The Three Kings also serve as inspiration for many Puerto Rican artists who paint, sculpt, or carve beautiful figures representing this important holiday. There’s even a museum dedicated exclusively to the history of the Three Kings called the Museo de los Tres Santos Reyes. This festival has been taking place for more than 130 years. The most famous celebration happens in the municipality of Juana Diaz, where the Magi arrive on horseback and lead a parade through town while handing out candy and gifts to children. Families gather to feast on traditional holiday dishes such as arroz con gandules, pernil, pasteles, and tembleque. The rest of the day is filled with parades, festivals, and celebrations. In return, the kids wake up in the morning to find they’ve received small gifts or candy if they’ve been good and charcoal or dirt if they’ve been naughty. Small gifts like candy may also be left out for the Three Kings.

Parrandas are the Puerto Rican version of Christmas caroling - a fun street party where anyone can join in on the fun.Īs tradition goes, on the eve of Three Kings Day, children leave a shoebox filled with straw, hay, or fresh-cut grass for the Magi’s camels (or horses), placing the box either under the bed or somewhere where it can’t be missed, like under the Christmas tree.

In the evenings leading up to Three Kings Day, friends and families gather in parrandas to sing and play traditional Puerto Rican music around the neighborhood, stopping at neighboring homes to celebrate, enjoy food and snacks, and sip coquito (a coconut-based holiday drink made with rum) before moving on to the next house and doing it all over again. Preparations for the festivities begin just after Christmas day, and the days leading up to January 6 are filled with lively celebrations and gatherings. You could almost say that Three Kings Day is just as big of a deal as Christmas in Puerto Rico - if not more so. If you love Christmas as much as our family does, celebrating Three Kings Day is a great way to extend the holiday magic for 12 more days! Puerto Rican Traditions In Puerto Rico, where I’m from, we refer to it as Dia de Los Reyes Magos. Three Kings Day decorations in Puerto Rico.ĭid you know that the 12 days of Christmas don’t actually begin until Christmas day?Īccording to Christian tradition, the first day of Christmas is the day Jesus was born, and the twelfth day falls on January 6 - the day the three kings famously arrived in Bethlehem to deliver their gifts to baby Jesus.ĭepending on the culture, this day may be called the Feast of Epiphany, The Twelfth Night, or Three Kings Day.

Feliz dia de reyes puerto rico