Three Kings Day - Vera, Spain

Saturday. January 5, 2008

Twelve days after Christmas in Spain, Three Kings Day is celebrated, which is January 6th. (This coincides with the end of the twelve days of Christmas.) The celebration is more popular than Christmas, and was observed long before Dec 25th celebrations began in this country.

The day before on January 5th, there is a great party where everybody gives and receives presents. Children go with their families to a parade where they see the Three Wise Men – Melchior, Caspar and Balthazar - arrive to their city. (In some areas along the coast they arrive by boat.)

Every town, village and city seems to celebrate with pageantry, parades, and festivities. In Vera the parade was smaller than those shown on TV in other centres, but it was well-attended and you could feel the excitement of the children. There was a float for each ‘king’—being chosen is an honour and there is one fair skinned man, a dark-skinned man, and one in-between to represent kings from various countries.

In between, there are other people dressed up and maybe another float or two. The floats themselves aren’t anything in particular and it seems the towns switch them around each year so that they are different.

Here as the parade progresses, candy is thrown all along the way and everyone scrambles to pick some up. Usually it is hard candy, but there have been complaints in recent years and this year they were throwing ‘jelly babies’ (jellied candies wrapped in cellophane).

I was hit a few times in the head with them, and they were hard enough so I can understand why people complained about the other ones….and yes, I was right in there with everyone else grabbing whatever ones I could find. The red ones were my favourite. Some kids had bags full!

The parade winds through the town centre and eventually makes its way to the town square outside the church. There gifts are distributed to each and every child below the age of 13 by The Three Kings. We didn’t stay for this distribution as it takes hours.

Each child’s name is called out and they go up and get their special gift which they have written a letter and asked for. (The parent’s have actually purchased the gifts and spirited them to the appointed area.)

This traditionally is the only gift the children get for Christmas at least here, although it varies all over the country. Some might have received gifts during the Christmas celebrations, but the kids are not as spoiled here as their counterparts in the UK and North America in general, although I'm sure they quite possibly are in the larger cities where there is much more availability to 'outside' influences.

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Earlier in the day, the usual Saturday market took place until 2 p.m. and then everything closed, again like usual. I've discovered that when the people here are finished at 2, they have their large meal of the day, and then actually have a siesta...they get their jammies on and everything.

At any rate, the day was warm and there were loads of merchants and people out. I spent a long time wandering around. I bought some fresh green beans and new potatoes, and one of the delicious barbecued chickens and had a fine feast that reminded me of summer on my grandparent's farm.

I also bought some fresh almonds and other nuts from a stall that sold so many things, I didn't even know what some of them were.

There were several stalls that sold olives...more kinds than I've seen in my life...large. plum, juicy ones, done in a variety of ways. Too bad I wasn't an olive fan, I'd have been in heaven!

I also spent some time watching an artist 'paint' with a scalpel like instrument, and using either acrylics or oils. She was quite proficient at it and her work was lovely, but no, I didn't purchase anything.