Similar to our tradition, children write letters to each of the Three Kings asking for gifts. Shopping malls even have stands where kids can meet each of the Three Kings and personally ask them for a gift. Just like Santa!
On the night of January 5th, families clean their house and prepare for the arrival of the kings. They leave out a little snack for each of the kings, along with water for their camels and horses. Each member of the family also has to clean their shoes and leave them out in plain view. At night the Kings deliver gifts and leave them next to shoes!
On the evening of January 5th there are parades all over Spain, celebrating the arrival of the Three Kings. Families and kids line the streets and watch the festive parade filled with floats, live animals and of course the Three Kings. Candy is thrown and kids scream at the Wise Men to remember to bring their presents the following morning. Ha! We had a great time watching the parade go by. Afterwards we enjoyed a nice walk in the city (it was 65 degrees even at 8 pm!) and took a couple of pictures by the Oviedo Christmas tree.
When in Spain, do like the Spaniards do! So we followed our friends lead and purchased a Kings Cake. Kings Cake are traditional Spanish cakes purchased on January 5th and eaten on the morning of Januray 6th, when everyone opens presents. There are two types of Three Kings Cakes you can buy in Asturias, a traditional glossy sweet bread cake that is served everywhere in Spain, and the Asturias type which is smaller and looks more like a puff pastry. Upon picking your cake, you also decide what kind of filling you want - white cream, almond, custard or a mix of any two. Yummy!
The round cake also comes with two surprises, a bean and a little figure which are placed inside the cake. The person who gets the piece with the bean has to pay for next years cake (ha!) and the person who gets the figurine is crowned the "king" or "queen" of the celebration and will have good luck. Guess who got what?! Double that luck since we ate all of our grapes on New Years Eve!
And best of all, the Three Kings brought us the BEST present EVER, kicks from our little peanut! Ahhh!
Now our little one is active and kicking like crazy...maybe we will have a little soccer player on our hands!