Today is Three Kings Day (El Dia de los Reyes).
If you are in Lawrence, you might go to O’Neill Park for an event sponsored by Lawrence Public Library where there will be refreshments, music, and toys for children at 6:00 PM.
If you are in New York City, you might have breakfast at El Museo del Barrio or catch the parade which begins in East Harlem and then marches down to Park Avenue.
If you are in Mexico City, you might send a letter up to the three kings in balloons.
If you are in Spain, you have the day off. It is a national holiday, and the news will cover celebratory events throughout the day across the country.
If you are at home, you will most likely eat rosca de reyes, a sweet bread inside of which is a plastic baby Jesus. Whoever finds the baby Jesus will be tasked with hosting the family Three Kings Day celebration next year…or with cooking the tamales for everyone on February 2 (Candelaria Day). The bread often has cherries, guava, or other dried fruits to represent the gifts brought by the kings to the baby Jesus. It is baked in a round to symbolizing God’s never-ending love. An Americanized version, the King Cake, usually is brightly colored and filled with cream.
In many Latin cultures, children wait to open gifts on Three Kings Day, reflecting a tradition that the three kings – the magi – the wise men – brought gifts to the infant Jesus and not Santa.
January 6 marks the end of the twelve days of Christmas. It is Three Kings Day or the Feast of the Epiphany as most Lutherans know it. It is a day to celebrate! (Now where am I going to find a plastic baby Jesus today?)
In Christ,
Pastor Jen