Matamoros, MEXICO – According to the Bible story, when Jesus Christ was a baby, the three wisemen, or magi – magos in Spanish – rode through the desert following a bright star in the East to Bethlehem.
These three kings, the story goes, left the baby three different gifts – gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
Now, more than 2,000 years later, this very story is recreated every year through parades, colorful roscas, and nativity scenes every January 6th as Dia de los Reyes, or Three Kings Day.
But how exactly is Dia de los Reyes celebrated here in northern Mexico?
Dia de los Reyes originated from Spain and Portugal in the 4th century and reached what is now Latin America through colonization. Then, as Catholicism and Christianity grew in Mexico, so did celebration of Three Kings Day.
As January 5th arrives, kids all around Mexico write letters to the three kings detailing what gift they’d like. Then, they either put it in their shoe under the Christmas tree or next to the window with a bit of grass and twigs.
Like the tale goes, the three kings – Gaspar, Melchor and Baltazar – each rode three different animals. Gaspar rode a camel, Melchor a horse, and Baltazar an elephant. As such, similar to how kids leave milk and cookies for Santa Claus, kids leave food such as water and carrots for the traveling kings and their hardworking animals.
Once the morning of January 6th arrives, kids can run to retrieve their shoes filled with candy and toys brought by the kings.
But the intensity of how much it’s celebrated and how traditional it is depends on what area of Mexico you’re part of. Most of the parades similar to the “Cabalgata de los Reyes” tend to be in the central parts of Mexico and the capital. For instance, Ciudad de Mexico – Mexico’s capital – hosts a carnival with several three kings photo stands in the Monument of Independence. Yet they’re not as big as their counterparts in Spain.
As you venture more into the north of Mexico, there tends to be more influence from their American neighbors and therefore not as many decorations regarding the kings and more decorations representing Santa Claus. As you descend to the central and south parts of Mexico, there is the opposite effect.
For centuries, one food has remained symbolic to this holiday – La Rosca (Kings Cake).
Here in Mexico, the delicious sweet bread called rosca is at the center of the celebration. It is colorfully decorated with dried fruit on the outside and one or several mini figurines (traditionally, plastic baby Jesus representations) on the inside.
You can skip on the gifts or the parades if you must, but skipping the rosca? Impossible.
The most common way to celebrate is by gathering with family and close friends to eat the rosca together. Each member cuts a piece from the circular bread and eats it.
And, if you either see the baby Jesus figurine poking out or feel it in a bite of the rosca, it means you’ve been selected to bring tamales and atole to everyone gathered on February 2 for El Dia de la Candelaria (Candlemas Day).
If you want to be more organized, there are certain roscas that bend the rules a little by assigning what to bring on February 2nd depending on the color of the baby Jesus that you get. Some even make their figurines porcelain to give them a more collectable and modern look.
Whether it be at the workplace, with friends, school, or family, the Rosca is there to give a sweet finale to the Christmas season in Mexico.
So if you’d like to join this celebration, just grab a cup of milk and enjoy the sweetness of this symbolic seasonal treat!
Samantha Esquivel is a Reporter with Youth Journalism International.
