Celebrating Christmas in Spain: Three Kings
As they say, it’s the most wonderful time of the year. Christmas is one of those holidays you just can’t miss wherever you are in the world. Despite the universality of it, there are little differences on how people celebrate Christmas around the world. Here in Spain the star of the show is not Christmas Eve but rather the Three Kings (they do celebrate Christmas Eve with the Nochebuena but more on that later). Spanish Christmas celebrations might surprise you. Here’s what you need to know.
Christmas is a innately a religious festival in Spain so bear that in mind. Pascua is the first word you need to understand when talking about Spanish Christmas time as you might hear the phrase, “estoy como
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The parades usually have floats, sometimes camel-shaped ones to give homage to the bactrians who carried them. Sometimes, there are real camels on parade. The Three Kings that you see in these parades are:
Gaspar. Believed to be a Persian, Gaspar wears a green cloak and a gold crown encrusted with green jewels. He has brown hair, and he can be bearded. He is the King of Sheba, and he carried the Frankincense given to Jesus. Frankincense is important for Catholics as it represents the prayers of the faithful rising to heaven.
Melchior. Wearing a gold cloak is Melchior, the King of Arabia. He carried the gold brought to the infant Jesus. Gold is associated with Kings. For the Catholics, this is an important symbol as Jesus is the King of Kings.
Balthazar. Believed to be Babylonian, Balthazar wears a purple cloak. He has black skin and like Gaspar, can be bearded. He carried myrrh. Myrrh is significant in Catholicism - it is a perfume that is put on dead bodies - and it signifies that Jesus would suffer and eventually