The Christmas season feels like it last a little longer in the Latino culture. While we have included the story of the magi every year during our worship, this is the first year that we made it a special day. We included many of the traditions of a typical Tres Reyes Magos celebration you would see in many Spanish speaking countries. The magi arrived during the children’s sermon with their camels. Since we had traditional music from Mexico and Central America provided by the mariachi band for Las Posadas, we wanted to honor some of our other families’ culture for this festival day with special music from Puerto Rico and Columbia from the group Cache MKE for both worship and fellowship. We shared a potluck lunch following worship. At the lunch, we had the traditional rosca de reyes for dessert. A rosca is a sweet bread intended to symbolize the crown of the three kings. Inside the bread is hidden a tiny baby Jesus (or two or three). If your slice of the dessert contains a baby Jesus, the tradition is that you need to provide the tamales for the next big gathering. Since this is often the day gifts are exchanged in Latino families, we adapted that tradition by having a white elephant gift exchange at the end of the meal. It is our way of remembering the gifts that the magi brought to Jesus.

Remembering the gifts that the magi brought to Jesus is a good way to finish the Christmas season. As we go into the next seasons of the liturgical year, we ask ourselves, what is our gift to Jesus that we keep giving all year long? For me, my gifts this year will be to strive to love my neighbor as myself, to seek justice, and to share the Good News of God’s love and forgiveness for us all. What will your gift be this year?

 Edwin Aparicio, Pastoral Intern