The 3 Wise Man

In most parts of the world Christmas ends on January 1st, but not in Spain. For children the most important day of the Christmas celebration is January 6th with the arrival of the Three Kings.

This tradition is a celebration of the adoration of Baby Jesus by the 3 wise men, also known as Magi, or in Spain, the three Magic Kings. Melchior, Caspar and Balthazar travelled to bring Jesus’ gold, frankincense and myrrh. 
To celebrate this tradition, in Spain, there are plenty parades in every city on the night of January 5th, where the Magic Kings and all their entourages ride their camels along the city and give presents and candy to the children that are present. 

In some areas there is another tradition but burn the axes. Axes being torches made with dry palm tree leaves. Kids do this to leave the ashes on their doorsteps to let the Magic Kings know that they must stop there.

After that, kids go home to eat the popular Roscon, a pastry made specially for this day, that contains presents, some are nice, some are not, to make it fun for the kids. But not so long after eating there is time to prepare the arrival.
Tradition states that children must leave their shoes among some food and drinks for the camels, so they can eat and hydrate during their long overnight journey. Next morning is when all the children will wake up to their gifts and spend the last day of holydays playing with them before the return to the school on the 7th. Lucky for them, this year, they will have an extra couple days to play with their new toys since the 7th falls into a Saturday, I’m sure the Magic Kings will have this in mind when they deliver all the presents. 

There are many amazing parades in amazing with hundreds of years of tradition, so make sure you check them out if you are just passing by. And if you need some Euros to enjoy the rest of the holidays, make sure you visit us at Eurochange, when we will offer you amazing exchange rates for you and your family to enjoy this Spanish Christmas tradition.