So we added Santa Claus and his reindeers to our Christmas traditions. troops landed on our Island’s south shores and claimed their booty after beating Spain in the Spanish-American War. In the late 19th century (1898 to be exact) U.S. It is common to stage a Nativity scene in schools-mostly with younger kids who are still willing to dress up and have fun with it-during a gathering of parents around Christmas time, and since leading roles are very limited, almost everyone ends up dressed as a shepherd ( pastorcito), or what someone at some point thought shepherds should look like in a school play! One of them is Epiphany, or Three Kings Day, January 6, when the Three Wise Men are believed to have visited baby Jesus, bringing gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh “on the 12 th day of Christmas.” On the eve of Three Kings Day, or Día de Reyes, children gather grass in shoeboxes for the Three Kings to feed their camels as they stop to leave gifts in each home. Spain got here first, and although the British, French, and Dutch tried their best to take over the Island, in the end Spain won out, and so, Puerto Rico is an Island where Spanish is spoken and many Spanish cultural traditions remain. Puerto Rico was colonized by the Europeans starting in 1493. And it doesn’t matter if you are Catholic, Protestant, Baha’i, Jewish, Buddhist, agnostic… Navidad in Puerto Rico is for everyone! Although the word does come from the Latin nativitas (nativity) and, yes, it all started with the birth of Jesus, the truth is that in Puerto Rico Navidad really means that the party starts in November right after Thanksgiving, and ends in January, right after the Fiestas de la Calle San Sebastián, more recently known as la SanSe. Let me be blunt: I will not call this the “holiday season” because in Puerto Rico this is Navidad. Frequently Asked Questions (Membership).
Judiciary Interpreting and Legal Translation Bibliography & Database.I think Melchor is driving - hopefully he has GPS.Įnter your email address to follow View From Casita Colibrí and receive notifications of new posts by email. Three Kings Day is drawing to a close and the kings are returning to from whence they came. If you are the “lucky” person to bite into it, you must host a tamales and atole party on Candelaria (Candlemas), February 2nd. Of course, I bought one - though not the large family-size above! The tradition is to eat and dunk in hot chocolate, but I opted to dunk in my usual half coffee/half chocolate morning beverage.īy the way, there is a plastic Niño Dios figurine hidden in each Rosca de Reyes, remembering Mary and Joseph concealing baby Jesus from King Herod.
Bakeries have been working overtime and temporary stalls were set up on a block of Calle Flores Magón - closing it to auto and truck traffic (though motorcycles were a different story). In addition to kings bringing kids gifts, January 6 also calls for a special cake - Rosca de Reyes (Three Kings bread). There were chess boards set up to play this most serious of games.Īnd, the nacimiento (nativity scene) in the zócalo provided a popular “posing with the Tres Reyes” point. San Antonio Arrazola and San Martín Tilcajete, the wood carving villages known for their fantastical alebrije, distributed paints, brushes, and paper for the artistically inclined. At the booth below, each child received a toy and a carton of milk. Today, the Alameda and zócalo were filled with activities and freebies for kids.
(Alas, only a fraction of the one million plus, 0 – 17 year olds, living in poverty in the state of Oaxaca.) More than 3000 toys were collected to be distributed in a number of city and surrounding area neighborhoods. Yesterday, the municipal DIF ( Desarrollo Integral de la Familia) agency and radio station “La Zeta Noticias,” sponsored a kilometer of toys - an annual toy drive for Oaxaca’s disadvantaged children. Though Santa Claus is making inroads into Mexico, it is today’s early morning visit by Los Reyes Magos (Three Kings, Wise Men) that children anxiously await, as it is Gaspar, Melchor, and Baltazar who bring gifts on January 6 - Día de los Reyes Magos (aka, Epiphany).
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