Like Melchor, Gaspar and Baltazar, who offered incense, gold and myrrh to the child Jesus, Artabán carried with him a large quantity of precious stones (ruby, jade and diamond) to offer them to Jesus.
But according to the story, Artaban, who would meet the other three wise men in Borsippa to reach Bethlehem, came across a man who had been beaten and robbed, so he decided to stop and help him by giving him one of the gifts he was bringing. to baby Jesus: a diamond.
After his stop, the magician king continued on his way, but upon reaching Borsippa he found a note, where his companions told him that they could not wait for him any longer.
For this reason Artaban had to continue the journey alone and when he finally arrived in Bethlehem, he found out that both the messiah and his parents had fled to Egypt, since they had to escape the massacre of infants that King Herod had ordered.
When is the Rosca de Reyes broken?
The origin of the Rosca de Reyes is a tradition that had its beginnings in the Middle Ages (14th century) in European countries such as France and Spain, which shortly after arrived in Mexico during the conquest.
Since then it is customary to break a bagel, which is characterized by its circular shape, a symbol of God’s eternal love that has no beginning or end.
According to tradition, the Rosca de Reyes is broken on January 6, the day the Three Wise Men arrive.
For Christians, the oval shape of the bagel represents the infinite circle of love for God. The crystallized dried fruits that adorn the bread symbolize the jewels embedded in the crowns of the Magi, the hidden doll represents the Child Jesus.
In Mexico, there is also a tradition that whoever finds the figure of the Child Jesus must take care of it until February 2, which is celebrated on “Candelaria Day”.