1. No category

El Día de los
Reyes Magos
Cultural Activities
©H. Lamovsky, 2014
El Día de los Reyes Magos
Once the New Year begins, you may
consider the Christmas holiday season to be
ended. In Mexico, as in the majority of
Spanish-speaking countries, there is still a
very important holiday left to celebrate called
“El Día de los Reyes Magos” or “Three
Kings Day” in English.
This day is meant to commemorate the visit
that the 3 Wise Men (“Los Tres Reyes
Magos” in Spanish) paid to el niño Jesús
after his birth. According to their religious
beliefs, the Three Wise Men brought gifts of
gold, frankincense, and myrrh with them.
In Hispanic tradition, The Three Wise Men or
Three Kings take the place of Santa Claus
as the gift givers of the season. Although
most Hispanic children recognize Santa
Claus (“Papá Noel” in Spanish) as a symbol
of the Christmas holiday, he just can’t
compete with the Reyes Magos who bring
children gifts each January 6th.
1
©H. Lamovsky, 2014
Me llamo Melchor. Soy el Rey
de Arabia. Yo traje oro al niño
Jesús.
Me llamo Baltasar. Soy el Rey
de Egipto. Yo traje mirra al niño
Jesús.
Me llamo Gaspar. Soy el Rey de
Sabá. Yo traje incienso al niño
Jesús.
El Día de los Reyes Magos
A few days before January 6th, children will write
a letter to their favorite Wise Man (or all of
them).
Typically, the children will comment on how their
behavior was during the year, what the year
was like, and what they would like as gifts –
both for themselves and for the world.
You are going to write your own letter, in
Spanish, to one of the Reyes Magos. Use the
Spanish phrases to help in the writing of your
carta.
¿Quién es tu Rey favorito?
He sido bueno(a) – I have been good
He portado bien – I have behaved well
He intentado portarme bien – I have tried to
behave well
Le pido… – I ask you (formal) for…
Quisiera… – I would like…
Paz – peace
Amor - love
Querido _______________,
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
Melchor
Baltasar
Gaspar
________________________________
Firmado:
2
©H. Lamovsky, 2014
El Día de los Reyes Magos
After the letters are written, children in Mexico
City (La Ciudad de México) go with their
families to Parque Alameda. Alameda Park is
a very old and famous park.
At this time of the year, the park is filled with
hundreds of stands selling food (comida), toys
(juguetes), and special stationary (for the kids
that have procrastinated in writing their cartas).
There are also stands where children can get
their pictures taken with the Tres Reyes
Magos.
Repaso de Vocabulario
Directions: You have been introduced to
several Spanish words that have to do with the
celebration of Three Kings Day. Fill in the
blanks with an appropriate word, in Spanish.
1.
2.
3.
The most popular stands are the ones that sell
beautiful balloons (globos) of every color. The
children pick out their favorite globo, tie their
carta to it, and let it fly away to carry their
wishes to the Reyes Magos.
3
4.
5.
El seis de enero es un día festivo que se
llama “El Día de los ________ ________.
En los países que celebran este día, los
niños no reciben regalos de ________
________.
Los niños escriben _________ a los Reyes
Magos para pedir________.
Muchas familias van al ________
________en los días antes del seis de
enero.
Aquí,se puede comprar ________de
muchos colores. Los niños atan las
________ que escribieron a los ________.
©H. Lamovsky, 2014
El Día de los Reyes Magos
On the evening of January 5th, the evening
before “El Día de los Reyes Magos”, there are
many preparations to be made.
This is the night when the figures of the Reyes
Magos are added to the Nativity Scenes
(nacimientos) that have been set up in nearly
every house in Mexico since the beginning of
the Christmas season.
El Nacimiento
The nativity scene is an important part of the
Christmas holiday season that you will learn
more about in the interactive activities that
follow.
Some children leave milk and cookies for
Melchor, Gaspar, and Baltasar. Even the
animals that they travel with are left a little
something as hay and buckets of water are left
outside some homes.
Before going to bed for the night, children leave
their shoes (zapatos) in the living room (or
sometimes under their beds). By morning, los
Reyes Magos will leave their gifts in or near
their shoes (depending on the size of the gifts).
New shoes are a common gift for el Día de los
Reyes Magos, so sometimes when children
awake, they will find their presents near the new
pair!
4
©H. Lamovsky, 2014
El Día de los Reyes Magos
As the actual Día de los Reyes Magos arrives,
houses all over Mexico are full of the excitement
of children who have just opened their gifts.
Children will also talk about how they thought
they heard the footsteps of un camello or saw
a shining crown in the middle of the night.
Most Mexican children do not receive the
amounts of gifts that we might be accustomed
to receiving.
