What Happens On Three Kings Day In Spain?
– What’s the origin? According to the Bible, three wise men went to visit the newborn baby Jesus in Bethlehem and came bearing gifts. Their names were Melchior, Gaspar and Balthazar, and they brought gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh to the newborn savior.
- The Three Wise Men (or Three Kings as translated from Spanish) have been honored in various European countries since the Middle Ages;
- Usually, the dates of January 6th and 7th are symbolic of representing the birth of Jesus, in contrast to December 25th as celebrated in the western world;
When the tradition of Santa Claus bringing gifts to children on Christmas Day became popular, the Spanish culture adapted to this and used los Reyes Magos as the gift-bringers instead. What do they do to celebrate this day? On January 5th, in anticipation for the arrival of the Three Kings, Spanish towns and cities across the country put on spectacular parades.
This parade is known as the Cabalgata de los Reyes Magos, or Three Kings Day parade. It brings dancers, musicians, and other brilliant performers to the streets. The parade finishes with the reyes magos riding on camels or elaborate floats.
The best thing about the parade for children are the Three Kings who throw sweets and candy from the floats into the crowds. On the morning of January 6th, children awake to presents brought from the Reyes Magos. Usually this day is spent with family and there is a big lunch to be prepared and enjoyed by all.
- Not forgetting another big tradition on January 6th which is the Roscón de Reyes;
- This is a ring-shaped cake that is covered with small pieces of candy that are supposed to represent the jewels of the crown;
It’s a sweet bread cake that can have cream inside and dried fruit on top too. The fun part of the cake is that there are two things hidden inside. One is a haba bean – whoever finds this is the unlucky one and their punishment is to buy the Roscón! The second surprise is a toy – whoever finds this is the king or queen of the day!.
What do the Spanish do on Three Kings Day?
Roscón de Reyes: the Three Kings Day cake – The crown jewel of the los reyes magos celebration is exactly that: a crown-shaped dessert decorated with candy “jewels. ” This is the roscón de reyes , a sweet bread-like cake often filled with cream and topped with dried fruits.
The roscón de reyes is notoriously difficult to make at home and takes a long time. As a result, most people outsource theirs to the experts. Starting in the fall, bakeries throughout Spain see thousands of orders for roscones from locals eager to reserve theirs in time.
As for when to eat the roscón , that depends on who you ask. Some families dig into theirs as soon as they get home from the Three Kings Day parade on January 5. Others have it for breakfast on the morning of the 6th, and still others hold off until afternoon on Three Kings Day to have it for merienda , or the midday snack around 6 p.
- Roscones can come in several different varieties, all of them delicious;
- Some are plain and come without any filling;
- Others contain fresh whipped cream, chocolate truffle cream, or even candied spaghetti squash (it’s better than it sounds!);
In addition, you’ll find two plastic-wrapped figurines inside the roscón : a dried fava bean and a small king-shaped figurine.
- Whoever gets the slice of the cake with the small king is the “king” or “queen” of the banquet. As a result, this person will have good luck for the rest of the year. Many roscones come with a paper or cardboard crown for this person to wear.
- On the other hand, whoever finds the fava bean has to pay for the roscón the next year!
If you happen to be in the Spanish capital around Three Kings Day, check out where to try the roscón de reyes in Madrid. Many bakeries and pastry shops will offer it, but these spots are the best of the best! READ MORE : Behind the Bite: Roscón de Reyes Even if you can’t make it to Spain this year to celebrate los reyes magos , we here at Devour Tours wish you all a wonderful holiday season!.
What do they eat on Three Kings Day in Spain?
Holiday Food #6: Roscón de Reyes – In Barcelona, the holiday season comes to its climactic close on January 5, the day known as Three Kings or Three Magi/Magicians. Neighborhoods in Barcelona celebrate this holiday with parades in which the three kings who brought Jesus gifts are the centerpiece. 
