BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — Three Kings Day or Día De Reyes is a Christian Catholic feast Day often associated with a special kind of bread called 'Rosca'
- Three Kings Day is celebrated with unique traditions.
- One of the main traditions involves sharing a Rosca de Reyes, a special type of bread.
- People often gather with family and friends to enjoy the Rosca.
- Inside the Rosca, there are small figurines that symbolize baby Jesus.
- Finding a figurine means the finder has to host a party on February 2nd, Día de la Candelaria.
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BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Three Kings Day or Dia De Reyes is a Christian Catholic feast day. On this day, families gather to eat sweet bread called 'Rosca,' with an interesting surprise.
Día de los Reyes is a centuries-old tradition that is still observed to this day among Hispanic families in Kern County.
"Me and my sister just started. We wanted something different for our family, so it’s been around for two years—we’re learning. Our tias [aunts] were like ‘No, you guys do it now,’ now we’re the tias," said Brandie Hernandez a customer at Los Reyes Market in Bakersfield, one of many Hispanic stores that start prepping for the religious holiday days in advance.
"For today alone we’ve made about 500 roscas," said General Manager Francisco Huerta. "But we’ve been making them the entire week. We made approximately 2,000 roscas in total."
The rosca is a sweet bread associated with the holiday, celebrated on January 6th, that commemorates the day the three wise men—Melchior, Gaspar, and Balthazar—visited baby Jesus.
"We started celebrating since yesterday. The kids left a shoe out overnight so that they could wake up to a gift from the wise men in them," explained customer Gabriela Gonzalez.
Then on the 6th, Hispanic families gather to cut the rosca, typically topped with candies that resemble gifts the wise men delivered to baby Jesus. Hidden in the bread, families can find scattered babies.
"In that time, they were looking for all the kids under the age of three to assassinate them. Since they knew God had been born, they wanted to get rid of all the kids. That’s why we see the babies are hidden in the bread," said Huerta.
Anyone cutting a slice of Rosca might get one of the babies, which Huerta says is considered to be a blessing. But some may think otherwise as it can also mean they’re responsible for throwing a party in February.
"This year, I’m excited to get it because I have a new recipe, but usually I try to avoid it," said Hernandez.
El Día de la Candelaria, or Candlemas, is celebrated on February 2nd. It is a time when families say those who get the baby make a special dinner.
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