3 KD is for the children and the majority of the Dominicans do not put much emphasis in anything that relates to the well being, desires and needs of their children.
This is a very strong statement. Would you care to expand? I am confused.
While living in D.R., the Three Kings Day was a very special occasion in our family and among our acquaintances. My brother and I always got nice presents from our parents, and some small toys from a few of our relatives. our family was not dirt poor, but we were not rich either. I don't know if my father used his Christmas bonus (regalia), saved $ through the year for the occasion, or borrowed the $, but he made sure my brother and I had a nice 3 KD. Ironically, it was during our first Christmas in the U.S.A., that my brother and I did not get any presents, because our parents were not able to afford it.... It was then we found out who Santa Claus (3 KD) really was.
I would not doubt that there are many children in D.R., that do not get any gifts for 3 KD, not because the family do not care about them, but rather because the parents cannot afford to buy them.
Anyhow, during the 3 KD in DR, my brother and I and most of the children we knew, actually believed that the three kings existed... The parents hid the gifts (toys) throughout the home, and the night before, children were asked to leave grass (for the camels), and glasses of rum and water for the kings, and the children went to bed early... the next day, the children would go searching for the toys through out the home, and the parents enjoyed this, just as much as the children... I know mines did.
Rick Snyder's quote:
There is no equivalent to Santa Claus in this country and the vast majority do not indulge in the custom of having a Christmas tree and or lights even though these are sold in all the department stores here. The prices for colored lights is cheap but the prices of plastic trees are pretty steep for the average Dominican. Taking into account the price of electricity and its unreliability I would think might have something to do with the reason for colored lights not being a big hit here. QUOTE]
In our family, we always had a Christmas tree.... but my parents never bought it from a store.... My father, and his friends, went out and cut real trees, with branches, that they then painted, and the women decorated with Christmas ornaments, and the Christmas Lights, and this was a common practice among people we knew.
The exchange of gifts was not a common practice among adults then, at least not in our family's circle... However, in recent years, I have noticed that this is being practiced among some there....
MeDominican