The roscón is a cake made especially for Three Kings Day. It is a round cake with candied fruits. The middle of the cake usually features some sort of cream-based filling. Hiding within the yummy confines of the dessert is a figurine of a king or of Jesus. The lucky person who gets the figurine gets good luck and fortune for the year.
The parades are usually extravagant and immensely fun for young and old alike. The kings and other participants in the parade throw candies to children. The cake often features a small bean, as well. The person who gets the bean has to pay for the cake.
There are many other holiday-centered culinary traditions in Spain. This is meant to give you an overview of some of the more popular dishes and traditions.
What do Spanish people do on 6 January?
6 January is much like Christmas Day: many shops and businesses are closed and families generally celebrate in the privacy of their own homes, feasting and exchanging gifts. For breakfast, people typically eat a special Kings’ Day cake or bread called the Roscón de Reyes.
Is 3 Kings a holiday in Spain?
How do the Spanish celebrate 3 Kings Day? – El día de los Reyes Magos is a bank holiday in Spain. For us, is one of the most important celebrations and a best loved tradition in Spain, especially for children. Why? Because it’s all about fun and presents! Yet this time, they come from the Three Kings, who are said to come into people’s homes through the windows on the night of 5th January, leaving gifts for everyone to open the next day.
To get presents, kids have to write a letter addressed to the Three Kings, or just to their favourite one: Melchoir, Caspar or Balthazar. Mine is Melchoir, hands down! Children start writing their letters in December, with a list of the presents they’d like to get on the morning of January 6th.
To make sure that their letters reach the Three Kings, children have to hand it to one of the Three Kings’ royal messengers, found milling around all Spanish town and city centres a few days before the big day. They’ll ask you how you’ve behaved throughout the year.
What gifts do you give on Three Kings Day?
In the first week of January, just as the rest of the Christmas-celebrating world is reluctantly getting back into their routines and probably kick-starting a healthy diet and fitness plan, Spanish children are waiting expectantly for the Three Wise Men to arrive.
- After Christmas and New Year , the lucky Spanish still have another family day of celebration to come, in the form of the arrival of the Reyes Magos , the Wise Men from the East who followed a star and came bearing gifts for the Baby Jesus;
The 6 th of January is always a bank holiday in Spain, spinning out the festivities for an extra week. But why is the Epiphany holiday in Spain such a big deal and how is it celebrated? Read on to find out a bit about the history of the Reyes Magos day , and why Spanish children have to wait until the 6 th of January to get their Christmas presents.
Ever wondered what the ’12 days of Christmas’ actually are, beyond just an excuse for a good sing-along? Officially, Christmas kicks off on the 25 th of December and carries on until the 6 th of January.
In the UK, the 6 th of January is generally a bit of a depressing day, as it’s the day you’re meant to take your Christmas decorations down, as leaving them up any longer is supposed to be bad luck. But in Spain, the Feast of the Epiphany or the Three Kings’ Day is a celebration of the adoration of the baby Jesus by the Three Wise Men, also known as the Magi, or the Three Kings.
- Melchior, Caspar and Balthazar travelled to present baby Jesus with three symbolic gifts, gold, frankincense and myrrh;
- They’re said to have ridden on a horse, a camel and an elephant;
- This feast is celebrated all over the Christian world, but it’s traditionally just marked by mass, although there are other Epiphany celebrations that go on;
In many Catholic countries, it’s also a bank holiday, but in most places, it isn’t associated with gift giving, despite the Three Wise Men’s gifts. In Spain, however, the fact that the Three Wise Men brought gifts to Jesus meant that, when the tradition of gifts being brought by Father Christmas began to spread in other countries, the Spanish custom of the gifts being brought by the Three Kings spread up as a kind of imitation of it, with more of a religious slant.
- The celebrations of the arrival of the biblical wise men to Bethlehem kick off on the 5 th of January;
- Since the 19 th century, Spanish towns and cities have been putting on parades to mark the occasion;
There might be floats with effigies of each of the Three Wise Men in the parade, or they might be played by local dignitaries. Either way, these are big, colourful parades that make their way through the main streets of the town, throwing handfuls of sweets out over the crowds.
