Happy Three Kings Day!!!
On January 6th Three Kings Day is celebrated throughout
Latin America, Spain, and in Hispanic communities of the United States. Therefore, I'm celebrating it here in Puerto Rico. Three Kings Day is the Epiphany of the church calendar, the 12th day after
Christmas, when the Magi arrived bearing gifts for baby Jesus. Children receive gifts on this day, brought by the three
kings, Melchor, Gaspar and Baltazar. In Latin America, January 6th, and
not necessarily Christmas, is the day that children receive their gifts.
In
the days preceding Three Kings Day, children write letters to the Magi
requesting a toy or gift that they would like. On the night of January
5th, the figures of the Wise Men are placed in the nativity scene. Children would traditionally leave out a shoe box with a bit of
hay in them to feed the animals of the Magi (they are often shown with a
camel.) When the children wake up in the morning, their gifts will have
appeared in the place of the hay. Nowadays, like Santa Clause, the
Kings tend to place their gifts under the Christmas tree instead of in a
shoe.
In the
United States, the tradition of the Three Kings Day has carried on.
Hispanic bakeries throughout the country typically sell hundreds of
Roscas de Reyes during the day, and children patiently wait for their
second gift of the holiday season.
I'd never heard about Three Kings Day. Such an interesting idea, and a lovely tradition!
ReplyDeleteIt's more of a Hispanic Tradition but I love it. Specially when spent with the family.
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