Three Kings Day

Three Kings Day or El Dia de Reyes is tomorrow, Monday, and without going into any religious significance .... for us it's just a day for cake, coffee, get together and fun. The fun comes from discovering who gets the plastic baby Jesus in their piece of cake. The person that finds a baby has to buy or make tamales for the next party. Actually there are usually more than one baby in the cake which spreads the responsibility.

 Rosca de Reyes or kings' ring

The cake we bought yesterday looks very similar to this but is still double wrapped to keep it fresh until tomorrow night.   Gonna have to make sure I have enough good coffee (no Nescafe) for some cake dunking.

Our Lady of Guadalupe

Guadalupe day, December 12, is Mexico’s most important religious holiday. On this day people from all over Mexico travel to the chapel Tepayac Hill in Mexico City, where the mother of Jesus is said to have appeared before an Indian peasant named Juan Diego back in 1531. Mary told Juan to go to the bishop and ask that a church be built on the hill so she could be close to her people. The bishop, needing proof of this vision, asked Juan to have a miracle performed by Mary. Juan returned to Tepayac Hill and found roses growing where there had only been cacti. Juan wrapped the roses in his tilma (cape) along with a picture of Mary to show the bishop. He was convinced and the chapel was built.

This hoilday has one of the longest celebrations, starting about a week before the 12th with cohetes (fireworks) early morning, evening and just about any time somebody feels like it. In Melaque there will be parades, school activities and feasting on the 12th.