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| Three Kings paying homage to the Baby Jesus in Mary’s Arm |
We arrived in San Juan in the morning of Epiphany, which is the Christian celebration of the Three Kings coming to pay homage to the birth of Jesus. According to our tour guide, children leave a small pail of grass out for the King’s camels. And this is the day the Puerto Rican children receive their Christmas presents. It is a festive holiday for the locals, and then you add 4 cruise ships and the population soars.
We headed off to St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church for morning mass. Of course, it was in Spanish, but since the Mass is the same all around the world, it is possible to follow along anyway. The church was small, and the people were friendly and joyous in their celebration of the Mass. They had one guitar player, but many songs were sung a cappella. The homily is the one part where if you don’t know the language you have no idea of what is being discussed. During the sermon, the priest kept asking the congregation questions or asking them to repeat things. At one point, he had them saying the same thing multiple times – louder and louder – and then he must have asked them to repeat it to each other. The woman seated next to me turned to me and said something. It was clear I had no idea what she was saying. She and the woman behind her discussed the problem and then translated. Everyone was supposed to say “I am a child of God” and then “We are children of God.” After that, everyone around us used English when giving the “Peace of Christ” and other community responses. At the end of Mass, everyone streamed forward to give homage to the baby Jesus.
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| Statue of Baby Jesus |
Following that Mass, we walked through Old San Juan and over to the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist. Everywhere were displays of the three Kings – from simple window clings to elaborate statues. Even City Hall had a large exhibit on the upper balcony. The City Hall display was unique in that the Kings brought music instead of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
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| Three Kings at City Hall |
When we arrived at St. John’s Mass was going on with the main doors wide open to the street, so even those passing by could hear and see. At the end of that Mass, three men in king costumes carried up the traditional gifts to the altar.
