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es_ES Español
Melchor, one of the three wise men, on a float in a 3 King's Day procession in Spain

Three Kings Day, Día de los Reyes Magos, in Spain (& the 12 Days of Christmas)

Last Modified: May 18, 2021 // by Tracy Ariza, DDS // December 27, 2019 I may receive a commission if you purchase through links in this post. Learn more here.

es_ES Español

The twelve days of Christmas ends with Three Kings Day on the Epiphany. Here in Spain, it is called el día de Los Reyes Magos. #thethingswellmake #3kingsday #epiphany #holidays #spain #Christmas #spanishholidays #threekingsday #roscon #cabalgata #diadelosreyes #diadelosreyesmagos #roscondereyes

Christmas doesn’t end on the 25th! In fact, that’s when the twelve days of Christmas begin! Christmas ends after Three Kings Day on the Epiphany. Here in Spain, it is called el día de Los Reyes Magos, and it’s a day filled with fun, presents, and great food.

Gaspar, Wise man of India, throwing candy to children eagerly awaiting them in a parade in Spain
Gaspar, the King from India, throws candy to the children eagerly awaiting him in a parade here in my city in Spain.
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Despite having grown up in the United States, I guess I’ve lived in Spain for so long that it shocks me to see people rushing to take their Christmas trees down right after Christmas.

Why? Because the day after Christmas is really only the second day of Christmas. Until the 12 days of Christmas and the Three Kings Day have passed, there is no way I’m taking down my Christmas tree!

What are the twelve days of Christmas?

The twelve days of Christmas are the twelve days that begin with Christ’s birth on Christmas Day and end with the Epiphany. The Epiphany, or 3 King’s Days, celebrates the visit of the three wise men.

If you count the days, you’ll notice that the twelve days can either include Christmas day, the 25th of December, or the Epiphany, the 6th of January, but not both. After a bit of research, it seems that different countries choose which one to include.

Here in Spain, I’d say that the 1st day of Christmas is December 25th, and the twelfth day of Christmas, then, is the 5th of January. It is very common for people to refer to the day after Christmas as “El segundo día de Navidad,” or the second day of Christmas.

In fact, until a few years ago, my husband always had the second day of Christmas off and we’d go out to eat with friends to celebrate with them. Lately, though, the fishermen get Christmas Eve off instead.

What is the Three Kings Day?

Three Kings Day is also known as the Epiphany, and it is celebrated on Jan. 6th. Here in Spain, it is also known as el “Día de Los Reyes Magos.”

The three wise men, Melchior, Gaspar, and Balthasar
The Three Kings (aka. Wise Men) from left to right: Melchior, Balthasar, and Gaspar

Who are the Three Kings?

The Three Kings are also known as the Three Wise Men. Here they are referred to as the “Reyes magos.”

Up until now, I’d know the Three Wise Men and their names, but wasn’t exactly sure where they came from. I mean, I knew the song “We Three Kings of Orient Are,” but I wasn’t exactly sure what that specifically meant.

Then somebody asked me about it the other day, and I did a bit of investigation.

Melchior, the fairest of the three, supposedly comes from Persia. Gaspar, slightly darker in color, hails from India or a region nearby. Balthasar, the King with the darkest skin (and my son’s favorite), hails from Arabia.

Balthasar on a float in a Three Kings Day parade
Balthasar also throws candy to the children from his float.

What happens on Three Kings Day?

While the main holiday is January 6th, the festivities begin the night before. (Similar to Christmas and Christmas Eve.)

The “Cabalgata”

On the 5th of January, the twelfth day of Christmas, we celebrate the arrival of the three wise men.

That evening, the 3 wise men parade through the main streets of most cities in Spain. They throw candy to the kids from their various floats (or camels, or however they make their appearance in each particular town). This parade is known as the “cabalgata” or cavalcade.

Melchior on a float in a parade in Spain
Melchior arrives all of the way from Persia bearing gifts and candy

The presents

Like Santa Claus, the 3 wise men come to bring presents to the kids. Just as with Christmas and Christmas Eve, some families choose to give out presents on the night of the 5th, while others wait until the next day.

Many kids also write letters to both Santa Claus and the 3 Wise Men asking for the presents that they are hoping to receive. Some children write directly to all three wise men, while other children choose “their” particular king and write to him each year.

My son chose Balthasar as “his king” when he was younger. I’m not quite sure why he chose one, or why he chose the king he chose, but perhaps it was because of what the other children at school were doing.

Depending on the family, the presents may be awaiting them at home upon arrival from the parade, or they may be brought during the night while the children are sleeping, to be opened the next morning.

Want to send a letter to the Three Kings?

a letter template for writing the 3 wise men.
Many toy catalogs include a letter template for sending to the 3 Kings. Feel free to print this one out to write to them! 🙂

Who brings more presents, the 3 Wise Men or Santa Claus?

In the past, the Wise Men were the main bearers of gifts at Christmas time here in Spain.

As more and more people have taken on the tradition of celebrating with Santa Claus, though, more and more people give the majority of their gifts on Christmas Day, allowing the kids more time to play with their new toys during their break.

Because the kids return to school right after the Three Kings Day, they don’t have a lot of free time to play with gifts that the Wise Men have brought. Presents are usually divided between the two holidays, though, and most kids get a few gifts for each.

We usually choose gifts that need more time dedication (like construction toys) and give those at Christmas. We leave other toys and games for “Reyes.”

child opening presents on the night before Three Kings Day
My son was excited to find toys and chocolates left by the Wise Men at my mother-in-law’s house near the parade.