- These are fun, light-hearted parades, in contrast to the sombre parades during Holy Week, or Semana Santa;
- Just like children waiting up for Father Christmas, Spanish children have to get to bed early after watching the parades, to make sure they don’t miss the Wise Men bearing gifts;
They leave their best pair of shoes, sparkling clean, outside their doors to be filled with gifts. Again, just like with Father Christmas, Spanish children write letters to the Three Wise Men before the big day and leave out snacks and drinks for their camels.
- Naughty children might get sweet ‘coal’ in their shoes instead of gifts;
- In the past, this was the only day that Spanish children received presents, but these days many lucky kids get presents from Father Christmas as well;
The 6 th is another family day, with everyone coming together to watch the kids unwrapping presents, and there’s normally another big family meal. The day wouldn’t be complete without the traditional Roscón de Reyes , sweet circular bread with sugar and dried fruits on top.
- There’s a little model of a king or queen hidden inside, and whoever finds it gets to be king or queen for the day;
- There’s also normally a bean in there, and whoever gets that has to buy the sweet treat the following year;
What better way to kick off a new year than treating yourself to a holiday? There might not be any Three Wise Men coming to bring you presents, but that doesn’t mean you can’t give yourself the ultimate gift and spend a few days in Spain right at the start of the year.
Skip the depressing, post-New Year slump when the nights are at their shortest and all the Christmas lights are being taken down and head south for some much-needed sunshine. See the Epiphany celebration in Spain for yourself, whether it’s in one of the country’s stunning big cities , on the sun-kissed south coast, or even in the Canary Islands, where it’s spring all year round.
Take the kids and let them enjoy the magic of this quintessentially Spanish experience, all whilst staying in one of the best family friendly hotels .
What do children leave under their beds for Three Kings Day?
My family has held onto many of its holiday traditions since my grandparents migrated to New York from Puerto Rico in the 1950s. You won’t find ham or mashed potatoes in our holiday spreads. Pernil , or roasted pork shoulder, and pasteles , a banana- and root-vegetable pastry that’s stuffed with meat, are at the center of our Christmas feasts.
Jordan Coelho for Quartz Day 6 of Quartz’s 25 Days of Exchange There is one major difference between how my family celebrates Christmas now, and how my grandparents celebrated it as children back on the island, however.
Our winter holidays now both culminate and conclude with Christmas Day. But in Puerto Rico, Christmas is merely the midpoint of the holiday season. It extends through Jan. 6—the 12th day of Christmas—which is known as El Día de Los Reyes or Three Kings Day.
- In Puerto Rico, Christmas is merely the midpoint of the holiday season;
- Three Kings Day commemorates the biblical journey of the three kings —Balthazar, Caspar, and Melchior—who followed a star that appeared in the sky on Christmas Day all the way to Bethlehem, where they discovered and offered gifts to baby Jesus;
The holiday is nearly as significant as Christmas in many Spanish-speaking regions like Puerto Rico, Spain, and Latin America, and is also celebrated in other predominately Christian nations like Russia. My grandfather said Three Kings Day was a long and raucous affair back on the island.
- The build up to the holiday would begin right after Christmas with the parrandas , when people would go door to door, usually late at night, singing religious folk songs called aguinaldos , playing instruments, and offering small gifts to their neighbors;
The neighbors, in turn, would open up their homes, offering food and drink. The Latin custom is similar to caroling in the US. I’m told it is still common on the island today. Three Kings Day itself was celebrated over two days, like Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, my grandfather said.
- Many workplaces would close, or let their employees leave early;
- And, like any good holiday, it was accompanied by parades, feasts, and gift giving;
- My grandfather said Three Kings Day was a long and raucous affair back on the island;
On the evening before Three Kings Day, which is known as Vispera de Reyes , children would leave shoe boxes of hay or grass underneath their beds for the kings’ camels to enjoy after their long journey. (It’s comparable to the custom of leaving cookies out for Santa Claus on Christmas Eve.
