Day of the Wisemen - Dia de los Reyes Magos  


Day of the Wisemen


Gold


Frankincense


Myrrh

Day of the Wisemen - Dia de los Reyes Magos

On January 6, the Hispanic world celebrates
El Dia de los Reyes Magos, when
the Three Wise Men (Melchor, Gaspar
and Baltazar) following the star to Bethlehem,
arrived bringing their gifts of gold,
frankincense and myrrh for the Baby Jesus.

Mexican Traditions
In Mexico, the tradition is that children write
letters to the Wise Men asking for
presents. On January 5, families go to
a beautiful park in Mexico for a festival
full of concessions, toys and
photo opportunities with the
Wise Men. Hundreds of colorful helium balloons
are sold during the season, and
the children attach their letters
to them, and have them fly up into
the sky carrying all their wishes.


Before going to bed the children
place their old shoes under their
bed or in the living room, where
the Wise Men will leave them their
presents. Some also place hay and a
bucket with water outside for the
animals, and cookies and milk for Melchor,
Gaspar and Baltazar.


Puerto Rican Traditions
In Puerto Rico, on La Víspera de Reyes
(the Eve of Three Kings Day) children
cut grass to put in a shoe box
under their bed for the camels to eat.
Their "wish list" is placed on top of the
grass.



In the morning they come to find
that the grass has been eaten by
camels and presents have been placed
in the shoe box by the Wise Men.

Melchor

El Rey Melchor was the Sultan of Arabia.
He was the oldest of the Magi and was
a small and gentle man. Melchor
had a long white beard and wore
elegant crimson robes. His gift was
gold which was used by the
Hebrews for the Temple and was plentiful
in the time of David and Solomon.
Gold was not coined until after the
reign of King David, was an article
of commerce and was sold by weight. It is
rumored that Melchor brought many
other priceless gifts as well.

Baltazar

El Rey Baltazar was a Nubian King and
ruler of Ethiopia. Baltazar was dressed
in exquisite robes. His gift was
myrrh, a precious and aromatic resin that
comes from the bark of thorny African
trees and symbolized suffering.
Myrrh was a precious commodity in the Middle
East. It was one of the ingredients
of the holy ointment, and of the
embalming substance. It is used
in medicine and as a perfume. Baltazar
was also rumored to have brought many
other expensive gifts and treasures along.
Legend tells us that Baltazar died soon after
in the presence of the other Wise Men.

Gaspar

El Rey Gaspar was Emperor of the Orient
and ruled over all oriental lands.
His clothes were gilded in gold. King
Gaspar's gift was frankincense, an
exceedingly aromatic gum used in the sacred
incense for the Temple service.
It is distilled from a tree in Arabia.
Frankincense was a priceless gift
for Kings and symbolized prayer. It
was burned in temples to honor God.
Gaspar is said to have also brought
many other fine gifts for the
Christ Child. It is said that Gaspar traveled the
furthest.

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