Where do the Wise Men leave their presents?

When I was a young girl, we celebrated Christmas in Madrid one year. At the time, most of the people we knew did most of their gift-giving for “Reyes.” They didn’t really celebrate Christmas with Santa Claus yet.

Good kids received sweets and other presents in their shoes; bad kids ended up with shoes filled with coal.

I remember being afraid of the three wise men for some reason. Perhaps it was because they didn’t “know me” as well as Santa did, or perhaps it was the threat of possibly getting coal in my shoes.

What I do remember is that I had to set out my shoes, rather than a stocking, for the three wise men to fill and surround with presents. On the night of the 5th, we headed downtown to see the big parade. During the night the wise men snuck in through our balcony and filled my shoes with presents.

A young girl dressed in a Catholic school uniform in Madrid Spain in the late 70's.
Little me living in Madrid.

The tradition of leaving shoes out may have been borrowed from the Dutch custom of leaving out shoes for Sinterklaas.

While it is still said to be traditional to leave shoes out for the wise men, I haven’t seen people here in my city continue that custom. The people I know bring out their presents while the kids are out at the parade. The children eagerly return home to find their presents awaiting them.

Again, receiving the presents immediately after the parade may be an adaptation made mostly for practicality: to give the children a few more hours to play with their presents before they have to go back to school. Or perhaps it’s a regional difference.

The Roscón de Reyes (3 Kings Cake)

What does seem to be universal, though, is celebrating the holiday with more great food. People tend to serve the same sorts of foods that they served for Christmas and Christmas Eve.

Also universal is the celebration of the Three Kings day with the Rocsón de Reyes (3 kings cake).

The Roscón de Reyes is a ring of sweet bread that is decorated with candied fruits. It is often filled with whipped cream, chocolate whipped cream, pastry cream, or other fillings.

In the US, a version of the king’s cake can be seen at Mardi Gras celebrations.

The roscón is normally sold with a gold paper crown and also usually has a couple of hidden treasures inside.

roscon de reyes cut open to show the cream filling and king figure hidden inside.
This roscón de Reyes was filled with cream. The porcelain figure we found inside appears to be Melchior.

Inside the roscón de Reyes

Two objects are traditionally hidden within each roscón.

The “King”

One is normally a porcelain figure, often depicting one of the Three Wise Men.

If, when eating the roscón, you end up with the figurine in your piece, you are supposed to be crowned king! And, yes, that means that you can wear the lovely paper crown that came with your cake after trying to wipe away all of the whipped cream all over it. 🙂

The bean

Most of the time, though, the roscón also has a not-so-lucky item hidden inside. The “unlucky” treasure is usually a dried bean. If you end up with the bean in your piece, you are supposed to pay for the cake.

I decided that one year to make my own roscón. Unfortunately, it didn’t turn out exactly as I wanted so I never shared it on the blog. I added too much flour and had a problem with my oven. The circuit breaker of my oven switched off when I was baking it, and I didn’t realize it until my roscón had been sitting in a turned-off oven for quite awhile. My roscón ended up having a drier crust than it should have, and wasn’t as light and airy as I would have liked. At least the flavor was good, and my son loved it!

At first, he was just checking it out…

toddler licking a roscón de reyes

Then he started licking it!

Toddlers!

Once I master the recipe for the roscón itself, I will share it with you. At Easter, the same bread is made in a different form, so perhaps I’ll experiment again with the dough.

For now, though, now that “Reyes” is over with, expect to see more healthy recipes for a while. I need to detox!

Update Information

This post was originally published on January 7, 2014. It was rewritten in December 2019 to give more information about the 12 days of Christmas and how the holiday is celebrated.

Category: Christmas, Fiestas & Culture

About Tracy Ariza, DDS

Tracy Ariza, B.A., D.D.S., left dentistry and the United States to found Oh, The Things We’ll Make!, writing to you from the Spanish Riviera. She loves making things herself in order to keep control of what goes in them. While far from perfect, she strives each day to live a healthier, more sustainable lifestyle.

Previous Post:A bottle of homemade peppermint liqueur wrapped in bakers twine with a sprig of fresh mint.Homemade Peppermint Liqueur
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Patricia

    December 30, 2020 at 5:31 PM

    Do you have a recipe for Roscón de Reyes with US measurements?

    Reply
    • Tracy Ariza, DDS

      February 6, 2021 at 4:46 PM

      I’m sorry, I don’t. The ones I’ve made, I haven’t been happy with. Perhaps someday I can work on it. 😉

      Reply
  2. Krystal

    January 16, 2015 at 3:45 PM

    Hi Tracy,great post!
    Its such a wonderful tradition that they have here in Spain isn’t it? Last year we were newbies and din’t really understand what the whole thing was about but this year we participated fully! We just love it. Hope you enjoyed the holidays! Abrazos

    Reply
    • Tracy Ariza

      January 16, 2015 at 6:25 PM

      Hi Krystal.
      Thanks for your comment!
      Yes, so many things take some getting used to as I’m sure you can appreciate!
      I’m glad you wrote here because it gave me the opportunity to better check out your blog. I’m heading over right now to take a look. 😉

      Reply

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Hello, I’m Tracy!

I love making my own natural products like soaps and lotions and my own pantry items like yogurt and salad dressings.
Why do I do it? Sometimes to save money, sometimes because it's healthier, but I always love having control of the ingredients!​
Oh, the things we'll make!...

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