Traditions of Día De Los Reyes
Tara A. Spears
Three Kings Day, or Feast of the Epiphany, is always celebrated on January 6. This date is often considered the last day of the 12 days of the Christmas season. Dia de los Reyes is mostly observed in Mexico and Latin America. Mexican families will usually celebrate Three Kings Day with a gathering of extended family to share a special dinner that is topped off with the King’s Bread (Rosca de Reyes) for desert. Children sometimes make crowns to wear at the table in honor of the kings.
On January 5th—the night before Three Kings Day—figurines of the Three Kings are added to the nativity scene. Then children usually get taken out to the town square where people are dressed up as the Three Kings so that kids can take photos with the Reyes Magos. After the meal comes the cutting of the three Kings bread.
Traditionally, this special bread is baked into a round shape to signify a King’s crown. The Rosca de Reyes is a staple of the holiday and sold in most stores a few days before the 6th. Hidden within the sweet bread is a “baby Jesus” figurine — the individual who finds the toy in their slice must then prepare tamales for everyone on the Day of the Candles, which is celebrated on February 2.
Rosca de Reyes Bread is a special bread that is only served on Three Kings Day in Mexico. This bread is loaded with symbolism. First, the bread is twisted so that after it’s baked, it looks like a wreath. Then this bread is loaded with nuts and fruits which symbolize the jewels on the crowns of the Three Kings.
Finally, a small figurine of Baby Jesus is hidden somewhere inside the bread. When someone finds it (hopefully without chipping a tooth), they have to host the Candlemas holiday on February 2nd—which includes loads of delicious tamales!
Another component of the celebration involves gifts. Children leave their shoes right outside their doors so the Three Kings will leave their gifts inside the shoes, with bigger presents placed around the shoes.
In some regions it is tradition to leave grass for the camels. Many families leave a box of grass (or hay) and water for The Three King’s camels to eat. This practice is similar to the tradition of leaving out cookies and milk for Santa Claus. Camels are known for being sloppy eaters, frequently leaving a trail of hay behind; a fun activity is making a grass trail for the children to follow to their gifts. It adds to the excitement and anticipation for the children.
The charming observance of Dia de los Reyes is a fun way to wrap up the Christmas holiday season. If you have domestic workers-cleaning lady, yard man- it would be appropriate to give them a little gift.