- ) In the morning, the hay would be gone, and the boxes would be stuffed with candies, nuts, or small toys—gifts from the three kings;
- Some people on the island go all out for Three Kings Day and give larger presents then than they do on Christmas, said Bianca Ortiz Declet, director of exhibitions at the National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts and Culture in Chicago;
“Three Kings Day for us is even bigger than Christmas,” she said. “It is very special. ” While gift giving on Three Kings Day is normally meant for children, Ortiz Declet said her parents still leave presents under her bed each Jan. She returns to the island to each year celebrate with them.
“There’s always a family gathering, there are presents under the bed, even if I’m a grown up,” she said. As with all traditions, some inevitably fall by the wayside over time, while others are preserved for generations.
My grandparents, unlike Ortiz Declet and her family, did not carry on the traditions of Three Kings Day after they migrated to the mainland. The holiday wasn’t widely celebrated in the US at the time. It was also overshadowed by the spectacle of Christmas.
And US businesses didn’t close for Three Kings like they did in Puerto Rico, which put a damper on celebrations. Three Kings Day became overshadowed by the spectacle of Christmas in the US. My mother said she never celebrated Three Kings Day.
And my father’s oldest sister, my aunt, only vaguely remembers leaving boxes out for the kings’ camels as a young girl. But the parrandas stuck. My dad, who was raised in the Pentecostal faith, would celebrate the holidays in the streets with my grandfather’s congregation in Bushwick, Brooklyn, which had a large Puerto Rican population when he was growing up in the 1960s and ’70s.
Many Puerto Ricans, like my grandparents, who came to the US during the 1940s and ’50s, when migration from the island exploded , ended up in New York where they landed factory jobs. They created communities in places like Spanish Harlem and Bushwick.
And some brought Three Kings Day with them. AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews Three Kings Day parade in New York City. For nearly 40 years, El Museo del Barrio, a Latin-American cultural center in Spanish Harlem, has hosted a lively Three Kings Day parade that features parrandas , live camels and sheep, and colorful puppets.
There’s also a community parade in Williamsburg, Brooklyn , as well as in several other major US cities with large Hispanic populations like Chicago. There, the Division Street Business Development Association, The Puerto Rican Cultural Center, and others sponsor a parade that ends at the city’s Humboldt Park, where gifts are handed out to children in the neighborhood.
And since 2012, Disneyland in California has held three-day long celebrations for Three Kings Day. Disney is not the only US brand to tap into the Latin American holiday in recent years. As the share of Hispanics in the US ballooned over the last two decades, retailers and advertisers gradually began adding Three Kings Day to their holiday calendars in an effort to reach the country’s growing segment of Hispanic shoppers—and extend the holiday shopping season.
- “Three Kings really makes [the holidays] different and more ownable to you as a Hispanic, because not everybody celebrates that,” said Gabriel Garcia, executive creative director at the multicultural marketing agency LatinWorks;
“That makes it very, very attractive to marketers” who want to reach Latinos during the holidays. As the share of Hispanics in the US ballooned over the last two decades, retailers gradually began adding Three Kings Day to their holiday calendars. Kids are the main gift-giving focus on Three Kings Day.
- So some toy makers and retailers like Mattel and Toys R Us have run promotions and marketing campaigns around the holiday in the past;
- Walmart has also recognized Three Kings Day in its marketing and promotions focused on kids and specialty foods for more than a decade, according to ThinkNow Research, a multicultural marketing research firm that works with Walmart;
JCPenney started running promotions around Three Kings Day in 2014. And Target highlighted family celebrations during Three Kings Day on its blog last year. “Three Kings is a funny celebration because it is so engrained in Latin cultures, it seems that it’s an amazing opportunities for retailers to tap into it,” said Catarina Goncalves, planning director at advertising agency Grupo Gallegos.
