So, it´s January 5th and the stockings were hung by the chimney with care in hopes that the Three Kings soon would be there.... :)
I remember in Colombia how there is a bit of a ´cola war´going between groups of kids there if Papa Noel (Father Christmas) or el Divino Niño (Baby Jesus) brings the children Christmas presents....the same deal is going on in Spain, except it´s between Santa Claus and the Three Kings. It definitely seems like the Three Kings have won out - the kids write them letters asking them for presents on Jan. 6....it´s interesting to see all of this...
So here we are in Estepona (a town about 2 hours from where I live) to see the Three Kings´Parade! (The Magi have a parade on Jan. 5 because that night is when they deliver presents to the kids and Jan. 6 is officially their day when they arrive and meet the Baby Jesus.)
This is the local church in Estepona. My friend and I thought we´d take a quick look around the town...
Inside the Three Kings going to visit Baby Jesus....
Another Nativity scene.....
And a look inside of the altar.....
A quite decked out ´Maria la Virgen´statue.....
The crowds gather in anticipation, especially the kids...it´s freezing cold, but everyone wants to see the Magi!
Normally this wouldn´t quite fit Spain, but this year with the record cold and snow, it honestly could be a Spanish village somewhere up north.
Then the parade arrived! I thought the kids looked cute in their little get-ups and they were given candy to throw out to the crowds.....
The li´l angels.....
Here is Santa Claus....as I said, the Ámerican imperialism´has invaded every corner of the world and brought Santa along with it, but as we shall see....the true kings of the day are.....
And there they are! In the Bible the names of the Magi are NOT given, so I am a bit confused as to where people have gotten the names, but I think this one is Melchor (in the Spanish news it seems like Melchor was always first and seems to be the spokesman of the Magi)....
Melchor and his helpers throw candy out to the crowds. A big deal in the Spanish news is HOW MUCH candy the Three Kings throw out to the children on January 5. I forget the exact numbers, they they reported that in Madrid alone it was more than 10 million kilos!! Can that be possible? I was pretty sure though I heard MEELEEONS as opposed to thousands.....so....a good year for the dentists will be had! LOL
Here is Casper, the second King, and his helpers....
again, where the name comes from, I don´t know...it´s not in the Bible that´s for sure! :)
And here is where my American PC training kicks into gear to feel uncomfortable...just remember that doesn´t exist for the most part in Europe and ´black-face´is accepted for the most part....
This is Baltazhar, the third King who came to meet Baby Jesus....
I keep on looking at the picture and it´s funny how the PC-training is kicking in....hmmm....
And that was the Parade! The kids got their candy and the crowd disperses and now they will go home and wait patiently for the Three Kings to bring them their ´Christmas´presents....
Happy Epiphany everybody!! (even though technically the date is NOT historically correct LOL!)
Happy Epiphany everybody!! (even though technically the date is NOT historically correct LOL!)
