Syria Edition
Dia de Reyes leads today's complete edition for Syria.
Daily Edition
Official observances, world days, local context, and everyday celebrations for people who need something worth reading, sharing, or talking about today.
Kids leave their shoes out the night before and wake up hoping for a gift from the Reyes Magos. The panaderias sell roscon de reyes, the ring-shaped sweet bread with a plastic baby hidden inside. Whoever finds the baby hosts the next gathering, though everyone forgets by February.
The Syrian Christian community : one of the oldest in the world : celebrates Epiphany with the Blessing of the Waters. In the ancient churches of Damascus, Aleppo, and Homs, the priest throws a cross into a basin of water and the faithful dive to retrieve it. The Malankara and Greek Orthodox communities observe the day with liturgies that date back to the earliest centuries of Christianity. In Maaloula, where Aramaic is still spoken, the service includes prayers in the language of Christ.