Three Kings Day helps keep Hispanic culture alive.
Churches, bakeries gear up for traditional Hispanic holiday
PHOENIX (Hispanic
News) January 1, 2009 — The holiday,
celebrat
ed
widely in the Hispanic culture, is as much a part of Christian heritage as
Christmas.
Three Kings Day, also known as The Epiphany, is celebrated on January 6,
twelve days after Christmas. It is often viewed as the last day of the
Christmas season (the end of the 12 days of Christmas).
Three Kings Day commemorates the Magi —
by tradition, wise men Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar — following a bright
star to Bethlehem and presenting gifts to the newborn Jesus.
"They did visit Jesus Christ when he was
born and gave him presents," said Art Gonzales, 80, of Torrance,
California. "That's what we
believe in."
Hhe brought his two great grandsons, 6-year-old Krasny and 5-year-old Sergio, to the St.
Michael Church Fellowship Hall on Saturday afternoon to take part in a
communitywide Three Kings Day celebration.
The event — organized by Latinas Unidas,
Girl Scouts, St. Michael and the North Clinton Avenue Business Association —
featured Latin music and sing-alongs, storytelling, crafts and a traditional
meal of rice with pigeon beans, roast pork and cake.
It also included a visit by "three kings"
who handed out gifts to the children.
Wearing purple, red and blue robes and donning crowns, the kings were played
by Rochester Police Chief Robert Duffy, former Monroe County Executive Thomas
Frey and business association President Albert Algarin.
Despite the snow falling outside, about
100 parents and children participated. The holiday is January 6, but the event
was celebrated Saturday so children could attend.
The observance of Three Kings Day is
important because it is a celebration of the Hispanic culture, said Daisy
Rivera-Algarin, chairwoman of Latinas Unidas.
"We felt it was important to continue the
traditions of our motherland," she said.
All over the USA while most of USA unwinds from
holiday celebrations, Hispanic communities are preparing to
commemorate one of the biggest gift-giving, church-going and traditional meal
holidays of the year.
''El Dia De Reyes Magos,'' or Three Kings
Day, falls on January 4. For immigrants from Mexico, in particular, this is the
holiday that children race out of bed to open gifts and family cooks prepare
lavish holiday spreads.
Also known as Epiphany, the day
commemorates the biblical story of the Magi, or wise men, who arrived in
Bethlehem bearing gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh for the newly born
Jesus.
Tomorrow some of the area's Catholic
churches will celebrate a special Mass.
At St. William Catholic Community Church in
Shelbyville, Tennessee, the sermon's message will be ''what gift can we bring
this year to the Christ child,'' said the Rev. Paul Portland, the priest leading
the Mass.
The service also will include a traditional
re-enactment of the biblical story of the Magi.
Led by two little girls dressed as angels,
Joseph and Mary and a baby doll Jesus will begin the service by walking to the
front of the altar. Later, the three wise men in costume will present the trio
with gifts.
At the end of the service, the children in
the congregation will be handed bags of sweets as they leave the service.
It's a traditional Dia de Reyes service
minus the live horses bearing three wise men that Portland has witnessed in
Mexican churches.
Portland expects 250 to 300 people at the
Spanish-language service he will conduct tomorrow, about the same turnout as
every Sunday in the small church that seats 150. There are chairs in the
hallways and a big screen television to broadcast the sermon to those unable to
fit in the sanctuary.
Afterward, families celebrate by eating a
traditional oval-shaped bread called ''Rosca de Reyes,'' or the ''three kings
cake.'' The tradition is similar to the Mardi Gras tradition of serving ''king
cake.''
January 6 is the busiest day of the year
for bakeries catering to the Hispanic population, said Patricia Paiva, owner of
Aurora Bakery on Nolensville Pike.
''Last year people were running each other
down in my lobby to get the last ones,'' she said.
The oval sweet egg bread is covered with
red and green cherries, guava, cream cheese, icing and dried fruit, she said.
According to tradition, Paiva hides small plastic babies in the bread to
represent Jesus. Whoever gets the slices with the babies in them then has to
throw a party February 2 to celebrate the ''Fiesta de la Candelaria,'' or
Candle. Candles commemorates the 40th day after the birth of Jesus and is
celebrated in some churches by blessing candles used in Mass.
Paiva says she expects a very busy Tuesday.
''People usually transition their holidays
to the weekends when they come here, but this is the one big day that people
celebrate even when it's on a Tuesday,'' Paiva said.
