Fiesta de los Reyes
Kings Day is a Spanish tradition a part of the Christmas celebration that is celebrated on the night of January 5th and during the day on January 6th. Instead of Santa Claus bringing gifts to the children in Spain, the Three Kings bring them gifts. This tradition stems from the biblical story of Jesus' birth when the three kings visited him in Bethlehem and brought him three gifts.
Barcelona celebrates this day and night with a huge parade of lights and floats. There is music and theatrics to excite children of adults of all ages. The three kings ride by on their floats and the children give them letters with their gift wish list. That night, the kings come on their camels with the gifts that the children asked for. One is supposed to leave out food for the camels such as carrots and a few sweets for the kings.
The kings always bring gifts but also a chunk of coal to remind the children that they are not always on their best behavior. My grandparents gave me a purse from Madagascar and, of course, a chunk of coal.
During the day everyone gets together for a large lunch. The meal consists of Canelones, which are a pasta wrapped around meat such as chicken and covered in cream and cheese. For dessert we ate Rascón de Reyes, which is a sweet bread covered in candied jelly candies to symbolize the gems of the kings and almond. There is a sweet trufa inside. Baked within the pastel there is one small king figurine and a faba bean. The cake is cut into even pieces depending on how many people are sharing the pastel. Whoever receives the King gets good luck and whoever receives the lima bean has to pay for the pastel. My grandmother found the king in her piece and my uncle had the faba bean.