The most important part was the Rosca de Reyes, a sweet bread made with candied fruit. On Three Kings Day, we would go to my grandmother’s house, and the whole family would share a Merienda de Reyes. A great way to teach kids about this tradition is by downloading these free Three Kings coloring pages. Of course, we always have a full day of activities and crafts, from cooking to coloring. Both my children loved it! It’s a great way to share with them the meaning behind the celebration of Epiphany. Here is an excellent video of the Día de Los Reyes, ideal for the kids. Then, early in the morning on January 6th, we would wake up and run to see what the Reyes had left for us. And we never forget the cookies and milk for Melchior, Gaspar, and Balthazar! Again, a similar tradition like when we leave a carrot and cookies for Santa and his reindeer. We also put hay and a bucket with water for the camels as refreshments for their long trip. Some people also leave their shoes under the Christmas tree, so Reyes Magos knows which present belongs to which kid (under their shoes). Then, before going to bed, we placed our old shoes under the bed or in the living room near the nativity scene, where the Three Magi would leave us presents. Like we do for Santa over Christmas, we write a letter to the Three Wise Men, asking for presents. On the night of January 5th, we added the figurines of the Three Wise Men to our Nativity scene. We always had a giant Nacimiento in the living room near the Christmas tree. In Guatemala, people make elaborate Nacimientos or Nativity scenes with colored sawdust, trees, lakes, and mountains. Then the family gets together to enjoy a Rosca de Reyes. But on Epiphany Day, the Three Kings Day is also honored, and the kids receive gifts from the Three Magi. Christmas is celebrated with kids opening presents from Santa Clause. When I was a little girl, we celebrated El Día de Reyes (Three Kings Day) as part of the Christmas traditions in Guatemala. El Día de Reyes Magos, a Beautiful Christmas Tradition From leaving your shoes out for the Three Magi to enjoying Rosca de Reyes and doing fun Three Kings day crafts and activities, I love sharing El Dia de Reyes Magos with my kids. It’s a tradition that I grew up experiencing in Guatemala. We have always celebrated Día de Reyes with my kids in our home. El Día de Reyes’s celebration commemorates when the Three Wise Men bring gold, incense, and myrrh as gifts to the newborn baby Jesus. Children get presents on this day from the Magi instead of receiving them on Christmas from Santa Claus. They came bearing gifts, too: gold to symbolize Jesus being seen as “King of the Jews,” myrrh to represent Jesus being a mortal human being and foreshadowing his early death, and frankincense to depict his divine status.El Día de Reyes Magos, Three Kings Day or Epiphany, is a Christian holiday celebrated in many Latin American countries on January 6 th. While Balthazar was from Arabia, Melchior from Persia, and Gaspar from India, the three men followed the Star of Bethlehem until reaching Mary, Joseph, and newborn Jesus. In fact, they might have been astrologers or advisors to monarchs, communicating with King Herod of Judea. Named Balthazar, Melchior and Gaspar, the three wise men or magi are sometimes known as kings, but they were not royals. Otherwise known as Epiphany, El Día de los Reyes Magos celebrates the day the three wise men visited baby Jesus’s nativity, traveling far and wide from the East all the way to Bethlehem. Far away from the mass consumerism that tends to haunt modern-day Christmas, El Día de los Reyes Magos, or Three Kings Day, focuses on the biblical meaning of the holiday instead. Sure, Santa Clo’ and all the other kinds of U.S.-centric Christmas traditions like stocking stuffers, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, presents under the tree, and leaving milk and cookies out will always have their steady place in our hearts, there’s something about Los Reyes Magos that makes the January 6 celebrations feel distinctly ours. El Día de los Reyes Magos is a holiday you might already be familiar with, loved all across Latinoamérica as the quintessential tradición navideña our papás and abuelitos taught many of us.
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