There’s Noche Buena, Christmas Day, New Years Eve, New Years Day and lots of family gatherings in between to make anyone exhausted. But, we Latinos like to party so we throw in one more celebration for good measure – Los Tres Reyes Magos or Three King’s Day.
Los Tres Reyes Magos is a celebration of the three wise men who brought gifts to the child Jesus. Traditionally children write letters to the three kings the night before the Epiphany, January 6th. On that night the three kings travel house to house on their camels delivering gifts. Different countries and families practice different customs to mark the day such as leaving food for the camels, putting a box with grass under the bed, or leaving out shoes.
REWIND: FELIZ DIA DE LOS REYES MAGOS 2012
As a child, my grandparents took me every year to the Tres Reyes Magos parade in Little Havana. The traditional parade complete with bands, floats and lots of goodies was capped off with a trip to our cousins house for a pumpkin soup and natilla (a custard similar to pudding). It was a celebration of family, life and food.
Now with my own children write cards, leave out food for the camels and get little gifts. We celebrate with Cuban food and sharing memories from my grandparents.
While the three kings brought gold, frankincense and myrrh, we have something the tweens might like a little more. Our great friends from Swarovski have joined with us to celebrate with a giveaway. We’re raffling the Swarovski Hello Kitty Gothic Pendant (there is nothing scary about this adorable necklace). Hello Kitty’s moving head sparkles in clear crystal with and her adorable black outfit matches the dangling accent star.
TO ENTER: Leave a blog post sharing how you keep your culture alive during the holidays. Gain more points by liking our Facebook page. Be sure to input your information in the Rafflecopter box to enter and visit www.facebook.com/Swarovski to see all of the fun Swarovski items for moms and tweens.
Abrazos and Feliz Dia De Los Reyes Magos,
a Rafflecopter giveaway
