By: Sergio Cruz
Guided by a brilliant star, the Three Kings of the East, regally attired and mounted on a camel, a horse and an elephant, set out on their journey to adore the Child Jesus. They came from various parts of the world: one was black, another white, and the third with Arab features. They loaded gifts for the newborn: gold for being king, myrrh for being a man, and incense for being God, which they extended before the Redeemer. The Kings symbolize the first gentile converts to Christianity.
The celebration of January 6 dates back to the first years of evangelization in the New World and continues to this day. According to the Mexican tradition, they are the ones who bring gifts to the children.
The custom is that the little ones laboriously write a letter beforehand to ask Melchor, Gaspar and Baltazar for the toys they would like to receive. On the eve of the festival (January 6) they leave their shoes by the window with a little bit of straw to feed the animals that they would bring to the Holy Kings (also known in this way in Mexico).
The next morning, the straw disappears, instead the shoes are filled with the amount of toys. Full of curiosity, the boys get up very early to enjoy the surprise of the gifts.
However, such a beautiful tradition is being lost in contemporary Mexico. Many times, gifts are only given on Christmas Eve and no longer on January 6th. In addition, the desires of the little ones have also changed: today they ask for expensive gifts related to technology, while the traditional toys -mostly made of wood- are no longer to the taste of children, as they were of their parents and grandparents.Yet through it all, traditional Mexican toys refuse to be replaced and thankfully continue to be made pretty much all over the country. The state of Guanajuato is especially rich in variety and inventiveness. Its artisans are always thinking of producing true works of art. For this reason, it is important to teach children to value the toys that our artisans make with so much work and love.
