National Vandalism Conspiracy

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by Tim Burdick on 13 January, 2015

Or something more sinister?

Yes, its true. I am not proud, but this how I used to think. Bad 80's B-movies and lots of Stephen King influenced me.
But, when I first travelled in the Czech Republic, I noticed all these village doorways which had the initials K+M+B scribbled on them. Who were K, M, and B? How could someone write these initials and never get caught? Why doorways? Ok. I could understand bridges, metros, and toilet stalls. What was wrong with this country? Were they blind to this graffiti epidemic?

Then, on January 6th, I finally saw the news.

Children, teenagers, and adults all were dressed as the Three kings -- Kaspar, Melchior and Balthasar and brought their gifts: gold, frankincense and myrrh to celebrate the birth of the baby Jesus. Children went from house to house, singing carols and receiving sweets. The head of the family wrote the initials above the doorway to bless the home. There were parades not only in the Czech Republic but other countries also.

A Spanish friend told me that the Three Kings celebration was bigger than Christmas in Spain as well as Latin American countries. Finally, last Sunday, when I got off the metro, children dressed as the 'three kings' sang to me, collecting donations from passengers. A student informed me that these charities collected around 75 million crowns.

Ok, so now I know the truth. It makes a lot of sense. But, be honest. Didn’t you every get the wrong idea about a culture or religion?

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