4, 6 January, 2008
Three Kings Day is celebrated on January 6th, twelve days after Christmas. It is often viewed as the last day of the Christmas season (the end of the 12 days of Christmas).
Also known as The Epiphany, Three Kings Day (Día de los Reyes) is a Christian celebration that commemorates the Biblical story of the three kings who followed the star of Bethlehem to bring gifts to the Christ child. According to the Biblical story, the Three Kings - named Melchior, Caspar and Balthazar - presented the Baby Jesus with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.
Three Kings Day was the gift-giving time, rather than Christmas day. Just as it is common for children to leave cookies for Santa in the U.S., in some regions, it was customary for children to leave their shoes out on the night of January 5, often filling them with hay for the camels, in hopes that the Three Kings would be generous. Children would awake on January 6 to find their shoes filled with toys and gifts.
Filling the streets of Spanish Harlem with camels, sheep, donkeys, hoards of schoolchildren, men dressed as kings and Latin music, the Three Kings Day Parade is a thoroughly colourful and festive Christmas affair, Latin American-style. A community celebration the next day at el Museo del Barrio offers family entertainment.
In Latin America, as in Puerto Rico, the Caribbean and Spain, 6 January is a festive day of the Nativity season. It commemorates the day the three kings visited baby Jesus. Arriving on camels, elephants and horses, Melchior, Caspar and Baltazar brought gifts for Jesus and declared him the Messiah. In celebration today, children leave hay by their bedsides the night before as a treat for the animals and anxiously await the next morning's presents.
Location
Manhattan
El Museo del Barrio, New York City
Hours
Parade Fri 10am; community celebration Sat 1.30pm-4.30pm
The ethereal Tribute in Light memorial was designed to help lessen the aching loss felt across the country since 9/11. It is a profound symbol of strength, hope and resiliency.
The New Yankee Stadium
New Yankee Stadium is the working title for a new stadium for the New York Yankees, currently under construction. It will open in 2009, replacing the third-oldest stadium in the Major Leagues.
The Bronx
In popular culture 'The Bronx' has often symbolized violence, decay, and urban ruin. In fact, there are guidebooks that say you must never go to the Bronx! Sheer ignorance, that is all we have to say! Interactive Bronx map
4, 6 January, 2008
Interactive Bronx map
