Feliz navidad--tatata--feliz navidad--tatata!
I hope everyone in the world is having a peaceful day.
When I was growing up in Puerto Rico, on Christmas Eve we went to Misa de Gallo, midnight Mass. On Christmas Day, our gifts were mainly clothes and shoes, and maybe a pencil box. We had to wait until January 6th for toys. The night before we placed under our beds grass and water for the camels of the Three Kings. We woke up way too early the next morning to find the toys that the Three Wise Men had left us for being soooo good.
I tried to follow that tradition in Portland, Oregon. It didn't work. By January 6th school had started and my children couldn't talk about the toys Santa had left them. So, I let Santa bring his Christmas toys, but I also made up a Three Kings Day party that usually took place the weekend before or after January 6th. During the party, my children and their friends ate flan, sang "Feliz navidad--tatata," and played guiros, guitarras, y maracas. I read them Tomie de Paola's Three Kings. Then the children went outside to collect grass. Each child placed bowls of grass and water under the Christmas tree, and went into a bedroom to pretend to sleep. When they were "woken up" they found the grass mostly gone (the messy camels had dropped some on the floor). On the empty bowls of water, the children found tiny toys!
My children and their friends grew...but, like my daughter Juliana, they are now having babies like my Conor Richard. Pretty soon we will be celebrating my Three Kings Day party again.
I hope everyone in the world is having a peaceful day.
When I was growing up in Puerto Rico, on Christmas Eve we went to Misa de Gallo, midnight Mass. On Christmas Day, our gifts were mainly clothes and shoes, and maybe a pencil box. We had to wait until January 6th for toys. The night before we placed under our beds grass and water for the camels of the Three Kings. We woke up way too early the next morning to find the toys that the Three Wise Men had left us for being soooo good.
I tried to follow that tradition in Portland, Oregon. It didn't work. By January 6th school had started and my children couldn't talk about the toys Santa had left them. So, I let Santa bring his Christmas toys, but I also made up a Three Kings Day party that usually took place the weekend before or after January 6th. During the party, my children and their friends ate flan, sang "Feliz navidad--tatata," and played guiros, guitarras, y maracas. I read them Tomie de Paola's Three Kings. Then the children went outside to collect grass. Each child placed bowls of grass and water under the Christmas tree, and went into a bedroom to pretend to sleep. When they were "woken up" they found the grass mostly gone (the messy camels had dropped some on the floor). On the empty bowls of water, the children found tiny toys!
My children and their friends grew...but, like my daughter Juliana, they are now having babies like my Conor Richard. Pretty soon we will be celebrating my Three Kings Day party again.
4 comments:
Hi Carmen,
I love hearing about your childhood Three Kings' Day celebration. It must have been frustrating to carry on your traditions when the school schedule had your kids back in school before January 6th. I worked on the design for the book HURRAY FOR THREE KiINGS' DAY! by Lori Marie Carlson, illustrated by Ed Martinez many years ago. Maybe there are more books to celebrate the day now, but I bet you could write a particularly beautiful one. Perhaps you could give us another?
What a wonderful tradition! And how lucky your grandchildren are to have it continued for them. Feliz Navidad!
A lovely tradition and a lovely photo, Carmen!
What a cute baby!! Loved your story Carmen. I had never heard of Three King's Day. Diane
Post a Comment