What Happens In Spain On The 6Th Of January?
The day of the Epiphany occurs on 6 January, and is said to be the day when the Three Kings or Wise Men arrived in Bethlehem to give their gifts to baby Jesus. In Spain, this day is known as Kings’ Day or the Día de Los Reyes, and is celebrated just like a second Christmas, with feasting and the giving of presents.
What is special about January 6th in Spain?
In Spain, Epiphany on January 6 is a public holiday and the day people exchange most of their Christmas presents. 
The three kings are also called wise men or magi. ©iStockphoto. com/Liliboas.
What is the 6th of January called in Spanish?
Most people in Spain go to Midnight Mass or ‘La Misa Del Gallo’ (The Mass of the Rooster). It is called this because a rooster is supposed to have crowed the night that Jesus was born. Christmas Eve is known as Nochebuena. In the days before Nochebuena, children might take part in ‘piden el aguinaldo’ where they go and sing carols around their neighbors hoping to get some money! Most families eat their main Christmas meal on Christmas Eve before the service.
The traditional Spanish Christmas dinner was ‘Pavo Trufado de Navidad’ which is Turkey stuffed with truffles (the mushrooms, not the chocolate ones!) or ‘Pularda asada’ (a roasted young hen), although they are not commonly eaten now.
In Galicia (a region in north-west Spain, surrounded by water) the most popular meal for Christmas Eve and for Christmas Day is seafood. This can be all kinds of different seafood, from shellfish and mollusks, to lobster and small edible crabs. Popular desserts and sweets include ‘mazapán’ (made of almonds, sugar and eggs), ‘turrón’ (made of honey and toasted almonds) and ‘polvorones’ (made of flour, butter and sugar).
- After the midnight service, one old tradition was for people to walk through the streets carrying torches, playing guitars and beating on tambourines and drums;
- One Spanish saying is ‘Esta noche es Noche-Buena, Y no Es noche de dormir’ which means ‘Tonight is the good night and it is not meant for sleeping!’ A few different languages are spoken in different regions in Spain;
In Spanish (also sometimes called Castilian) Happy/Merry Christmas is ‘Feliz Navidad’; in Catalan, Asturian and Occitan it’s ‘Bon Nadal’; in Galician ‘Bo Nadal’; in Aragonese it’s ‘Feliz Nadal’ and in Basque (or Euskara in basque) ‘Eguberri on’. Happy/Merry Christmas in lots more languages.
- December 28th is ‘Día de los santos inocentes’ or ‘Day of the Innocent Saints’ and is very like April Fools Day in the UK and USA;
- People try to trick each other into believing silly stories and jokes;
- Newspapers and TV stations also run silly stories;
If you trick someone, you can call them ‘Inocente, inocente’ which means ‘innocent, innocent’. 28th December is when people all over the world remember the babies that were killed on the orders of King Herod when he was trying to kill the baby Jesus. New Year’s Eve is called ‘Nochevieja’ or ‘The Old Night’ in Spain and one special tradition is that you eat 12 grapes with the 12 strokes of the clock at Midnight! Each grape represents a month of the coming year, so if you eat the twelve grapes, you are said to be lucky in the new year.
Apart from Christmas, there is another festival that is celebrated in Spain that is about the Christmas Story. It is called Epiphany and is celebrated on 6th January. In Spanish, Epiphany is called ‘Fiesta de Los tres Reyes Magos’: in English this means ‘The festival of the three Magic Kings’.
Epiphany celebrates when the Kings or Wise men brought gifts to the baby Jesus. Children have some presents on Christmas Day, but most are opened at Epiphany. Children believe that the Kings bring presents to them at Epiphany. They write letters to the Kings asking for toys and presents. Sometimes a bucket of water is left for the camels that bring the Kings! If the children have been bad, the Kings might leave pieces of coal made out of sugar in the presents! The Three Kings Parade in Seville, via Wikimedia Commons Some big towns and cities have Epiphany Parades with each King having a big float that is shaped like a camel. Sometimes there are also real camels in the parade. Often the Kings (Wise Men) throw out candy to the children watching the parade. The Three Kings in the Spanish Epiphany are:
- Gaspar, who has brown hair and a brown beard (or no beard!) and wears a green cloak and a gold crown with green jewels on it. He is the King of Sheba. Gaspar represents the Frankincense brought to Jesus. Frankincense is sometimes used in worship in Churches and showed that people worship Jesus.
- Melchior, who has long white hair and a white beard and wears a gold cloak. He is the King of Arabia. Melchior represents the Gold brought to Jesus. Gold is associated with Kings and Christians believe that Jesus is the King of Kings.
