Tres Reyes Magos
January 11th, 2004 by Steven Gabb
¡Hola! Once again, Sarah, Adia, & I had a fun week, filled with cultural experiences. On the night before January 6th (the Epiphany), many children go to bed waiting for the Tres Reyes Magos (the Three Wise Men) to arrive. This is a big event in Mexico, marking the day that the Wise Men arrived at the scene of the birth of the Savior and presented gifts to the family. Although gift-exchanging is becoming more and more common at Christmas-time, ‘Tres Reyes Magos’ is also a very common day for exchanging gifts. Another tradition for ‘Tres Reyes Magos’ is to share a Rosca. On January 5th, every bakery, street vender, and mercado was filled to capacity with these ring cakes. In homes, businesses, and schools, people cut off a piece for themselves to eat with their family, friends, and co-workers. Inside each cake is a little plastic baby. If the piece you cut for yourself has one of these little babies, the custom is that you buy tamales for a festival on February 2nd. (Also, if you get one of these babies, you are supposed to have good luck for the upcoming year!) We shared one of these cakes in our host home and one at our school. I was the first person to cut each cake and I managed to find the baby in each cake! 2 Cakes…2 babies…2 days of buying tamales…double the good luck for 2004!! I love tamales, therefore, I love the tradition…even if I have to pay for them. Any event with tamales is a good event, and there are many! We had our tamale day at the school on Friday, but in the family, we will celebrate in February according to the tradition.
On Thursday evening, the new Archbishop for the Catholic Church for Antequera – Oaxaca was installed into his new position. We live about half-way up one of the hills that surrounds Oaxaca and, if you go to the top of this hill directly behind our house, you will find a stadium in which this service was held. Sarah, Adia, and I attended for the experience which is what it was. This archbishop represents many people of different races. Officially, they are all Mexican, but there are a number of different indigenous groups in the pueblos throughout this area. Many of these people have done well to maintain their culture and language. Therefore, this was a multi-lingual service with some of the prayers and songs prayed and sung in 6, 7, or 8 languages. (Have I ever mentioned that fireworks – basically, very loud firecrackers – are very common in Mexico, especially for these big events and festivals?) Another interested aspect of the service was the mass. When the service leader consecrated the elements for the Lord’s Supper, these extremely loud firecrackers were shot into the air and you could hear them echo throughout the whole city. All of the distinguished guests came forward for receive the sacrament, but for the rest of the stadium, numerous clergymen walked throughout the stadium offering to sacrament to those who wanted it. I didn’t see many people take it. Then, after the service, guess what all of the clergymen and distinguished guests were doing? Eating tamales, of course! Following the service was a show of the Guelaguetza, meaning ‘offering.’ This is a centuries-old festival that is traditionally celebrated in July throughout the state of Oaxaca. However, for this special occasion, they were included in the event. Community troupes presented their regional costumes, dances, songs, and music. It was quite interesting! Although, being the big fan of food that I am, I especially enjoyed the huge made-to-order empanadas that we bought from the many venders outside of the stadium!
School is still going well. We returned from our 1 week back in the States and our Spanish came back to us quite quickly. Of course, we are always learning more Spanish grammar. However, in addition to that, both Sarah and I feel that our conversational skills have improved in the past week! Both of us have great teachers and are enjoying our classes.
That is all for now. We think of many of you often…our families (Sure Foundation in New York and relatives throughout the country) and friends. Hope all is well!
¡Que Dios Te Bendiga!
Steven, Sarah, & Adia Gabb
¡Hola! Once again, Sarah, Adia, & I had a fun week, filled with cultural experiences. On the night before January 6th (the Epiphany), many children go to bed waiting for the Tres Reyes Magos (the Three Wise Men) to arrive. This is a big event in Mexico, marking the day that the Wise Men arrived at the scene of the birth of the Savior and presented gifts to the family. Although gift-exchanging is becoming more and more common at Christmas-time, ‘Tres Reyes Magos’ is also a very common day for exchanging gifts. Another tradition for ‘Tres Reyes Magos’ is to share a Rosca. On January 5th, every bakery, street vender, and mercado was filled to capacity with these ring cakes. In homes, businesses, and schools, people cut off a piece for themselves to eat with their family, friends, and co-workers. Inside each cake is a little plastic baby. If the piece you cut for yourself has one of these little babies, the custom is that you buy tamales for a festival on February 2nd. (Also, if you get one of these babies, you are supposed to have good luck for the upcoming year!) We shared one of these cakes in our host home and one at our school. I was the first person to cut each cake and I managed to find the baby in each cake! 2 Cakes…2 babies…2 days of buying tamales…double the good luck for 2004!! I love tamales, therefore, I love the tradition…even if I have to pay for them. Any event with tamales is a good event, and there are many! We had our tamale day at the school on Friday, but in the family, we will celebrate in February according to the tradition.
On Thursday evening, the new Archbishop for the Catholic Church for Antequera – Oaxaca was installed into his new position. We live about half-way up one of the hills that surrounds Oaxaca and, if you go to the top of this hill directly behind our house, you will find a stadium in which this service was held. Sarah, Adia, and I attended for the experience which is what it was. This archbishop represents many people of different races. Officially, they are all Mexican, but there are a number of different indigenous groups in the pueblos throughout this area. Many of these people have done well to maintain their culture and language. Therefore, this was a multi-lingual service with some of the prayers and songs prayed and sung in 6, 7, or 8 languages. (Have I ever mentioned that fireworks – basically, very loud firecrackers – are very common in Mexico, especially for these big events and festivals?) Another interested aspect of the service was the mass. When the service leader consecrated the elements for the Lord’s Supper, these extremely loud firecrackers were shot into the air and you could hear them echo throughout the whole city. All of the distinguished guests came forward for receive the sacrament, but for the rest of the stadium, numerous clergymen walked throughout the stadium offering to sacrament to those who wanted it. I didn’t see many people take it. Then, after the service, guess what all of the clergymen and distinguished guests were doing? Eating tamales, of course! Following the service was a show of the Guelaguetza, meaning ‘offering.’ This is a centuries-old festival that is traditionally celebrated in July throughout the state of Oaxaca. However, for this special occasion, they were included in the event. Community troupes presented their regional costumes, dances, songs, and music. It was quite interesting! Although, being the big fan of food that I am, I especially enjoyed the huge made-to-order empanadas that we bought from the many venders outside of the stadium!
School is still going well. We returned from our 1 week back in the States and our Spanish came back to us quite quickly. Of course, we are always learning more Spanish grammar. However, in addition to that, both Sarah and I feel that our conversational skills have improved in the past week! Both of us have great teachers and are enjoying our classes.
That is all for now. We think of many of you often…our families (Sure Foundation in New York and relatives throughout the country) and friends. Hope all is well!
¡Que Dios Te Bendiga!
Steven, Sarah, & Adia Gabb
