Traditions Of The Three Kings Day In Spain
EPIPHANY DAY: JANUARY 6 IN SPAIN
Christmas season is long in Spain! This week we are celebrating the last special day before it ends: January 6 in Barcelona is the day of the Three Kings (or the Magi, or the Wise Men, or the Tres Reis Mags, in Catalan) or the Epiphany. If you are visiting Barcelona in January, you can’t miss this tradition!
We celebrate that the Three Wise Men from the East followed the shooting star to find the baby Jesus, Mary and Joseph in Bethlehem and brought him gold, incense and myrrh as gifts. This is why that’s the traditional day in Spain for kids to get their presents (despite Santa Claus invading our lives lately due to globalization…).
The Kings Day is a kids Christmas favorite in Spain, join the fun: we tell you how!
Join the locals celebrating the Three Kings Day in Barcelona:
1
Write your letter to your favorite Wine Man in advance
2
The Three Kings parade in Barcelona
On the 5th the Three Kings arrive to the city: Don’t miss their parade, la “Cavalcada”. In Barcelona they usually arrive by boat at the Moll de la Fusta pier around 5pm, the parade crosses the whole city towards Montjuic.
Everything about its itinerary can be found in the website of the city council. Same goes for any other large city or small town in Spain: the Kings are magical and they arrive to all locations that evening!
3
Before going to sleep...
4
The next day
When the family wakes up, the Three Kings will have left presents for everybody. And after that, usually starts an itinerary around the houses of other relatives (grandparents, uncles and aunts, close friends…) to see if the Wise Men left anything for the kids as well.
5
Lunch
And finally, get ready for a family big meal that always finishes with the traditional Tortell de Reis, a marsipan bread dough similar to Mardi Gras King Cake. Inside the cake there are two surprises, the “good one” and the “bad one”. If you get the fava bean, that’s the bad one: you’ll have to pay the cake!
But if you get the little king/wise man figure, then you’ll be crowned king of the day and you’ll have the right to wear the paper crown that came with the cake. I often find the occasion to show these Tortell cakes to my clients when we are having a tour of the city center of Barcelona this time of the year.
And after that, Christmas time will officially be over! Children will still be given another day off before going back to school on the 8th after almost 20 days of holidays. As for adults… well, it’ll be time to dieting after so much food and wine these days!
AND BONUS! How can you be supportive on this special date?
6
Donate a toy
Participate by buying a toy and taking it to the stand in front of their seat at 6, Casp. They’ll be accepting toys from 10.30 AM to 1PM. By the way, in case you don’t know where to buy a toy, the department store Corte Inglés is conveniently located around the corner!). Help the Three Kings spread the joy in Barcelona!
Have you ever celebrated the Three Kings day?
Marta
Marta is the founder of ForeverBarcelona. She is a passionate tour guide that loves Barcelona and loves writing too. She is the main author of our Blog, and is committed to sharing her knowledge about Barcelona and her best tips with our readers.
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