For me, this day has a relation to my search for ancestors. I was raised in my maternal grandparent's home. This grandfather immigrated from Tras-os-Montes on the continent of Portugal. He could neither read nor write. We always celebrated his birthday on December 26th. He thought he had been born on Dec. 26, 1875. When I visited the archive in Braganca, I found that he had been born the day after Christmas, as he and we thought. The difference was that he was born on Jan. 7, 1876. Obviously we did not know that in his part of the word, Christmas was celebrated in a different month, day and in his case, year. The more I know of customs and history, the easier it is to continue the search for ancestors. Celeste, Hayward, CA
Celeste Perry [email protected] --- On Thu, 1/6/11, Sam Koester <[email protected]> wrote: From: Sam Koester <[email protected]> Subject: RE: [AZORES-Genealogy] Dia dos Reis Magos To: [email protected] Date: Thursday, January 6, 2011, 8:57 AM George, I want to thank you for sharing this information. I am currently living in Mazatlan and learning the Mexican traditions and the one you speak of is definitely practiced here though it had not been explained so fully to me before this. I was brought up in the Catholic faith and am full blooded Azorean though 2nd generation American. I had never before heard of this celebration on the 6th of January nor of the cake, etc. It is interesting learning how others celebrate/memorialize the events surrounding the birth of Christ. BTW, I tasted a sample of this cake in the local grocery store and it was delicious! Thanks again for sharing, Sam in Maz -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of George Pacheco Sent: Thursday, January 06, 2011 7:51 AM To: Azores-Gen Subject: [AZORES-Genealogy] Dia dos Reis Magos Hello everyone I want to wish everyone a wonderful - Day of The Three Kings - Dia dos Reis Magos. It is a day that is celebrated in all Portuguese and Spanish speaking countries. It is the celebration of the end of the Christmas season and in some countries, this day has a greater importance then Christmas. ------------------------ During the era of the kings of France, bread was filled with a lima bean, and the person who found it in his bread would receive the gift that His Highness had prepared for the event. The idea was to place a lima bean in the bread dough, which was usually filled with fruits like dates and raisins, and this bread was shared around the time of the New Year festivities. The tradition changed a bit when it arrived to the Americas, transforming itself according to the customs and resources of our country, where it eventually became the rosca. Here the rosca is decorated with pieces of orange and lime, and is filled with nuts, figs, and cherries. Hot chocolate accompanies the rosca. So every year, on January 6, families all across Mexico gather around their tables to share the rosca de reyes. And now, instead of finding a lima bean in the bread, a little plastic doll representing Jesus is placed in the bread. The person who receives a piece of bread with this doll inside has to make the tamales used in the fiesta de la Candelaria on February 2. This celebration is the last of the Christmas festivities, 40 days after Jesus's birth. According to the story, the three Wise Men (called in that time "magicians", although they were actually astronomers) saw from the far east the birth of a star over the town of Bethlehem, and they discovered the meaning behind the star: a savior had been born. They traveled to Bethlehem, and along the way they found the King Herod, whom they told of the birth of the new King. Herod ordered them to find the baby and return to give the news of the place where the little Messiah had been born. The three wise men found the baby in a manger, adored by shapers, and they offered him three gifts: gold, which represented the spiritual wealth of the child; frankincense, which signifies the earth and the sky; and Myrrh, the oil which was used for medicinal as well as spiritual purposes. Upon their return, an angel warned them that they should not tell King Herod about the birth of Jesus because his plan was to kill the baby. So the three wise men returned by way of a different path to their homeland. So every year we celebrate the Epifanía (manifestation) of God on earth to the Reyes Magos...who were neither kings nor magicians. -- http://www.geocities.com/bretanha1954/ -- To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. Follow the confirmation directions when they arrive. For more options, such as changing to List, Digest, Abridged, or No Mail (vacation) mode, log into your Google account and visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/Azores. Click in the blue area on the right that says "Join this group" and it will take you to "Edit my membership." -- To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. Follow the confirmation directions when they arrive. For more options, such as changing to List, Digest, Abridged, or No Mail (vacation) mode, log into your Google account and visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/Azores. Click in the blue area on the right that says "Join this group" and it will take you to "Edit my membership." -- To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. Follow the confirmation directions when they arrive. For more options, such as changing to List, Digest, Abridged, or No Mail (vacation) mode, log into your Google account and visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/Azores. Click in the blue area on the right that says "Join this group" and it will take you to "Edit my membership."
