Día de los Reyes Magos

The Story

Upon receiving the good tidings of the birth of Jesus, Gaspar, Melchior, and Balthazar traveled from the east to offer three symbolic gifts: gold, incense, and myrrh. It is probable that the number and richness of gifts led in time to the assumption that they had been three in number, as well as kings. According to tradition, when Jesus was born in Judah, in the days of King Herod, three Wise Men arrived from the east, guided by a star. On their way to Bethlehem, the Wise Men were warned by a dream that King Herod wanted to kill the child. Upon arriving in Bethlehem, they discovered the child with Mary, his mother, and they rendered homage unto him. Later traditions have established the Wise Men's number at more than three. In time, more symbolism became attached to the legend; for example, the Wise Men became represented in art by different races and ages, to encompass all the ethnicities and ages of men.

Latin America Observance

Día de los Reyes traditions were established early in many main colonial cities built by Spanish conquerors. There are historical chronicles and art depicting the Adoration of the Magi from South America to Mexico. Although the celebration was popular for centuries, the traditions have given way in importance to others in most Spanish American regions and institutions that preserve the holiday rituals. Ring-shaped cakes known as rosca de reyes (Kings’ Cake) are baked with a figurine of the child Jesus and eaten on this day. The person who finds the figurine is crowned or blessed.

United States Celebration

Epiphany, also known in different communities as Twelfth Night, Three Kings’ Day, or Día de Reyes, has also found expression in the United States, where it is celebrated in Mexican American and some Caribbean communities, as well as in the former French colony of Louisiana and in some Protestant communities.

Inevitably, the Epiphany celebration would adopt local customs and mores across the United States and today still plays a significant role in intercultural community celebrations. In the U.S. Virgin Islands, the day is commemorated as a public holiday, where it maintains a Latin American flavor. It is celebrated expansively in the island of St. Croix, where lively processions and parades take place. In Louisiana, a former French Catholic colony, Three Kings’ Day starts the Mardi Gras season, and a version of Kings’ Cake, similar to the one enjoyed in Mexico during this holiday, is baked from Epiphany Day until Mardi Gras. In Puerto Rico, children and adults participate in the celebration of the Feast of Kings, which includes live music on the feast day, and children open gifts that are placed under their bed on the eve of the holiday. For many Protestant churches, a holiday is celebrated as a period of time rather than as a single holy day. Thus, in some Protestant traditions, Epiphany extends from Twelfth Night until Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of Lent.

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