Continuing the Christmas season

Austin families keep Epiphany tradition

By Eileen E. Flynn

AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF

Monday, January 6, 2003

It can be a challenge to keep the holiday spirit going when trees are kicked to the curb, decorations are stored away and "Merry Christmas" greetings are dropped after Dec. 25.

But Adriana Trujeque is determined to continue the celebration. "Christmas," she stresses, "is not over."

Trujeque, who moved here from Mexico four years ago, is one of many Austin Hispanics making an effort to keep the traditions of her native country alive in the United States.

One of the most important holiday rituals, she said, is today's observance of Día de los Reyes, or the Feast of the Three Kings. It is also known as the Epiphany, the 12th day after Christmas, commemorating the story of the Magi, three kings named Caspar, Balthazar and Melchior who traveled to Bethlehem bearing gifts to Jesus.

For Mexicans and other Hispanics, Día de los Reyes is an even more festive day than Dec. 25, marking a celebratory season that culminates with Día de la Candelaria, or Candlemas, on Feb. 2. That date marks the purification of the Virgin Mary 40 days after she gave birth.

At the center of the Jan. 6 holiday are presents for children (brought by the three kings rather than Santa Claus) and rosca de reyes, ring-shaped bread inside which a plastic baby doll is baked. According to Mexican custom, the person who finds the doll is expected to be the host of a party on Feb. 2.

"A lot of people don't even know what is this all about," Trujeque said. "Here, the most significant dates are Thanksgiving and Christmas."

To help immigrants preserve their culture, local churches and religious leaders are holding events that embrace Mexican Christmas traditions. On Sunday evening, Cristo Rey Catholic Church in East Austin held an Epiphany party. Parishioners watched a re-enactment of the story of the Magi and shared rosca de reyes.

The Austin Catholic Diocese's Office of Hispanic Ministry has arranged for Martín Valverde, a Christian singer, to perform at Burger Center next Sunday, which marks the end of the Christmas season on the church calendar.

Brother Angel Del Rio, who works for the diocese, said the concert will be a means to unite Texas Hispanics as well as a nod to a community that is still celebrating Christmas, especially those who are separated from their families.

Del Rio, a native of Puerto Rico, has fond childhood memories of this time of year, when he would leave boxes of grass outside the door for the kings' camels before he went to bed on Jan. 5.

"Most places in Latin America, Christmas Day is really on the sixth of January, (when) people exchange presents," Del Rio said. "It's a very important feast for Hispanics."

Eastern Orthodox Christians also place greater emphasis on the Epiphany, which they call Theophany. Some French Catholics still make a pastry, called galette des rois, and whoever discovers the bean baked inside is named king or queen for the day. Polish families brought to the United States their own Epiphany traditions, which often involved writing K+M+B (the three kings' names in Polish: Kacper, Melchior and Baltazar) above their doors in chalk.

Miguel Ceballos said he realizes that immigrant customs tend to fade over time. He knows many Mexican American families who no longer celebrate Día de los Reyes.

"They just do the Santa Claus thing, and that's it," he said.

Ceballos has lived in the United States for 15 years and is eager to pass down the Epiphany tradition to his 1 1/2-year-old daughter and future children.

"As long as I'm still around, I'll push them to do it," he said.

For Benito Escobedo, who came to Texas with his parents and six siblings in 1971, celebrating Jan. 6 was simply not financially possible. The tradition never caught on in his family.

"The reyes magos celebration is more of a gift-giving (holiday)," he said. "Now that I'm a parent myself, I understand why my parents shied away from it, because we didn't have any money."

Escobedo, now with seven children of his own, said it's hard enough to buy presents for the family on Christmas, never mind providing additional gifts 12 days later.

A devout Catholic, Escobedo keeps Día de los Reyes strictly spiritual.

"I read to my children from the Bible about where we get the Epiphany," he said.

eflynn@statesman.com; 445-3812