Celebrate the wise men the night of January 5 and opening gifts the next day is a tradition that began in Spain in the 19th century, but more than a custom for children, it has always been a magical and fun moment that begins the night they leave letters. , sweets and other gifts to the Kings and their camels and culminates with the morning in which they discover the surprises that Melchor, Gaspar and Baltasar have left them under the tree of Christmas. Even so, this experience has been altered due to the law 139-97 on the holidays days that coincide with Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays and the obligation to transfer the celebration to the Monday after the original date. Due to this, this time the Day of the Holy Kings will be celebrated on Monday, January 10 instead of the one that corresponds to it: Thursday, January 6. The question now is: how can these changes affect children who look forward to celebrating the arrival of the wise men?
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“Saints Day wise men It is a tradition of Christmas whose origin dates back to the New Testament. It is the night of January 5 to 6 when the wise men from the East to celebrate the birth of the baby Jesus with their gifts and thus appreciate the importance of playing for children ”, explains Erika Idalia Pacheco, clinical psychologist and family therapist. “This is important because it not only provides self-confidence, but this action gives pleasure and satisfaction to the person who performs it. Playing allows the child to develop psychological, physical and social aspects while experiencing their emotions and expressing their feelings. Over time, play allows children to develop their imagination, explore their environment, express their vision of the world, and develop their creativity and social-emotional skills ”.
“From my perspective, the day of wise men symbolically it fulfills various functions in favor of children and families ”, comments Soeli Pérez, clinical psychologist and family therapist. “It promotes the enjoyment of childhood and the innocence of it. Waiting for the arrival of that day fills them with enthusiasm and they feel good to receive a present. Adults also keep this date like Christmas Eve dinner, and among families it is common to hear ‘the Kings left you something with your uncles or your godmother’. There is a family union in this tradition that in turn keeps part of our culture alive ”.
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The change of this date can cause confusion in the little ones and can also be a great inconvenience for adults who want to celebrate the Day of the Kings on the same January 6, since they are forced to fulfill their work responsibilities and cannot share with their respective families.
“Changing the date of the day of the Holy Kings can have some emotional and psychological impact for children since it is like stealing the illusion and fantasy of the little ones, since on these dates they are waiting for their gifts,” says Pacheco . “Sometimes they express despair and anxiety while waiting for these toys. However, there are people of older generations who in one way or another celebrate this tradition on the 6th with the purchase and delivery of these gifts to fulfill the culture they have learned. Thus they give an illusion and a smile that fills this day with satisfaction not only to the child who receives the gift, but also to that inner child that this adult has, thus reminding him of that childhood and tradition that he has preserved from one generation to another ”.
However, moving the date of this celebration by several days does not have a negative impact in all cases. There are families who do their best to adapt to this situation and try to maintain the festive spirit of the date so as not to affect the experience of the little ones.
“The change of date does not usually impact children because for them the value of the date is to find the gifts that ‘the Kings left when they passed by home’ and share with their families, not necessarily that it is celebrated by date,” says Pérez .
Source-www.diariolibre.com