", a series of Masses held before dawn in the nine days preceding Christmas Day.Devotees attend each Mass (which is different from the otherwise Advent liturgy of the day elsewhere) in anticipation of Christ's birth and to honour the Virgin Mary, along with the belief that attending the novena ensures fulfilment of a favour requested of God.After the service, worshippers eat or buy a breakfast of traditional delicacies that are sold in churchyards, the most common being "puto bumbóng" and "bibingka".