Christmas and Día de los Reyes

Christmas was always an interesting time for my sister and me growing up in Spain.  We had the chance to celebrate twice and received gifts TWICE! 

Let me explain.  Christmas was purely a religious holiday in Spain back in the 60’s and 70’s.  No Santa Claus or reindeer. Christmas trees were not common and few households had them on display.  Finding a Christmas tree lot was almost unheard of.

Depiction of the Three Wise Men

But some enlightened individuals, especially those that were following American customs, would decorate for the holiday, but very sparsely, certainly nothing like we were used to in California.  So, when we moved to Spain, it was a bit of a culture shock to come to the realization that my childhood friends would not be opening presents on Christmas morning! 

Instead, Spain celebrates the day of gift giving on January 6th, the day that the three wise men were said to have arrived bearing gifts to see the baby Jesus. 

In Spain children put their shoes out (shoes?  Yes, their shoes) for the Three Wise Men to place presents in and they wake up to open their gifts just as we did in the U.S. on Christmas morning. 

Thank goodness that my parents did not want our American customs to fall by the wayside, so they graciously provided Christmas presents on Christmas morning.  Given that my Spanish cousins were getting presents on the day of “Reyes”, my parents also provided round two of gift giving on the 6th from The Three Wise Men. I think that, over time, my cousins also benefited from the dual gift giving bonanza as their parents fell in line with the American holiday spirit. 

It was good to be the children of a mixed cultural environment!