Linda, you are correct about the naming conventions during the time of baptism in years past. My Mom was born in November and baptized on January 6th. She was born Maria Cabral Andrade and when she was baptized on the 6th of January she became known as Maria dos Reis Cabral Andrade as was the custom of the time. January 6th was always more important than December 25 when I was growing up. All of my Azorean relatives celebrated it and the traditional Bolo Rei was part of the season much like sopas are at the festas. For most, Christmas is over by December 26 and life has resumed its normal activities. The Church, on the other hand, observes an Octave of Christmas until January 1 (after the Jewish practice of an 8 day celebration) and an extended Christmastime until January 6, the Feast of the Epiphany. (It is now celebrated on Sunday between January 2 and January 8.) The popular Christmas song, "The Twelve Days of Christmas," is rooted in festive celebration of Christmastime and a celebration of the Catholic faith, from a time in England and Ireland when Catholics had to disguise their Catholic beliefs.
The Epiphany is the high point of Christmas and the fulfillment of Advent. It is the ancient Feast of Christ the King. Its dignity in the liturgy is superior to that of Christmas. Because the feast commemorates the baptism of Jesus, its vigil has long been a day for solemn Baptism. In the present division of the Church year, the baptism of our Lord in the Jordan is commemorated on the octave day of the Epiphany. Its primary significance is the closing of the Christmas season with the celebration of the visit of the Magi to the manger (Matthew 2:1-12). TUESDAY brought Twelfth Night, a rich part of Christmas traditions that the majority of Americans tend to downplay. For example, in 19th-Century America, fresh fruits were rare treats in the winter months and often were used to decorate homes for Christmas—then they were eagerly consumed as families reached Twelfth Night festivities and headed into Epiphany. Bolo Rei is a traditional Portugese pastry (http://www.gastronomias.com/index.html) enjoyed in this part of the season. Generally, a whole lot of Christmas merriment historically was focused on this eve of Epiphany. Wikipedia has good info about Bolo Rei. Jean Anderson (The Food of Portugal) also has a good explantion of Bolo Rei along with a recipe. The earliest reference to Epiphany as a Christian feast was in A.D. 361, by Ammianus Marcellinus[11] St. Epiphanius says that January 6 is hemera genethlion toutestin epiphanion (Christ's "Birthday; that is, His Epiphany"). Wikipedia has good details about Epiphany. THURSDAY, JANUARY 6: It’s the visitation of the Magi that most Christians recognize today, but the feast of Epiphany runs much, much deeper than that: Today, officially, is the high point that Christians have been waiting for throughout Advent and the Christmas season. (Read more at the Global Catholic Network.) This may not be stressed in many modern churchs, for example, but Christian tradition holds that the visit of the Magi represents the first non-Jewish worship of Jesus, revealing Jesus’ larger religious mission. The very word “Epiphany” translates from a Greek word meaning “appearance” or “manifestation”—and referring, of course, to the infant Jesus Christ. Customs abound on this important Christian holiday! In Russia and other primarily Orthodox Christian countries, priests place a cross in a body of water and perform the “Great Blessings of Waters,” and where Church waters are blessed, parishioners usually take the water home to bless their residences. In Western Christian regions, “king cakes” are often baked and eaten, and some devotees exchange gifts in representation of the Magi. (These remembrances haven’t disappeared from Western church, but they have evolved over the centuries—some American Protestant churches will remember baptism on Sunday, January 9, for example.) In parts of Europe, children walk door-to-door and sing songs to receive a coin or sweet at each home; in some areas, a puff pastry is baked with a bean inside, and the recipient of the bean is king or queen for the day (similarly to older Twelfth Night traditions). Puerto Rican children often place a box with hay beneath their beds, for the Magi’s camels, similarly to American children’s milk and cookies for Santa; and in Mexico, children often leave a letter near a pair of shoes for the Three Kings, hoping for new toys and treats. Americans love to have fun and a few events in the U.S. have become downright silly: In Colorado, there is a Great Fruitcake Toss on Epiphany! In Louisiana, the Carnival season begins and counts down to Mardi Gras. ________________________________ From: Linda Norton <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Thu, January 6, 2011 1:56:44 PM Subject: RE: [AZORES-Genealogy] Dia dos Reis Magos That's like my mother named Ines Estrella born January 21, 1926 and she had said they never registered birthdates immediately so because her name was Estrella and they named you after saints or feasts or around holidays, she always said she was born around little Christmas/three kings named from the star (estrella) they followed. I think if she was born around the 21st it would have been Candelaria which is part of that feast. I have many cousins who said what they had as birthdates were probably not accurate since registering/recording the time of birth was not something urgent. My aunt is Conceicao born Dec. 8 because of the Immaculate Conception as my grandmother born April 5 was Maria de Resurreicao named after the resurrection. Linda Borges Furtado Norton ________________________________ From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of celeste perry Sent: Thursday, January 06, 2011 4:06 PM To: [email protected] Subject: RE: [AZORES-Genealogy] Dia dos Reis Magos 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." -- 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."
