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Families gather at annual Three Kings Day celebration
Families gather at annual celebration
By Bob Jackson
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, as related in the Bible. Tradition says their names were Balthazar, Gaspar and Melchior.
Sheila Santiago, 30, of Youngstown, attended Saturday with her five children, age 3 to 11. For her, Three Kings Day is an important part of honoring her Hispanic heritage and instilling that same pride in her children.
“It’s not just about the gifts,” Santiago said. “It’s about all of us being together and celebrating the Three Kings.”
Sponsors of Saturday’s festivities were the Community Foundation of the Mahoning Valley, the Latin-American Motorcycle Association and the Tianos Motorcycle Club.
“Our club is all about culture and community,” said Manny Gonvalves, business manager of the TMC, noting that the club has members of Hispanic, Portuguese, German, French, Italian and African-American backgrounds. The club has a universal emblem that adorns the back of their jackets, but the color schemes reflect each member’s ethnic heritage.
Goncalves said the club supports several projects to help those in need, especially children, such as a ministry aimed at providing Christmas gifts for children whose fathers are in prison.
“These are kids whose fathers are locked away,” he said. “They have no men in their life.”
Reyes said when OCCHA was founded locally in 1972, it served only people of Hispanic heritage, but it has expanded over the years and now offers assistance to anyone who needs it.
“We don’t care whether you’re black, white, purple, blue or whatever,” she said. “If you need a bag of groceries or [social] services, our doors are open to you.”
She also noted that the local Hispanic population has increased sharply since late 2017, with many families moving here from Puerto Rico in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, which devastated the island nation.