Central America awaits the traditional arrival of the Three Kings

The arrival of the Three Kings to the Central American neighborhoods is symbolized on January 6 with a multicolored caravan of floats that carry Melchor, Gaspar and Baltasar and pass before the joyful gaze of thousands of believers who come to witness the visit of the three monarchs to baby Jesus.

Before Melchor, Gaspar and Baltasar appear, the Catholic temples of El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras have already prepared to receive the Heraldo or Postman, a figure who presents himself as a “messenger of the kings” and who is in charge of collecting children’s letters and take them to the Three Wise Men.

The tradition is that the children write a letter to Their Majesties telling them how they have behaved during the old year and asking them for a gift, almost always toys. However, children who have misbehaved receive coal instead of a present.

As the Three Wise Men arrive tired from such a long journey, the children usually leave three glasses of milk and cookies under the Christmas tree or next to the manger on the night of January 5 so they can regain their strength. The next morning it is only possible to find the crumbs, and the long-awaited gifts.

Explaining to a child how Melchor, Gaspar and Baltasar entered the living room of their houses riding a camel, a horse and an elephant is easy: they are magicians!

The adults, for their part, prepare the church for the visit of the pages and Their Majesties, placing three decorated chairs in the center of the church and welcoming them with Christmas carols such as “the Three Kings are coming, the Three Kings are coming, little path to Bethlehem … Ole Ole ole…”.

During their visit, Their Majesties explain that they have come following a star to adore the Child Jesus. Their visit is always brief, as a long journey awaits them to distribute toys.

The rosca de reyes and the tamales

The rosca de reyes tradition is enjoyed even by non-Christians: on January 6, Central Americans eat a round, crown-shaped bread with pieces of dried fruit on top.

Inside the bagel is hidden a figure that symbolizes the baby Jesus, and whoever finds the figure when cutting or eating the bread must invite those present to eat tamales on February 2, the day of La Candelaria, when the Catholic tradition commemorates the presentation of the baby Jesus in the temple.

The tamale is a typical Central American dish prepared with corn dough and stuffed with meat or vegetables.

Who were the Magi?

The Gospel according to Saint Matthew says that after the birth of Jesus, in Bethlehem of Judah, some wise men from the East appeared in Jerusalem asking “Where is the born king of the Jews? because we saw his star in the East and have come to adore him”. .

The wizards were Melchor, Gaspar and Baltasar, who, guided by the star, reached the manger where Jesus was, days after his birth. As a gift they brought him gold, frankincense and myrrh.

The symbols that Christianity assigns to these gifts are: gold because Jesus was a king; frankincense, for being worthy of worship, and myrrh because eventually Jesus was going to die and be buried.

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