- But the holiday hasn’t been very commercialized in the US yet;
- Those retailers and marketers that do promote Three Kings Day have pretty minimal marketing efforts around it—an online video here, and in-store promotion there, maybe a banner ad;
“It’s a link to Hispanic culture and Hispanic values. We think that it’s very unique way of conveying, ‘this is who we are. ‘” “It’s still a holiday that doesn’t get a lot of awareness,” said Yañez at ThinkNow. Roughly half of Hispanics in the US celebrate Three Kings Day, according to a September survey of by ThinkNow.
The firm polled 1,250 US respondents including 500 nationally representative US Hispanics, 40% of which said Spanish was their dominant language, 25% of which were bilingual, and the remainder of which spoke predominately English.
The holiday is celebrated more commonly among foreign-born Hispanics, which make up about 35% of Hispanics in the US , the study noted. Fifty-eight percent of Hispanics surveyed whose dominant language was Spanish said they planned to celebrate Three Kings Day this year, as did 61% of bilinguals, compared to 27% of primarily English-speaking Hispanics, who were more acculturated.
“[Hispanics] are so avid of keeping that tradition because it connects to who they are,” said Goncalves at Grupo Gallegos. “It’s a link to Hispanic culture and Hispanic values. We think that it’s very unique way of conveying, ‘this is who we are.
‘” Garcia at LatinWorks, who is of Mexican descent and lives in Texas, said he chose to carry on the tradition of Three Kings Day in the US because of his parents, who immigrated here. “It was so important to my family and to my parents,” said Garcia. “When you grow up in a community with other Hispanics, the fact that you can partake in these things that really form part of the community, it’s something that’s enjoyable and fun to convivir, as we say, to interact with people that have the same traditions.
How do you celebrate the Three Kings day?
For many families, Three Kings Day is as big of a celebration as Christmas Day. It’s customary to gather with friends and family to celebrate, often by opening gifts, playing music, and sharing a large meal together.
What do Spanish eat on Christmas Eve?
Seafood – The Spanish want to eat well and for an occasion like Christmas, they spare no expense. It’s common to see seafood at the Christmas Eve dinner, which typically includes prawns or lobster, either fresh or in a seafood soup or stew.
What is the story behind the Three Kings?
Holiday History – Always observed 12 days after Christmas on January 6 According to the Biblical story, the Three Kings (also called wise men or magi) – named Melchior, Caspar and Balthazar – followed the Star of Bethlehem to find the birth place of Baby Jesus.
What happens on Epiphany in Spain?
Final Thoughts – We hope you enjoyed learning about Epiphany in Spain with us! Do you celebrate Epiphany in your country? If so, are celebrations similar or very different from those in Spain? Let us know in the comments! If you’re interested in learning more about the culture in Spanish-speaking countries, or if you want to learn some wintery words to get you through the next couple of months, you may find the following pages useful:
- Spanish Culture
- 5 Things You Should Know About Spanish-Speaking Cultures
- How to Post in Perfect Spanish on Social Media
- Words for Winter Snow Days (Mexican Spanish)
- How Will You Spend Your Winter Holiday? (Mexican Spanish)
Learning Spanish doesn’t have to be overwhelming or boring—with SpanishPod101. com, it can even be fun! If you’re serious about mastering the language, create your free lifetime account today. Happy Spanish learning! 🙂 
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How do they celebrate Three Kings Day in Mexico?
According to Mexican tradition, the Nativity representation must be kept on Candlemas Day, candles are brought to bless and Baby Jesus is presented at the church of your election, the child’s godfather should dress it and at night all the family comes together to eat tamales and atole at the expense of those who have.
What do you do on Kings day?
Flea markets – On King’s Day, people are allowed to sell things on the street without requiring a permit. Flea (‘free’) markets are held in parks and streets, with many people offering their unwanted possessions, music or other entertainment for sale. In Utrecht, the flea markets even start the night before King’s Day.
What is Three Kings Day and how is it 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.