What is ‘Three Kings Day?’ And how do people celebrate it? (2024)
Every year on Jan. 6, the 12th day of Christmas, Christians around the world celebrate Three Kings Day.
The special Christmastime holiday takes on various names and traditions depending on where you are in the world, the Smithsonian Libraries report. Some cultures refer to the holiday as “El día de los Reyes Magos” while others call it “The Twelfth Night” or “The Feast of the Epiphany.”
Whichever name you prefer, the holiday commemorates the biblical journey taken by the three kings (or ‘wise men’ or ‘magi’) to meet and worship the infant Jesus in Bethlehem.
As the story goes, the three men brought the child gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. An article in the Huffington Post notes that the gold represents Jesus’s royalty and his title as “King of the Jews,” the frankincense symbolizes his holy position as God’s son, and the myrrh (which was used as a preservative) denotes his mortal body that would die for the sins of the world.
According to Newsweek, In non-pandemic times, the holiday is celebrated with feasts and parades around the world. Children in Belgium dress up as the wise men and carol door to door. In Mexico, families prepare Rosca de Reyes, or King’s Cake to mark the occasion. In some parts of the world, children leave their shoes outside their bedroom doors at night to find them filled with presents and treats the following morning.
An entry in Dennison’s Christmas Book from 1921 details a Twelfth Night party that involves baking a cake with a bean inside it to select the night’s king and queen, the Smithsonian Libraries report.
#TwelfthNight, #Epiphany, Three Kings Day, el Día de los Reyes Magos. Celebrations on January 6, 12 days after Christmas, have as many names as traditions.
— Smithsonian Libraries and Archives (@SILibraries) January 6, 2021
In recent years, even Disneyland has taken part in the Three Kings Day festivities.
Newsweek reports that people traditionally take down their Christmas tree and decorations on the Day of the Epiphany or the day prior, marking the end of the 12 Days of Christmas. According to the site, it supposedly brings bad luck to leave them up any longer.
At the end of the Twelve Days of Christmas comes a day called the Epiphany, or Three Kings Day. This holiday is celebrated as the day the three wise men
the three wise men
In Christianity, the Biblical Magi (/ˈmeɪdʒaɪ/ or /ˈmædʒaɪ/; singular: magus), also known as the Three Wise Men, Three Kings, and Three Magi, are distinguished foreigners who visit Jesus after his birth, bearing gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh in homage to his birth.
Three Kings Day (Día de los Reyes), also known as the Epiphany, is a Christian celebration that commemorates the Biblical story of the three kings who followed the star of Bethlehem to bring gifts to the Christ child. This marks the official 12th day of Christmas.
Three wise men, or Magi as they were known, whose names were Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar, traveled a far distance to pay homage to Christ. They brought with them fine gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
By the Middle Ages, most believed that three Magi visited the Christ child and that they were kings who symbolized the three ages of man. In keeping with Matthew's account that the Magi journeyed from the East, writers first suggested that the kings were Persian.
Each January 5th, kids join their parents to cut fresh grass and set it in a shoebox under their beds, under the Christmas tree (just like the cookies for Santa Claus), or in a place that is not easy to miss.
A popular Epiphany tradition in many cultures, the King's Cake (or King Cake) is a sweet cake in which a small figure of the baby Jesus is hidden. Searching for the baby Jesus in the cake imitates the Magi's search for the baby Jesus.
One holiday baking tradition we cherish is the Rosca de Reyes or “Wreath of the Kings,” a traditional sweet bread eaten every January 6 for Día de Los Reyes, Three Kings Day. Also known as Epiphany, the holiday is celebrated throughout the Christian world.
That's what children in some countries are instructed to do on the evening before Three Kings Day. Similar to the way kids leave carrots for Santa's reindeer to snack on, some kids are also asked to leave some hay or grass for the camels to eat, and water for them to drink.
In Christianity, the Biblical Magi (/ˈmeɪdʒaɪ/ or /ˈmædʒaɪ/; singular: magus), also known as the Three Wise Men, Three Kings, and Three Magi, are distinguished foreigners who visit Jesus after his birth, bearing gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh in homage to his birth.
The date of the birth of Jesus is not stated in the gospels or in any historical sources and the evidence is too incomplete to allow for consistent dating. However, most biblical scholars and ancient historians believe that his birth date is around 4 to 6 BC.
Melchior was often referred to as the oldest member of the Magi. He was traditionally called the King of Persia and brought the gift of gold to Jesus. In the Western Christian church, he is regarded as a saint (as are the other two Magi).
Typically, children give and receive gifts on Three Kings Day. In some parts of the world (primarily in Spain), children also leave their shoes by the door so the three kings will come in the night and fill their shoes with small gifts—just like on Saint Nicholas Day!
This holiday is celebrated as the day the three wise men first saw baby Jesus and brought him gifts. On this day in Spain, many children get their Christmas presents. In Puerto Rico, before children go to sleep on January 5, they leave a box with hay under their beds so the kings will leave good presents.
Since the three kings travel such a long distance and have a lot of work to do during the 5th and 6th of January, families traditionally leave water, turrón (a typical Christmas nougat), and milk out for the three kings and their camels to eat and drink.
On the night before El Día de Los Reyes, children leave their shoes under their bed or outside by the door so that when the Three Kings pass by, they can leave gifts inside of them to the next morning.
The star of Three Kings Day is undoubtedly the Roscón de Reyes, a crown-shaped sweet bread. This aromatic pastry is traditionally decorated with candied fruits, symbolizing the jewels of the Magi's crowns.
Three Kings Day celebrates the day in the story of the Three Wise Men — Los Tres Reyes Magos — who gave gifts to Jesus Christ. Three Kings Day is also known by the name Epiphany and in the Orthodox Church, the holiday is known as Theophany and commemorates Christ's baptism.
Introduction: My name is Frankie Dare, I am a funny, beautiful, proud, fair, pleasant, cheerful, enthusiastic person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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