Día De Reyes: A La Farmer

And you thought Christmas was over December 25! Not when you are Mexican. We still have more days to go. On January 6 el Día de Reyes is celebrated. This translates to Day of the Kings. It is what many other parts of the world celebrate as Epiphany, the day the Wise Men arrived to bring Baby Jesus gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. Many Mexican families do not add the Wise Men to their nativity scenes until the evening of January 5 for Día de Reyes.

I cannot believe I fell for this holiday as a kid, but I did. At least Santa went to everyone's houses regardless of ethnic background, so no wonder he seemed possible. But the Wise Men only came to my house and anyone else that was of Mexican heritage. Why I did not think that was strange as a child I do not know. No one ever spoiled it and told me the truth. I believed the Wise Men actually came while I was asleep to deliver gifts. Our stockings hung by the chimney with care, but were never filled until January 6. This is not part of the Día de Reyes tradition I will pass to my children. I like Christmas morning stockings too much.

The evening of January 6, Mexican families gather for Merienda de Reyes, an early dinner celebration with friends and family. Typically Mexican food is served. We celebrated Día de Reyes the weekend before January 6 since my sister was in town. My mom and I shared the responsibility for pork tostadas. For dessert we served the traditional Rosca de Reyes.

Our Costco offerered these special breads by the truckloads. This is California, and San Diego no less. Many families of Mexican heritage celebrate with a Rosca. The Rosca is a very, very sweet bread baked in an oval shape. The Rosca is a tradition that was brought to Mexico from Spain. (Here is a quick history lesson...the Spaniards colonized Mexico, hence the Spanish influence.) The oval shape represents the Wise Men's crowns, and the dried fruit represents the jewels in the crown. In the picture you see the Rosca with a Baby Jesus figurine.
This bread was vacuum packed and sealed for freshness. Three little figurines of Baby Jesus came with the Rosca. The party host turns the Rosca upside down and pushes in these little figurines into the bottom of the bread. The hidden figurines remind us of how Baby Jesus needed to be hidden and protected from King Herod. The knife that cuts the bread reminds us of how Baby Jesus was in danger of being killed after his birth. But the Rosca de Reyes is actually a game. The person that finds a Baby Jesus in their bread must host a party on February 2 for all of those in attendance for the Rosca de Reyes. See, I told you it was a long Christmas season for Mexicans! I will tell you all about the February 2 celebration closer to that date. My extended family will host a party on that date. They had another Rosca party on January 6 I did not attend. Since it was just my family, my parents, my sister, and nephew attending our Farmer Rosca de Reyes, finding the hidden figurines were just for fun.

Later in the evening, the adults went outside and helped the kids roast marshmallows around our fire pit. We made s'mores. Día de Reyes is not complete without chocolate. Chocolate was a gift from the natives of Mexico to the people from the New World, or Spain.