Día de los Reyes

A child sets a handful of grass in a box under their bed, dreams of golden stars, and awakens to a gift and beautiful bread.

It is five days after the New Year celebration. The child, still immersed in holiday glimmer, sets dry grass beneath her bed. Her scraped child palms hold her up as she checks one last time that she did, in fact, set the treat in place for the beloved, mystical horses to arrive.

The rooster crows and awakens the neighborhood, though all the children have already been wiggling their toes, itching for bare feet on wooden floors, palms again supporting their eager glimpses under the bed.

The grass has been replaced with a gift or two. Rather than a paper wrapping to conceal its’ presence, the bed itself is the only barrier between the child and her magical discovery.

The child’s bare knees skid the wood as she hastily gets up to follow the trail of coffee and her cats meowing. On the short walk from her bedroom to the living room, she wonders, “If the Three Kings brought Baby Jesus gifts, why have they chosen to gift me, too?”. The question warms her heart, and she shows her simple gifts to her mom.

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Tres Reyes is a humble tradition I have only ever celebrated with my Puerto Rican side, though it is a widely celebrated tradition among Hispanics. This holiday has always been something quiet, something casual for us, but something deeply special. Tres Reyes is another gentle reminder of what I understand to be my version of Catholicism; the cultural kind, the appreciative-of-the-art-and-the-antiquity kind, and I really enjoy that.

One of my favorite Catholic images is the depiction of Baby Jesus in the manger. This year, I bought my own miniature version since I live on my own now, and I stared at it while I tried to decipher exactly what it is that is so sweet to me. I realize it the basic humbleness of the entire thing. It reminds me of the farm my grandma grew up in in Puerto Rico, imagining her running through the grass in her colored stockings she was known for. It reminds me of being at the farm with my parents and cousins, sitting on grass and watching the horses.

Today I will say a little prayer and go to sleep with my little dog and thank you for reading this simple post. I will be closing it off with a photo of the traditional bread/cake that is served today. It’s very good, and there are small baby Jesus dolls on the inside that you may get with your slice.