For a quick primer on this tradition, check out Smithsonian Folkways’ recording of a series of villancicos featuring a 17-girl choir at the Bella Vista Children’s Home in Panama City, Panama. Classic villancicos – One of the most fun ways to add a little Latin America twist to your own holiday seasons is to learn a few Mexican Christmas carols, known as villancicos.The events are often accompanied by the singing of classic carols (called villancicos) traditional Mexican Christmas decorations called luces de Belen or “Bethlehem lights” and star-shaped piñatas filled with candy. If you’re traveling in Mexico during the holidays you will discover an array of biblical re-enactments of Mary and Joseph seeking shelter. This is a big time in Mexican neighborhoods. The nine-day event symbolizes the nine-month pregnancy of Mary, the mother of Jesus. Las Posadas (which translates to “lodgings” or “shelter”) is a holiday celebration that takes place from December 16-25. In Mexico (and much of Latin America), it’s a little bit different. This blog post was written by Dianne while she was a blogger for Jersey Family Fun.What are the traditions in Mexico for Christmas? Well, you’ve probably heard of the 12 days of Christmas between December 25 and January 6. Do you have any special ways you celebrate Three Kings’ Day? We’d love to hear it in the comments below. Los Tres Reyes (Three Kings’ Day) is a fun holiday and one I plan to continue celebrating each year so my kids can create their own memories and embrace this Latino tradition. The next morning, January 6, your child wakes to find the gift and candy that the Three Kings left for them.During the night, once your child is asleep, throw out the grass and replace it with candy (the box is basically like a stocking.) Place a gift next to it.Before bed, the box is slipped under the child’s bed or alongside it if there is no space below it.This falls under the same vain as setting out milk & cookies for Santa or carrots for his reindeer. The night before you celebrate Three Kings’ Day, on La Vispera de Reyes – have the child collect grass and put it in the box.It’s a nice craft activity to do on January 5 th to celebrate Three Kings’ Day with the kids in anticipation of the day. Each child needs a small box (generally a shoe box) which could be decorated as they choose.How to Celebrate Three Kings’ Day (El Día de los Tres Reyes Magos) It’s a great way to really explain to kids the 12 days of Christmas and keep the spirit of the Holidays going well into the New Year. In some household these gifts are just candy or something small, in others the larger and more popular gifts are reserved for this day (and with good reason – parents can purchase gifts in the lucrative after-Christmas sales!) So maybe you want to add this celebration to your traditions. Children receive presents on the 25th, but for those who celebrate it there are gifts reserved for Three Kings Day. Good kids were rewarded with presents and candy, while bad kids ended up with dirt. The night before, kids would gather grass, hay or straw in shoe-boxes for the Magi’s camels or horses. Traditionally, this was the date of gift exchange rather then Christmas Day. But in Spanish culture, Three Kings Day, or the Epiphany, is one of the most important holidays on the calendar. Most know the story of the Three Kings following a bright star in the western sky carrying gifts to the newborn king. Three Kings Day, or Dia de los Reyes Magos! I’m Puerto Rican/Spaniard by nationality and in my house, as in many other Spanish and Latin American households, Christmas culminates 12 days after in the most important of holidays. Decorations are already coming down and trees once bright with lights and ornaments sit sadly on curbsides for garbage pick up.īut for many of us, December 25 th is just the beginning. I keep hearing from people how Christmas if over.
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