Tonight is
Noche de Reyes, (
Nit de Reis in
catalan).
Melchior,
Gaspar and
Baltasar
weren’t in fact kings, they were three
wise men (called also
Reyes Magos, The King Magi) that according to the bible came to
Bethlehem to pay tribute to
Jesus.
This night, (at least in many countries with catholic tradition like Spain) all the children (except the poor) go to sleep knowing that tomorrow they will find many gifts. It is like Santa, exactly the same think, except that instead of socks you leave some water and some spirit liquor for the three kings and their camels.
During the Christmas holidays, children write the letter to the Kings, where you explain how well you have behaved this year and give a list of the gifts you would like to receive. In every shopping mall and now in the Internet, you can go to a Royal Messenger and send your mail to the kings…
When I was a child, I heard the rumour that “the kings are the parents”, one thing that almost everyone here has heard once in his/her life. Now we still know, but consumerist traditions are too hard to forget, so tomorrow morning we’ll spend the morning with our families, showing how hard we have beaten our credit cards. In spite of this, it’s still great to give and receive gifts!