Food

Today is Día de los Reyes Magos (Day of the Magi Kings) here in Mexico.  In Canada most people generally miss the significance of Epiphany, which is celebrated in many othere countries.  Mexico is rich with tradition on this day.

Boys and girls recently wrote thier letters to the Magi, asking for the gifts they wanted.  Those letters were tied to helium balloons (for sale everywhere) and sent up into the sky.  Last night, they were lying in bed wondering if the three kings were going to grant their wishes.

This morning, they no doubt found their new toys, probably on top of their shoes (I think the original tradition was in the shoes, but who’s satisfied with gifts that size these days, unless they’re iPods?).

This being Shari’s and my second Three Kings Day in Mexico, we took on some of the traditions.  We had a few gifts that we held back at Christmas for the kids.  Last night we got together with some friends (missionaries heading the Honduras from the States) and had the traditional rosca – a specially shaped cake like the one you see in the photo (courtesy of Christian Frausto Bernal).  Inside are tiny white dolls, representing baby Jesus.  The first person to get a doll has to host the next party, on February 2nd (Día de la Candelaria, Candlemas).  This year, I was the lucky one.  🙂

The Mexican traditions are a blend of many cultures.  The Rosca tradition comes from Spain.  The rest of the traditional meal shows a pre-Spanish heritage – hot chocolate (chocolate is from Mexico) and tamales (corn or maize being the staple of the new world).  There are also hints of both Christian and pagan beliefs in some traditions.

Around this time of year you can also get your picture taken with the 3 mystics.  We saw them in the mall in fabulous costumes, where I believe Santa was before Christmas.

(Note:  Yes, there’s a lot of extra or non-biblical tradition here.  In the Bible, these were Magi or “wise men”, not kings, and we don’t know how many there were or what their names were.  See 7 Things you might not have known about Christmas…)

You can read more about the Mexican traditions here:  ¡Ya Vienen Los Reyes Magos!

Below you can see all of us about to enjoy our rosca.  Now next year, remember: if you didn’t get everything you wanted for Christmas, ask the Magi – perhaps they’re still in a giving mood!

Hannah and Nathanael were pretty excited about the tamales. Little did they think about the inexperience of the cook – me. Yes, I attempted my first tamales ever yesterday – sweet tamales, to be exact.

There have been a lot of new experiences around here lately, more than just tamales. For one thing, Nathanael has discovered how easy it is to climb out of his crib – leading us to think about an emergency switch from crib to bed. Except … well, we don’t have a bed. Not for Nathanael. We’re raising money to buy him one in Mexico. In the mean time, it may be a mattress on the floor for our little crackerjack. As we sell our furniture and pack up our belongings, each of us will be experiencing more and more transitional experiences like this.

Tamales are steamed, and I don’t have a steamer. So they took a little improvising too – bits and pieces of this and that and *presto* – a small but functional steamer. The corn husks had been soaked, the batter made, and it was time for assembly.

Hannah helped me put in some raisins as we folded the tamales into the husks and tied them. They were put into the steamer, and they filled the kitchen with that Mexican smell while I worked on lunch.

There are lots of things to think about while you make lunch. If you can concentrate with the kids in the background. They’re doing well, but all this busy-ness and change is a challenge for them too. There’s been a lot of talk around here about Hannah’s schooling this fall in Mexico – how will it work? How do we prepare? What’s available? How will we pay for it? How far in advance should we plan?

Anyway, you’ll be glad to hear that in the end the tamales were a stunning success. Everyone enjoyed them, and I have plans for another batch. We were hoping they would be a celebration of Mexico’s win against Angola in the World Cup – a win that ended up being a tie. Ah well.

Tamales are not a lot of work if you know what you’re doing. Which I didn’t. But I know a lot more now. I found a recipe on the internet which I adapted a little – you can try it yourself – they’re sweet tamales with pineapple and raisins. Or you could invite yourself over to try mine. But remember – I’m still only a novice. Better to visit Mexico yourself. Hey, we should do that…