• Submitted by: admin
• 01 / 07 / 2007

In a two-page article, the Communist Party's Juventud Rebelde newspaper reported on the revival in Cuba of the Jan. 6 "Three Kings Day," a Latin American tradition of gift-giving for children that commemorates the arrival of three wise men who, according to the Bible, offered the newborn Jesus gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.

"A tradition that seemed extinct in Cuban society rises again," the state-run newspaper said. "Although no one sees celebrating the millennial festivity of the Three Kings as heresy, the danger could be in (the holiday) accentuating consumerist habits and social differences."

Christmas is a low-key affair on the communist-run island, where the adoption of official atheism in 1962 led leaders to discourage religious celebrations.

Cubans weren't given a day off for Christmas between 1969 and 1997, when the holiday was restored ahead of a historic visit by Pope John Paul II in 1998 and as restrictions on religion were eased.

Even so state-run department stores offer no special promotions or sales on toys this time of year.

Those interviewed for the Juventud Rebelde article attributed the increase of gift-giving in Cuba to the influence of globalization and visits by Cuban-Americans and others living abroad.

"During these days, one can hardly move around the toy department of stores" in Havana, the article said.

The newspaper published photographs of shoppers holding several bags and children playing with toys. Raisa Vazquez, a manager of Havana's La Epoca department store, was quoted as saying toy sales were the highest this year since the store reopened in 1998.

"The enormous demand has forced us to spread out the toys to other departments, like the hardware section or the area with school supplies, so that the customer doesn't have to wait in such an immense line," Vazquez told the newspaper.

No specific sales numbers were reported.

Some of those interviewed by Juventud Rebelde expressed disdain for the resurgence of the holiday, calling it "a tradition of capitalist countries" and saying that children should be given presents for good behavior and academic performance rather than for religious or cultural reasons.

University professors warned that universal gift-giving can highlight economic differences and make some children feel bad.

"What should worry us is the social connotation that this could have, making it an objective of families to buy the most ostentatious gift," Teresa Munoz, a sociology professor at the University of Havana, told the newspaper. "The solution is not to prohibit (the celebration) but rather to be conscientious of the consequences we could face creating consumerist habits that deform little ones and make them feel superior to their companions."

The Three Kings Day tradition comes from Spain and was so ingrained in Cuba that the rebels led by Castro in the 1950s gave toys on the holiday to children in the mountains where they were fighting the Cuban revolution.

On Monday, the office of Havana's city historian will distribute 100,000 toys to children at schools in Old Havana, celebrating not only the holiday but also to honor Castro's Jan. 8 entrance into Havana after the triumph of his revolution.

Source: Interntional Herald Tribune