Opinion: Why so many families look forward to rosca de Reyes each year

Franco-Hoffman is a marketing director. She lives in Rancho Peñasquitos.

I remember the many gatherings my mom used to host at my parents’ home in Mexico, but one in particular I cherish the most — the rosca de Reyes celebration. Growing up in a Catholic household, our family celebrated the arrival of the Reyes Magos (Three Kings) to see baby Jesus on the evening of Jan. 6

The rosca de Reyes is a sweet bread that our family used to share with our friends and family on this special evening allowing us to gather to celebrate our tradition, friendship and culture. Along with enjoying a delicious sweet bread, we always anticipated who would be the “lucky” ones to get baby Jesus in their rosca as Mexican bakeries usually add at least three plastic baby Jesus figurines baked into the bread. At our gatherings, those who get one of the babies would be required to host a party (first baby to be found), pay for the food (second baby) or pay for all drinks (third baby). Our family hosted this every year with the idea of planning la Fiesta de la Candelaria on Feb. 2. The idea was to distribute the responsibilities of hosting an event among our family, friends and neighbors.

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As a little kid, I always wondered why this event was so highly anticipated and well-attended. We all ran the risk of having to pay for the food or drinks or having to host the party costing some serious money. Our gatherings were always filled with most of our neighbors and family. It was a lot of fun to see who would get the babies, and, while some were afraid, everyone would get a piece of the rosca to enjoy. We’d eat the bread with hot chocolate made with the Mexican brand Abuelita chocolate. These Mexican chocolate bars are made with strong cocoa flavors and cinnamon, and just thinking of this brings tons of beautiful memories to mind and I can almost taste the chocolate caliente!

As a parent, I’d like to pass on to my children my cultural traditions. I believe this will provide them with sweet and long-lasting memories about their childhood and Mexican heritage and, hopefully one day they will do the same with their own children. So I have hosted the rosca de Reyes at my home and my office to share this tradition with friends, neighbors and colleagues. My neighborhood is pretty diverse, something that I love. We have neighbors from different parts of the world — Poland, India, the Philippines, China and the Middle East — and I enjoy sharing with them my traditions and getting to know theirs as well. They have visited my home to celebrate rosca de Reyes, and they have shared how they enjoyed the sweet bread and hot cocoa and learning something about Mexico, my family and our traditions.

Luckily, my husband also enjoys learning about my family traditions, our culture and our heritage and is very appreciative of me teaching our kids about Mexican traditions. He believes our kids will do better in life if they understand their customs and are curious about other cultures. He believes that understanding and appreciating your own culture as a kid supports understanding the value of diversity in life and the work environment. One day, our children will need to interact with colleagues from other cultural backgrounds, possibly in other languages, and we hope we’re preparing them for this amazing opportunity. My husband’s heritage includes Polish, British and German roots. He values learning about other cultures and working with people from around the world. Some of his colleagues are from China and India, and he cherishes their contributions and friendship.

The sweetest part of this is that I’m now being invited to different cultural celebrations hosted by my friends and neighbors. I recently attended my first celebration for Diwali, known as the festival of lights. The holiday originated in India and lasts for five days, taking place at the end of the last month of the Hindu lunar calendar. I loved learning about the celebration, eating the delicious food, seeing my friend dressed in her beautiful cultural attire and spending time with my neighbors and her family and friends.