Skip to main content

The Three Wise Men ('Los Reyes Magos') and other Feliz Navidad thoughts



Let me wish all of the staff & readers ofAmerican Thinkera very "Feliz Navidad."

For many years, I did"father's duty" and put out the gifts after our boys had fallen asleep on Christmas Eve. They generally stayed up until the local station reported that Santa had crossed the border into Texas.

I would stay awake watching 'It's a Wonderful Life" or listening to the radio. My favorite was Radio Exterior, a Spanish short wave broadcast from Madrid that was already into Christmas Day programming because they were 7 hours ahead.

As we were opening gifts the next morning, and trying out the new baseball glove or Troy Aikman football, I would answer my sons' curiosity about my Christmas Day experiences. I would enjoy relating about my days in Cuba and how we got our gifts on January 6th rather than December 25th morning.

Pre-communist Cuba was one of the best places in the world to celebrate "Navidad" or Christmas. The holiday was eventually outlawed by the communist regime but families still celebrated it in private and behind closed doors.

Navidad in Cuba started around mid-December when the businesses scheduled their holiday parties and the schools closed. The towns were all dressed up for the holidays. Small and large communities were totally in the holiday mood. Merchants were appreciative of your business and loyalty.

My dad was a young banker and his clients would usually send us "turron" to eat, a delicious treat from old Spain.

Once in a while, one of my dad's clients would send a "pig" ready to be roasted. It washuge and always caught the attention of yours truly, a very curious kid back then!

We had the roasted pig on "Noche Buena" or the evening of December 24th. We had it with white rice, black beans, "yuca," avocado and my mom would always add her version of "flan," a favorite dessert.

After the meal, the family, and often lots of friends and relatives, would move to the living room.

My mom would bring my dad a little Cuban coffee and then he would light up a big cigar.

By 10 PM, all of the men were fed, smoking cigars and talking baseball. They were talking Minoso, Pascual and about those winter league teams. They also talked politics, especially as communism began strangling Cuba.

We ate too much and then it was off to church for the midnight mass. We walked to the parish, a good idea since we had very full stomachs and needed the exercise. (It was really at midnight back then)

On December 25th, we woke up late from the activities of the night before. As always, my mom made coffee for my dad and he was smoking another cigar.

My father's uncle (Tio Joaquin) and aunt (Tia Clara) would always have us come over to pick up Santa's gifts. My aunt had lived in the US and celebrated Santa Claus.

We were always happy to get gifts but did not understand how Santa Claus found time to visit Cuba after so much work in the US.

After December 25th, we got into "gifts or kid mode." They were the happiest 10 days of the year for Cuban kids.

We had all written letters to the "Los Reyes Magos" (Three Wise Men). Every kid has his favorite. My dad picked up our letters and promised to mail them. My mom took us to the park to take a picture with the wise men and their plastic camels.

One merchant had real camels and they were huge.

On January 6th, we woke up early and ran to a small Christmas tree. It was full of gifts left by 'Los Reyes Magos."

We noticed that the camels had eaten the grass and the Wise Men had enjoyed their coffee. We then would hear my grandmother talk about the wise men and how pleasant they were.

It was a wonderful memory. I have nothing against Santa Claus but memories of those "Reyes Magos" leaving us gifts are priceless.

I think about it every time that Christmas comes around.

FELIZ NAVIDAD!

P. S. You can hear CANTO TALK here & follow me on Twitter @ scantojr.

Source: http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2013/12/the_three_wise_men_los_reyes_magos_and_other_feliz_navidad_thoughts.html



Comments

Popular posts from this blog

LeBron James likes his battles with Kevin Durant

USA TODAY Sports' Sam Amick examines the top NBA story lines for the week. Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant (35) and Miami Heat forward LeBron James (6) will square off Wednesday in a battle of the top-two MVP candidates.(Photo: Mark D. Smith, USA TODAY Sports) Story Highlights LeBron James says Durant's recent performances are 'outstanding' Durant has 11 straight 30-point games James' skill set has led to four MVP awards SHARE 20 CONNECT EMAILMORE MIAMI Of all the places one might expect to find the headquarters of the Kevin Durant fan club, 601 Biscayne Blvd. is way down the list. The American Airlines Arena is LeBron James' domain, home to the Miami Heat's four-time MVP who will have a timely chance to defend his individual crown Wednesday when the Oklahoma City Thunder and their MVP frontunner come to town. But on the eve of this season's best superstar showdown yet, James sounded more like Durant's agent than his arch nemesi...

Low Cost PRICE DROP!! SPIRIT OF ST. LOUIS RYAN N.Y.P. NX-211 STEEL MONOPLANE 27" WING.

As a huge online store. You can take advantage of the Buy PRICE DROP!! SPIRIT OF ST. LOUIS RYAN N.Y.P. NX-211 STEEL MONOPLANE 27" WING. with Credit Card decent price and offers a quick and easy online purchproductIdg process. We guarantee your absolute satisfaction - 100% of the time. In addition, we have safe and secure purchproductIdg environment. What is The Best Price for PRICE DROP!! SPIRIT OF ST. LOUIS RYAN N.Y.P. NX-211 STEEL MONOPLANE 27" WING.? Our mission is to serve our customers needs by offering the widest and latest selection of premium quality product at low prices while providing excellent customer service. We are able to offer the Low Priced PRICE DROP!! SPIRIT OF ST. LOUIS RYAN N.Y.P. NX-211 STEEL MONOPLANE 27" WING. decent prices, quality, efficiency and superior customer service. The best Buying PRICE DROP!! SPIRIT OF ST. LOUIS RYAN N.Y.P. NX-211 STEEL MONOPLANE 27" WING. from Publishing house ,are high quality product. It could be a q...

WoolPets Foam Pad for Wool Needle Felting - Small - 6x6x2 in. Reviews

I had by no means used a felt pad before and purchased mainly due to friends exclaiming about how easy it is to use. I've alwasy used a soft mens brush! I am completely won over. The biggest plus is the foam keeps the fabric from shifting. I do find that the foam is a little bit more difficult to clean. It does aid tremendously by allowing me to pin the fabric to the foam and felt. - P George I place of safeguard't tried any additional felting pad, but this one facility splendid :) Makes for felting easier and it doesn't bend or mess the felting up. - Crystal This pad is passionate and call up water supply even including a manifold needle tool. Be attentive including the intention of the itinerant will stab in the foam and call for to be pulled made known by hand so road sign don't mixture. Basically owing to save pro adds a piece of calculate. My brush doesn't be inflicted including this come forth save pro isn't as steady a fiscal a...