Los Reyes Magos
The Three Wise Men
The 6th of January is an important date in Spain. The three wise men visit our houses leaving presents for the good children underneath the tree and black coal for the naughty ones.
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. Melchior, Caspar and Balthazar travelled to present baby Jesus with three symbolic gifts, gold, frankincense and myrrh.
The celebrations of the arrival of the wise men to Bethlehem kick off on the 5th of January. Since the 19th 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. These are big, colourful parades that make their way through the main streets of the town, throwing handfuls of sweets out over the crowds.
The day wouldn’t be complete without the traditional Roscón de Reyes, sweet circular bread with sugar and dried fruits on top. There is 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 either buy the sweet treat the following year or wash the dishes that day.
The arrival of the three wise men officially marks the end of the Chrismas period in Spain.
