While Balthazar was from Arabia, Melchior from Persia, and Gaspar from India, the three men followed the Star of Bethlehem until reaching Mary, Joseph, and newborn Jesus.

In fact, they might have been astrologers or advisors to monarchs, communicating with King Herod of Judea. The holiday closes out the Christmas celebrations and represents the day the Three Wise Men or the Magi brought gifts to the baby Jesus after following what is known as the Christmas star to the town of Bethlehem, as told in the Gospel of Matthew. Named Balthazar, Melchior and Gaspar, the three wise men or magi are sometimes known as kings, but they were not royals. Otherwise known as Epiphany, El Día de los Reyes Magos celebrates the day the three wise men visited baby Jesus’s nativity, traveling far and wide from the East all the way to Bethlehem. The holiday is widely celebrated in the Hispanic community with celebrations including a Rosca de Reyes (Kings Cake) and gifts for children. Far away from the mass consumerism that tends to haunt modern-day Christmas, El Día de los Reyes Magos, or Three Kings Day, focuses on the biblical meaning of the holiday instead. Sure, Santa Clo’ and all the other kinds of U.S.-centric Christmas traditions like stocking stuffers, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, presents under the tree, and leaving milk and cookies out will always have their steady place in our hearts, there’s something about Los Reyes Magos that makes the January 6 celebrations feel distinctly ours. The Three Wise Men were the Biblical rulers who were said to have followed the star of Bethlehem to the birthplace of Jesus. El Día de los Reyes Magos is a holiday you might already be familiar with, loved all across Latinoamérica as the quintessential tradición navideña our papás and abuelitos taught many of us.

Dia de reyes gifts