- Balthazar, who has black skin and a black beard (or no beard!) and wears a purple cloak. He is the King of Tarsus/Macedonia and Egypt. Balthazar represents the gift of Myrrh that was brought to Jesus. Myrrh is a perfume that is put on dead bodies to make them smell nice; Christians believe that it showed that Jesus would suffer and die.
What happens on Spanish streets on 5th of January?
On the evening of January 5th every year, Spanish towns and cities are given over to the colourful parades of the Dia de los Reyes, or the Kings’ Day – a celebration of the arrival of the three wise men in Bethlehem after Jesus’ birth.
How is Epiphany celebrated in Madrid?
Epiphany around the world – In Denmark , Epiphany was abolished as an official church festival in 1770. However, the previous evening, Twelfth Night, is celebrated in some homes by burning a special Twelfth Night candle with three wicks. When the candles thus go out, it symbolises the end of Christmas.
- Only a few locations in Denmark still celebrate the evening with a procession where people in fancy dress and go from house to house;
- As Epiphany is not a public holiday in France , the traditions are instead observed on the first Sunday in January;
Since the 14th-century people in France have eaten a cake called La galette des Rois to celebrate Epiphany. According to the tradition, the cake must be divided so that each guest gets a slice, plus an extra slice called the part du Bon Dieu/ Vierge/ Pauvre (Good Lord / Virgin / Poor ) which is kept in reserve should any unexpected stranger turn up.
The cake is typically bought in a boulangerie and made of puff pastry with an almond filling. A charm is often hidden in the cake. The Lucky person that finds the charm then becomes the king or queen for the day.
As you travel east in Europe, water plays a more important in Epiphany celebrations with the throwing of a wooden cross into the sea to see who can recover it first a common tradition in Greece and Bulgaria. The Orthodox Church celebrates Epiphany on January 19th, though the festival commemorates the baptism of Jesus (explaining the water festivities) by John the Baptist rather than the visit of the Magi.
Jesus was baptised when he was about 30 years old, so Orthodox Epiphany has little to do with the Christmas story, though it still marks the end of the Christmas cycle. Italy has gone in quite a different direction with Epiphany.
It is the visit of a witch rather than kings which is the focus of festivities. Befana is an old soot-covered woman or witch who delivers presents to Italian children on the night before Epiphany. In Mexico , children receive presents on Epiphany rather than Christmas Day.
- In Spain, Epiphany is a more popular holiday than Christmas;
- Many thousands of people will join in traditional parades on the eve of Epiphany;
- Children write letters to the Magi asking for gifts which are left for them on January 6th;
Most shops are closed, but some stores may open and start their January sales early. Traditionally the ‘rebajas’ (the sales) start on January 7th.
How is the Three Kings day celebrated in Spain?
January 5: The Three Kings Day parade – Festivities officially start the day before the actual feast day of los reyes magos. On January 5, parades take place throughout the country to celebrate the arrival of the kings. Spanish families line the streets of their hometown to get a glimpse of the cabalgata de los reyes magos, or Three Kings Day parade.
Why is the Three Kings day celebrated?
- Most Latin American and Caribbean countries celebrate Three Kings Day
- Three Kings Day honors the three wise men who brought gifts to baby Jesus
- Three Kings Day originated from the Epiphany celebration, which is among the oldest festivals of the Christian church
Corrections and clarifications: A section of this story was removed after the identity of a source could not be verified. Separately, another section of this story describing the different commemorations was incorrectly attributed. That has since been corrected. In Jazmin Fargas’ household, Three Kings Day calls for family dinners, grama or grass underneath the pillow, sweet treats and extra gifts from the three wise men who visited baby Jesus.
Jan. 6 marks Three Kings Day, a holiday celebrated in most Latin American and Caribbean countries. The holiday is associated with the traditional Christian feast day of Epiphany when the three wise men brought gifts to the baby Jesus, according to the Biblical nativity story.
The holiday is loaded with customs such as leaving grass or hay out for the three kings in exchange for a gift. In Mexico, the holiday wouldn’t be complete with a Rosca de Reyes, a large oval-shaped bread with dried fruit decorations. But what are the origins of the two holidays, how are they celebrated and what do they have in common? Nochebuena: Why many Hispanic, Latinx and Filipino families celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve Mexican Independence Day: How September 16 signifies a ‘moment of hope’ for Mexico.
What is All Saints day in Spain?
In Spain, All Saints’ Day is celebrated each year on November 1st. Every year on November 1st, Spain and other countries around the world celebrate a holiday of remembrance in honor of their deceased relatives and friends. This holiday is known as Día de Todos los Santos (All Saints’ Day).