If this nation’s 50 million Latinos remained true to their culture this Christmas, they could save millions. All they have to do is say no to gift-giving on Dec. 25 and yes to gifting on Jan. 6, el dia de los Santos Reyes, or Three Kings, the official Hispanic day to share their blessings.

Do the math. The Magi come 12 days after Christmas, or in wallet-speak, ten days after the day-after-Christmas sales ... ca-ching!

Throughout the Spanish-speaking world, Jan. 6 is a Christian holiday that celebrates the Three Wise Men who brought gifts to the Christ child. So, Hispanics wishing to stay true to their old world customs can also keep more money in their pockets by doing the religious thing.

"But I guess when we crossed into los estados unidos — the United States — we forgot all about our holidays, not to mention our manners!" says 70-year-old Ernesto Beltrán, who arrived from the southern Mexican state of Yucatán to work in the two nation’s bracero  farm labor program back in the ’60s. He later became a naturalized citizen and ran a successful fried chicken franchise. Now retired, he lives with his wife on a small ranch in Rio Linda, near Sacramento, Calif.  

"I remember the original Twelve Days of Christmas, which begins, rather than ends, with Christmas," he recollects.

In some regions of Mexico, it is traditional for children to leave their shoes out on the evening of Jan. 5, filling them with hay for the camels so the Magi will be generous with their gifts. This is analogous to many U.S. children leaving cookies out for Santa Claus. In Puerto Rico, most fill a box with grass or hay and place it underneath their bed.

Beltrán's grandchildren learned about their elders' traditions last year.

"No, not from me, but from American television!" says a bemused Beltrán.

"I picked up the little ones from school and their teacher told us about a bilingual TV character named Dora the Explorer and a special program on the Reyes Magos."

The Dora the Explorer special followed a story in the bible about three kings or the magi following a bright star in the sky on the night Jesus Christ was born. They followed it to Bethlehem where they presented the newborn with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.

Chances are preschoolers have at the very least a rudimentary knowledge of all the major holidays such as Christmas and Easter or even the Fourth of July. But how much do they know about the traditions of various cultures -- their own or those that belong to others?

"Three Kings Day is a big holiday in Latin America and Mexico," Beltrán recounts. "Here, sadly, it has been overwhelmed by Christmas and all the commercial aspects of it."

It was during the last part of the 19th century that the U.S. Southwest began to abandon the three kings and greet Santa, a dozen days earlier. In New Mexico, where Hispanic families have lived for more than 400 years, for example, the children turned to a grandfatherly figure to share their wishes for their favorite toys.

"I remember my older brother Manuel, who lived in Colorado," says Beltrán. "He would tell me his grandchildren told him he was crazy for suggesting that they put their shoes by the door in hopes of them being filled with gifts."

Many Puerto Rican and other Latino families throughout the United States claim a resurgence of the old customs. In Sacramento, a former Mexican dance instructor turned restaurateur stages a Three Kings celebration for underprivileged children every year.

But along both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border, few families are sticking to the old traditions. A drive into any of the Mexican cities that dot it reveals as many outdoor Santas or snowmen suspended in huge plastic bubbles as are found in any Texas or California suburb.

"About the only custom left from the Reyes Magos traditional celebration is the Rosca de Reyes,” — baking a ring-shaped sweet bread with a tiny doll representing Baby Jesus inside, Beltrán observes, shaking his saly-and-pepper head. "Today's Latinos don't know what they're missing!"

Not to mention how much they could be saving.

(Andy Porras, a publisher, writer and educator who has divided his time between his native Texas and California, now resides in Houston. He has contributed commentaries to Hispanic Link News Service since its founding in 1980. Contact him by email at [email protected] © 2009)