By Tim Reaves
BCS Communications Department
Ms. Sandra Medellin’s West Buncombe Elementary class got a kingly portion of cultural learning and holiday fun this year!
Last week, the Dual Language Spanish Immersion kindergarteners celebrated the Mexican holiday “Día de los Tres Reyes Magos” (Three Kings’ Day) with traditional Rosca de Reyes (King’s Cake) and a day of literacy, storytelling, and surprise gifts.
Known as Epiphany elsewhere, Día de Reyes is a culturally Christian holiday that celebrates the visit of the three wise men – Melchior, Gaspar, and Baltasar – to the baby Jesus, to whom they brought gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. For many families, it’s like a second Christmas. Children write letters to the three wise men telling them how good they’ve been and asking for gifts in return. Kids place their letters in shoes and leave out water, milk, and sweets for the wise men. Families also hide a plastic “baby” doll in a wreath-shaped Rosca de Reyes cake, and whoever gets the baby in their slice has to invite the rest of the partygoers to eat tamales during Día de la Candelaria (Candlemas) on Feb. 2.
“My country has a lot of cultural history, and I am always so happy to share it with my community at school (students and parents),” Ms. Medellin said. “I think this is a very interesting tradition passed from generation to generation, and particularly it is very exciting for children. For us Mexicans, families are very important, and that is why we celebrate with all the family.”
In Ms. Medellin’s class, the kindergarteners left shoes overnight on Jan. 5 and returned Jan. 6 to find them filled with dolls, toy trucks, colored pencils, and candy bars. There was a message on the board with very fancy handwriting congratulating the children on learning to read in Spanish and learning to count to 50 in Spanish. The message was signed “The Three Wise Men.”