the midnight mass is a staple of the catholic tradition, but in rio de janeiro they take on - as do all things - many unique forms.

named after the legend of a rooster crowing to announce the coming of the christ child, the church service is a tradition for cariocas of all ages and manifests itself in myriad ways.  

for the traditionalists, there is the official celebration at the cathedral metropolitana de são sebastião, where the archdiocese of the rio metropolitan region conducts a sober, traditional mass that draws a huge crowd yearly.

in acknowledgement of the city-wide interest, the archdiocese started in 2010 to hold another misa do galho at the igreja da penha in the zona norte.