Celebrating the coming of the 3 Wisemen

I have mentioned it before but for those of you who don´t know, Spain celebrates its big gift-giving day on January 6th when the 3 Wisemen (or Kings, or Reyes Magos) come to visit households on the same day as the Epiphany (when the Bible says they finally reached the baby Jesus). Here children write letters to the Wisemen asking for gifts, much like we do for Santa. I still think Santa is way better and nothing is going to change my mind. That being said, Jose and I went to his hometown´s parade on the 5th and watched as the Kings passed by on floats while throwing candy and small gifts to the people. It is exciting, just like seeing Santa at the end of a parade of lights back home. We ended up with some stuffed animals (for Cooper) and some plastic balls (again for Cooper). Jose claims that before the parade yielded much better gifts but that with the financial crisis things have been cut back. Now mostly they throw candy. In any case, it is a fun and very cultural experience. I even weaseled my way into getting a picture with Melchor, or was he Gaspar?? I didn´t know that the 3 Wisemen had names but apparently they do.



The morning of the 6th we opened presents with Jose´s family. His sister was in town from Paris and we had a good time exchanging things like clothes and books. It is also tradition to eat a special cake that has both a little figure of a king and a bean baked into it.



Whoever gets the piece with the king is the winner, this year it was Jose.Whoever gets the piece with the bean has to buy the cake next year. That ended up being me.



Overall it was a nice way to end the long holiday season here in Spain. Hopefully next year a tall (for a Spaniard) 14 year-old boy doesn´t stand right in front of me as the parade passes by so I can´t grab for more things being thrown. This year we really had to fight for the few things we got. Next year I will be more prepared. And I am throwing elbows.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Simple Spanish recipe: Chipirones a la plancha

Image
Ok so I know this picture is a bit blurry and I apologize but it is the final result of my having cooked chipirones a la plancha for the first time. Let me explain, chipirones are small squid and a la plancha means grilled. They are served in an olive oil, parsley and garlic sauce. At first I wasn't sold on the idea of this recipe but believe me, it is pretty awesome and super healthy. It is a really typical tapa that you can order at almost any bar here in the south of Spain. Chipirones a la plancha is usually served on a bed of lettuce or with a small side salad. Yum! Here's the how: First you need the chipirones (small squid that come with the heads and tentacles attached). I can buy them at my local grocery store in the fresh seafood section. I bought a package of 400 grams though the good thing about this recipe is that you can make as much or as little as you like. Allow me to also explain that here in Spain people tend to eat a lot more fish and seafood than...
Read more

La mesa camilla

Image
The mesa camilla is a very Spanish invention (in fact I believe it to be a very southernly Spanish invention). It consists of a table, a heater and a heavy, long tablecloth-like fabric that drapes over the sides. The idea is that you put the heater under the table and when you sit down you put the fabric over you like a blanket. The truth is that it does keep you quite warm. The downside is that once you get up and move, you lose the heat. Since the houses and apartments here in the south of Spain are not created for the cold (no central heating) a mesa camilla can be found almost every where.  We didn't have one last year and survived with blankets, space heaters and flannel pajamas throughout the winter. This year Jose decided we needed to get a mesa camilla. I fought the good fight (since often times they look very similar to the option in the picture above) but we ended up ordering one not too long ago.  Typically the mesa camilla is made of wood and can be stored ...
Read more

Spanish names

Image
Maaaaaaaria, I just met a girl named Maria Hopefully you just read that and sang the song from West Side Story in your head. Let's just say that from what I have experienced here in Spain, people really, really like this name. In fact, there are times when it seems like EVERY woman or girl is named Maria (or Maria de/l something) and though they might go by the second part of their name, their given one is still Maria. People definitely opt for traditional names here, unlike the US where names go through trends.  Recently a friend on Facebook posted a link which contained a GIF  (originally from The Atlantic)  showing the different female names that had been popular in the US since 1960. It is interesting to see how a name like Jennifer would be popular in one region and then would sweep the nation. Such a map would not be as cool here in Spain since not a whole lot would change. Maria. Maria del Carmen. Miriam. Marian. Mirian. Variations on a theme. Religious...
Read more