New York Latin Culture Magazine®

World-class Indigenous, European & African Culture since 2012

Three Kings Day is the Hispanic Gift-Giving Day at the End of Christmas Season

Three Kings Day, Tres Reyes (Three Kings), Día de Reyes, Día de los Reyes Magos (Day of the Magi Kings), or Epiphany on January 6, is the Latin celebration of the end of the Christmas season.

There are many different traditions. We are most familiar with Puerto Rican traditions. In Hispanic tradition, it is the Christmas gift-giving day. It’s also the start of Carnival Season.

Three Kings Day NYC 2024

Three Kings Day NYC (Iakov Filimonov/Dreamstime)
Three Kings Day NYC (Iakov Filimonov/Dreamstime)

We are just starting our 2024 Three Kings Day coverage.

Three Kings Day NYC 2023

These were some of New York City’s Three Kings Day events in 2023.

Sueño de Reyes – Dream of Kings; children’s theater that imagines the Three Kings arriving in Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico instead of Bethlehem; is at Teatro SEA in Manhattan’s Lower East Side; Saturday-Sunday, December 10-11 & 17-18, 2022 at 3pm; Thursday, January 5, 2023 at 7pm; and Saturday-Sunday, January 7-8 at 3pm. $20 adults/$15 children. 🇵🇷

The 46th Three Kings Day Parade NYC 2023 with Annette Aguilar & Stringbeans, BombaYo!, and Fogo Azul marches up Park Avenue from 106th St to 115th St in “El Barrio” East Harlem on Friday, January 6, 2023 from 11am – 12noon. FREE! 🇧🇷🇳🇮🇵🇷🇪🇸

The El Museo Three Kings Day 2023 Celebration; featuring Milteri Tucker, Bombazo Dance Co, and a parranda; is at El Museo del Barrio in “El Barrio” East Harlem on Friday, January 6, 2023, from 1-2pm. FREE! 🇵🇷

Three Kings Day is the Latin Gift-Giving Day

We love the Three Kings. In Hispanic culture, Three Kings Day is the gift-giving day. It’s the last day of Christmas, except in Puerto Rico where Las Octavitas keeps the party going.

Puerto Ricans have the world’s longest Christmas celebration from the Feast of Our Lady of Providence, patron saint of Puerto Rico, on November 19; to Las Fiestas de la Calle San Sebastián in mid-January.

On the eve of January 6 in Puerto Rico, children put grass under their bed for the Three Kings’ camels. When the rooster crows in the morning, children get up early to see what the Three Kings gave them.

Today, most Puerto Rican families celebrate both days, giving a big gift on one day and small gifts on the other.

American Christmas traditions have mostly taken over, but most Puerto Ricans never heard of Santa Claus and American Christmas traditions until the American occupation began in 1898. Shortly thereafter, the Americans forced Puerto Rican teachers to teach in English. They gave us some books we couldn’t read, but we could look at the pictures and wondered what was all the fuss about the guy with the white beard in the red suit.

We love the Three Kings because they represent all the parts of us: Indigenous, European and African. The only thing missing is Asia, but they were three kings of the orient which is Asia. So no matter your heritage, the Three Kings represent all of us.

Furthermore, the wise men took a journey outside of themselves, outside their realms, to pay respect to another culture besides their own. That is the ultimate state of grace. ¡Feliz día de los Reyes!