Magi Kings' Day

Epiphany is the Greek name for the feast of the Baptism of the Lord.This holiday has another (international) name - epiphany. This is the Greek name for the feast of the Baptism of the Lord (the Western Church calls it Epiphany), dedicated to the baptism of John the Baptist of Jesus Christ in the Jordan River. This feast is called Epiphany because at the time of baptism there was the appearance of three persons of God: God the Father testified about the baptism of God the Son, and the Holy Spirit, in the form of a dove, descended on Jesus, confirming the will of the father. The feast of the Epiphany entered the church calendar in the middle of the II century and was first celebrated together with Christmas, and in the IV century the celebration of Christmas was postponed to December 25. After the feast of the Epiphany, the previous date was preserved - January 6.

In Spain, this holiday is called the Day of the Magi Kings (Día de los Reyes Magos). This name is associated with three pagan magic kings, Caspar, Melchior and Belshazzar, who came with gifts to worship the newborn Jesus in Bethlehem. It is these characters that become the main characters in the celebration of Epiphany.

On January 5, on the eve of the Epiphany, magnificent festive processions take place in cities and large villages of Spain, the length of which can reach several kilometers. Ahead of the parade are kids with drums, followed by adults with children on huge carriages, followed by a brass band. Closes this procession carriage with three kings-magicians. They hand out sweets and toys to the children running after them. In different regions of Spain, the parade takes place in different ways: somewhere the kings are accompanied by a military escort and a military orchestra, somewhere they enter the city on camels. One thing remains the same in all places of celebration of the Day of the Three Kings - it's children's joy, fun and waiting for gifts, because they are in Spain - it's like in Russia, Santa Claus.

After the festive parade, children together with their parents set a table for the night, to which, on the night of 5 to 6 January, magic kings come to eat. Children shine their shoes and put them out of the door, stuffed with straw, as a sign of a table set for kings. After eating the treats, the kings leave gifts in their shoes and continue their journey. If the behavior of the child this year was unsatisfactory, they will pour coal into them. By the way, these are also sweets, outwardly almost indistinguishable from pieces of real coal. They are sold all over Spain at this time.
The traditional treat is the bagel of kings. They are baked in different sizes, sometimes very large. The bagel, which can in principle be a cake in this form, is cut into a piece and distributed among family members. The piece in which the chip is located is happy. Usually parents take care in advance so that such a piece goes to the child.
Children should also write a letter to kings on the eve of the holiday.

On the day of Epiphany, according to tradition, the Spaniards illuminate the water, incense and chalk, with which the first letters of the names of the kings-magicians are written on the door of their house: "K + M + B". According to legend, this drives away evil forces and evil thoughts from the house and preserves the well-being of the family. This chalk is kept all year. And there is still a tradition of burning fires - "Epiphany lights", illuminating the "way of the Magi". According to legend, magic kings make a trip on foot across the country and head to Bethlehem. The Three Kings’ Day ends Christmas in Spain.