As the day begins, families are already
preparing for the Merienda de Reyes which will
take place later that evening. They head to the
market to buy the food needed to prepare for
the feast with friends and family. They are
almost certain to make a stop at the local
panadería to pick up a freshly made Rosca de
Reyes.
Families typically prepare tamales and drink
chocolate before enjoying the Rosca de
Reyes for dessert.
5
La Rosca de Reyes
The Rosca de Reyes is a ring shaped
sweetbread that is decorated with candied fruit.
Somewhere in the cake, a small plastic or
ceramic figure of el niño Jesús is hidden. You
will learn more about this tradition in the
interactive activities that follow.
Each year, in Mexico City, a special Rosca de
Reyes which is more than a mile long is baked
especially for this day! The cake weighs almost
10 tons and it takes more than 43,000 eggs to
prepare it!
Tens of thousands of Mexicans gather in the
zócalo to eat the humungous cake. It typically
takes them only about a half hour to eat the
entire thing!
©H. Lamovsky, 2014
La Rosca de Reyes
As you learned previously, the Rosca de Reyes is a special kind of
sweetbread made for the Día de los Reyes Magos. We also mentioned
that each Rosca de Reyes has el niño Jesús hidden somewhere inside it.
It may seem a bit strange, but this tradition is symbolic of the religious
stories behind the holiday.
As families and friends sit down to enjoy the Rosca de Reyes, each person
cuts off a piece. “What if they cut off his head?”, someone always
asks…well, that danger is also part of the story. First of all, the figure is
hidden in the cake just as (according to the story) el niño Jesús had to be
hidden so that King Herod (a king that wanted to kill him) would not find him.
The knife used to cut the cake symbolizes the danger that el niño Jesús
was in because of these threats from King Herod.
Believe it or not, most people actually hope they don’t get the piece that
hides el niño Jesús. If they do, they are responsible for hosting a
celebration on February 2nd (El Día de la Candelería) and buying a new
ropón for the figure of el niño Jesús used in el nacimiento.
©H. Lamovsky, 2014
You are about to eat a virtual Rosca de Reyes!
Choose a piece of the Rosca de Reyes to see if YOUR piece hides el niño Jesús. If it does,
perhaps you will be responsible for writing a report about El Día de la Candelería (Due
on February 2nd of course)!
©H. Lamovsky, 2014
¡No lo encontraste!
Click on
the Rosca
de Reyes
to try
another
piece!
Since your piece of the Rosca de Reyes did not have el niño Jesús, you will not
have to plan a party for el Día de la Candelería. However, you will be invited to
the party thrown by the person who does find el niño Jesús.
©H. Lamovsky, 2014
¡Lo Encontraste!
You found el niño Jesús! It is now your responsibility to plan and host a party for
your friends and family on el Día de la Candelería which takes place on el 2 de
febrero. You will also have to buy a new ropón for el niño Jesús so that he
looks nice when your family takes him to church to be blessed on that day.
©H. Lamovsky, 2014
El Nacimiento
Since the nativity is representative of the story of el nacimiento del niño Jesús, each
figure has a meaning and is added to the nacimiento according to the timeline of the
story. Click to see the order in which the figures are added and where they are typically
placed.
Estrella de
Belén
el 14 de
diciembre
Los Animales
el 14 de
diciembre
Los Pastores
El 26 de
diciembre
El Niño Jesús
la noche del 24
de diciembre
María y José
Cuando
empieza Las
Posadas (el 16
de diciembre)
Los Reyes Magos y
el Camello
el 6 de enero
©H. Lamovsky, 2014
Actividad 1
Directions: Fill in the categories below with Spanish words or phrases that you
have learned during this lesson. Make sure the words that you choose are
appropriate for the category.
Things to Eat and Drink
Things to Do
Religious Figures
Places to Go
©H. Lamovsky, 2014
Actividad 2
Directions: Complete the Venn Diagram below to compare the traditions of el Día de los Reyes Magos
with the traditions of Christmas as it is celebrated by some in this country. Things they have in common
will go where the circles overlap, while differences will go in the outer circle.
El Día de los Reyes Magos
©H. Lamovsky, 2014
La Navidad
¿Quieres Aprender Más?
Here are some additional links to videos about el Día de los Reyes Magos and
el Día de la Candelería if you would like to learn more!
Videos
1. A video of the Three Kings Day celebration and parade in Madrid, España
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awvv8_BYu3o
2. The story of the Three Kings in Spanish https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJ_UKn0Y23M
3. Celebration of Three Kings Day in a small town in Mexico https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RI4OumTLafs
4. News story about the mile long Rosca de Reyes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2QLdoU2Z4s
5. Cute video of a boy opening his presents on Three Kings Day https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVnWzpepWDw
6. A video about the traditions of el Día de la Candelería https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0w-xVktGjg
©H. Lamovsky, 2014