JANUARY 6, TUESDAY

EPIPHANY IN SAN MIGUEL DE ALLENDE

I was struck as soon as I made a walk to the central square on our first day that most of the shops had elaborate Christmas decorations around their open doors that weren’t there when I came in the middle of January last year. Christmas was still in the air.

Martha mentioned that this was the last day that there would lighted strings of stars over the streets near the square. I learned later that this was the night the three wise men appeared from the East, the time when Christ’s presence was offered to the gentiles.

So at 8:30 p.m. Kristin, Ruth and I went to take a quick look at the stars strung up near the square, but found when we got there there was a huge hubbub and loud Christmas music in the square with the park benches full of people celebrating and a huge line of children and their parents snaking back and forth, politely with anticipation, as they waited to be given a gift given under a huge lighted Christmas tree. Kaitlin said the gift was from the church which was lighted and rising high above them. The gift was a large boxed doll, though with no one to explain it to us I don’t know if the boys got dolls or only little girls got a present. Off to the side were the three giant kings or wise men. Children stood in front of the wise men, gift in hand, and had their photo taken by proud parents.

The trees in the large square were decorated with thousands of white lights and in the center of the square where there is a state of General Allende, for whom the city is named, there was no sign of the general and instead a large lighted crèche with Mary and Joseph and the shepherds and the baby Jesus.

A quick look at the stars turned into a memorable evening and a reminder of how rich and joyful celebrations in Mexico can be, somehow making our more mechanical and commercial American Christmas celebrations seem shallow in comparison.