Traditions and celebrations are also a big part of being Hispanic. Typically, youll notice that when there is a celebration, there is also food or a major meal associated with it. A very good example of this is the celebration on January 6th, Dia de Los Reyes Magos, which in English can be translated to the Three Kings Day. On this day, we gather around at night with friends and family and we share a really big oval shaped cake called la Rosca de Reyes, or Kings Cake (Hispanic Traditions, n.d.). This dessert is also accompanied by drinks like hot chocolate, or other similar sweet and hot drinks such as a very popular one called champurrado. As if this day wasnt filled with enough treats, it is directly linked to another traditional celebration that takes place about a month after. If your piece of cake has the baby Jesus figurine, you are responsible for hosting a tamale party on February 2nd. So again, the friends and family that attended the Three Kings Day celebration are invited for all-you-can-eat tamales and champurrado in the home of the host. This is a tradition that I have always enjoyed since I was little. Champurrado is one of my favorite drinks, which I get to drink on both days, and I love that on January 6th I know that I have guaranteed tamales for February 2nd. It is a very fun tradition that brings the family together, but it also shows you how important food is in my culture. Lets not forget about the famous recalentado, which is basically the reheating of the meal, where the family is invited over to finish the food the very next day. While there
is a month gap between these two celebrations, the amount of food and the calorie intake in just one of those days is definitely a high one, especially when you take advantage and eat tamales the whole night. A high calorie intake and lack of physical activity are contributors to obesity (Obesity and Overweight, n.d.).
It is hard to limit yourself or restrain yourself from eating when at every holiday or family celebration, you are presented with a variety of delicious food. Not only that, but there is a certain stigma associated with not eating, or eating too little in my culture, especially during holidays. Not eating enough is commonly associated with there being something wrong with you. You will get asked many times if youre sick, if youre sad, or simply if youre not feeling well. Watching what or how much you eat is not the norm. Another popular misconception that your family brings up, especially if youre in your teens, is that if you eat too little it must be because, youre in love and the butterflies dont let you eat. Once an adult brings that up, everyone else chimes in and you are now the center of attention because you are supposedly in love, and thats the reason why you are not eating enough. This sounds very silly, but I can personally say from experience, that I have made myself eat more than I wanted to because I didnt want my family to comment on it. Though I know that they dont do this with a bad intention, and its more of a way to joke around, it really does have an affect on how much I eat around them, and oftentimes its more than I would like.