The most important birth of all time has been The Birth of the Child Jesus. After his birth they were adored by the three holy wise men who gave him: myrrh, frankincense and gold.
January 6 of each year is the date chosen to commemorate the visit of the three wise men to the Child Jesus and it is celebrated in different ways around the world but with the same enthusiasm.
That three kings eve there are many children who do not want to sleep because they want to see the kings when they arrive with their gifts and they all end up giving in to fatigue and fall asleep until the next day when they receive their gifts.
Even in the midst of a pandemic and its rebound in cases of COVID'-19 infections and the new Omicron variant; the one that has caused the Three Kings Festivals, Kings Cantatas and Kings promises to be suspended on the island, the Kings will continue to reach Puerto Rican families as they have in other years.
In Puerto Rico this is the date that makes children and adults dream because it involves the magic of the illusion of a gift given by Gaspar, Melchor and Baltazar to children who behave well throughout the year so that the kings remember them. on January 6 of each year.
Although today children ask for different gifts, simply because the times we live in are different from those of our parents and grandparents because these are the times of modern technology, among their requests, there are always children who ask for a toy.
Establishing the difference between the times, we decided to interview an older person to tell us what their experience was like as children and then we will see what it is like now.
Mrs. María Rodríguez de Mayagüez is currently 85 years old and she tells us:-“I remember that when I was little I cried a lot because I wanted a doll; In my house we were very poor and my dad didn't have money to buy us toys. The kings brought me a tiny stone doll. , It was not what I wanted but they gave it to me and I was happy; I dropped the doll and it broke and I started to cry. My godmother went and bought me some stone cups too, so I wouldn't cry. At that time there was not much to give away and we had to settle for what they gave us. I still like dolls and I have many on the sofa that I have been given as gifts.”
The 8-year-old girl Natalia García from the town of Peñuelas told us:-“I asked the king and queen for a Nintendo Switch with games to play. I always put grass on the camels and water too.”
Yadiel Gómez from the town of Arecibo is 10 years old and tells us: -“Well, I have to go out with my little brothers to look for grass and they already told me that even if I am big, like my 12-year-old brother, I have to look for grass every year because if not, they don't bring me anything. My little sister makes cookies for the kings and we make grass and water for the camels. So I ordered a Playstation 5 and I'm going to put a lot of grass on it so they can bring it to me."
Fabiola Vega lives in San Sebastián and with hers 5 years old she tells us:-“I asked the Kings for Barbie dolls, clothes for the dolls and her car, which is pink. My mom and dad take me to cut grass for the camels and they tell me that I have to sleep early because otherwise they won't come.”
Despite time and ages, the three wise men continue to make humanity dream of things as beautiful as a toy. The illusion is not lost despite time and circumstances.
HAPPY KING'S DAY!
