Los Reyes Magos

Last night the Three Kings, Los Reyes Magos arrived from the Orient to bring Christmas gifts for the children of Spain and other Hispanic countries. Known as Los Reyes Magos, or The Magi, they appear on decorated floats or riding on camels.

In Madrid they arrived amidst a spectacular parade with many floats and marching bands.

Plaza de Cibeles, Madrid

Melchoir

 

 Gaspar

 

 Baltasar

 In the Canary Islands, they appeared riding on camels with an exotic entourage.

Melchoir in Santa Cruz de Tenerife

Gaspar

Baltasar

All images above were taken from RTVC...Canarias television.

 One charming custom is for the mayor of the city to present the Kings with a large golden key, which is supposedly a magic key which enables them to be able to open all the doors of the homes in the city so they can distribute gifts while the children sleep.

Before going to bed, children will leave bowls of milk and cookies in their living room for both the Kings and the camels.

Thanks for dropping by.  Have a lovely Dia de Reyes, or 6th of January, a national holiday here in Spain.

What a Great Sunny Winter!

We're having beautiful weather with sunshine every day since we had that bad storm.
Even the blackbirds think it's time to start singing and building nests.  They are certainly coming to visit me every day.  Or rather my bird feeder.  And there's one persistent dove who must have remembered this feeding tray from last spring.
Here's one of my visiting blackbirds again:

Today I walked downtown to the main plaza.  It only took half an hour and the temperature was just right, at about 23°C (73.4°F),

Down the steps at Calle Iriarte

Tapas in Calle Iriarte

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Waffle stand in Plaza del Charco

And because we are still in the Christmas period here, there is a fairground with a giant ferris wheel set up near the fishermen's harbour.

Tomorrow evening the Three Kings will arrive bearing gifts for the children, with parades through the streets of Spain's cities and towns.  In some places live camels will be used to carry the packages, while in others decorated floats will be used.  So today, the town was still very much in a Christmas mood.

A porcelain Nativity Scene

I stopped at the Columbus Plaza to have a look at the bakery and the Roscones de Reyes, or King's Cakes,

those light and puffy pastry rings topped with candied fruit and a gold crown,  made only for the holiday of the Three Kings, on January 6th.

Here you can see a few crown-topped king cakes in the left display case.

Here below is one from a previous year at our neighbourhood bakery:

Doris holding a Roscon de Reyes or King Cake

So while I was downtown in Columbus Plaza, I decided to have lunch of....yes, roast TURKEY again.

It came in a delicious mushroom gravy with German sautéed potatoes.

Roast turkey in mushroom gravy

Well I'll leave you with thoughts of food today.  Perhaps I'll be able to take some photos of the parade tomorrow.  I hope they will have camels this year.

(If you'd care to see them, there are a few more photos from today's walk  in my slideshow.)

Thanks for dropping by and hasta la vista! 

81 ~ The Three Kings

Arrival of the Kings

Last night saw the arrival in Spain of the Three Kings, Los Reyes Magos, also know as The Three Wise Men or Magi, bearing gifts for the children who would have woken this morning to find them under their Christmas tree. January 6th, Epiphany, the 12th day of Christmas, is here known as El Dia de Reyes and is a national holiday.

In Tenerife on Camels

The three kings, Caspar, Melchior and Balthazar arrived in Tenerife from the orient on camels burdened with packages and as they passed through the streets, these royal gentlemen threw candies, caramelos in Spanish, to crowds of waiting children.


In Madrid the parade, called the Cabalgata de Reyes, was a lavish affair with many floats, giant balloons and spectacular illuminated coaches, one for each of the three kings, escorted by an entourage of beautifully costumed attendants. The parade ended in Madrid's Plaza de Cibeles, famous for the fountain with the statue of the goddess Cibeles.

Balthazar

And proof that the children of Madrid are no fools when it comes to catching sweets thrown down to them from the passing floats, there was a sea of upturned umbrellas lining the edge of the parade. Upturned of course to catch more of the shower of candies. Clever aren't they!

Credits with thanks for images taken from the TV broadcasts of El Dia TV in Tenerife and TVE Television Española Channel 1 in Madrid.

Thanks for dropping by and ¡Hasta la Vista!