Many Catholic Latinos will celebrate el Día de Reyes Tuesday to commemorate the three kings arriving to find baby Jesus after his birth.
Communities across the United States and Latin America will gather and eat Rosca de Reyes — a traditional, crown-shaped sweet bread also known as king’s cake — to celebrate. Local Tulsa bakeries, including Pancho Anaya and Luchador Coffee, accepted pre-orders for Rosca de Reyes and will sell varieties throughout the holiday.
Día de Reyes, also referred to as Día de Rosca, has connections to the Christian faith. It is known in English as Three Kings Day and Epiphany.
The celebration honors Los Reyes Magos, or the Three Wise Kings: Balthazar, Melchior and Gaspar, who rode their camels and followed a star to find Jesus. Each king brought baby Jesus a different gift, including gold, frankincense (incense) and myrrh (a tree gum resin).
Similar to Santa, children will typically receive gifts from the three kings and will sometimes place offerings for them.
The celebration lands on Jan. 6 because of the 12-day journey after Christmas, or the birth of Jesus.
The Rosca de Reyes is decorated in dried fruit to symbolize the kings’ jewels, with a small plastic baby figurine hidden in the bread. The babies symbolize the kings’ hiding Jesus from King Herod I.
Families will cut the bread. If a member of the family finds the baby, they would be responsible for cooking tamales for the family on Feb. 2. The date signifies Candlemas — the presentation of Jesus at the temple.
This article was produced as part of a partnership between the Tulsa Flyer and La Semana, a Tulsa-based bilingual Spanish-English newspaper serving Latino communities in Oklahoma.
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