Families observe Three Kings Day today at OCCHA

YOUNGSTOWN

One by one, children came forward Saturday afternoon to receive a gift from a king.

It was the annual observance of Three Kings Day at the Organizacion Civica y Cultural Hispana Americana hall, 3660 Shirley Road, at Midlothian Boulevard. In the HIspanic community, Three Kings Day is Jan. 6, 12 days after Christmas, to mark the end of the holiday season.

“We emphasize sharing and giving,” said Mary Lou Reyes, OCCHA executive director. “Locally, OCCHA has been doing this for the past 45 years.”

Reyes said when she was a child, Three Kings Day was marked by a parade, with participants walking door-to-door through their neighborhoods singing traditional Hispanic Christmas songs.

“I don’t really know when or why that stopped happening,” she said, noting that the local event has grown steadily over the years. The first year, only about 25 kids took part, while some 150 children and their families participated Saturday. Kids through age 12 were eligible to receive gifts.

Three Kings Day commemorates the arrival of the magi, or the Wise Men, who brought gifts to the Christ Child.

Read more about today's event in Sunday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.