During this holiday season Christians across the world celebrate Christmas, and the Epiphany. The Epiphany or Twelfth Day is the celebration of the three wise men who followed the star to Bethlehem looking for baby Jesus. They followed the star to bring Jesus gifts of gold, myrrh, and frankincense 12 days after he was born.
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To my surprise, Day of the Magi or El Día de Reyes is not solely a Latin American tradition it is also celebrated in many European countries as well.
I’ve compiled a wonderful selection of multicultural children’s book, and I reached out to a wonderful group of mommas from the +Multicultural Kid Blogs, and asked how they celebrated this season.
Multicultural children’s books about Christmas and The Magi (Three Kings Day and Epiphany) Around the World
- Verde Navidad / Green Christmas (Nueve Pececitos, Raices / Nine Small Fishes, Roots) (Spanish Edition)
- Babushka
- El viaje de los reyes magos (Escena y fiesta) (Spanish Edition)
- The Legend of Old Befana
- Los Tres Jueyes Magos (Spanish Edition)
- The Visit of the Wise Men
- Los Tres Reyes (a caballo) (Serie Raices) (Nueve Pececitos) (Spanish Edition)
- Celebrate Christmas and Three Kings’ Day with Pablo and Carlitos (Stories to Celebrate)
- El dia que los Reyes Magos se toparon con Santa Claus / The day that the Three Wise Men were met with Santa Claus (Leer Es Vivir) (Spanish Edition)
- Horrible Harry and the Holidaze
- Christmas Around the World (On My Own Holidays)
- Celebrate the Winter Holidays!: Sensational Activities & Background Information That Help Kids Learn about and Appreciate Five Important Holidays
- A Piñata in a Pine Tree: A Latino Twelve Days of Christmas
- The Legend of the Poinsettia
- Hurray for Three Kings Day
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| Photo Credit Via Creative Commons |
Three Kings Day and Epiphany Traditions Around the World
From the mouths of our multicultural mommas across the globe:
Italy
+Ute Limacher-Riebold from Expat Since Birth shares different versions of this popular legend La Befana who is a kindly old witch bearing gifts by climbing down the chimney in Italy on January 5th. She shares with us the different legends surrounding this popular character in Italy.
I love how she celebrates with her multicultural family! She expresses the following: “I celebrated it in Italy, now in NL a bit less… In our family we have a very “personal” way to celebrate all this: the “Heilinge Drei Könige” (Dia de Reyes) and Befana together but also Sinterklaas/Sankt Nikolaus. We came up with a funny explanation: that Sankt Nikolaus is like the brother of La Befana, or that they inspire one another… I think it would be very interesting to know how multicultural families justify the celebration of multiple festivities. It can be quite challenging and I know families where parents don’t agree with part of the traditional celebrations of their partners culture(s)…” You can read her post here.
France
In France it’s a tradition to eat La Galette des Rois! Do I have a treat for you! Three wonderful bloggers share how they celebrate this tradition, and two of them share recipes!
+Annabelle Humanes from The Piri-Piri Lexicon shares a yummy recipe of La galette des Rois: a French Three Kings Day cake.
+Maria Babin from Trilingual Mama shares an Almond cream pastry recipe.
+Phoebe Thomas from Lou Messugo shares La Galette des Rois – another jewel in the French gastronomic crown.
Germany
From Stroud Is All Over the Place shares a beautiful tradition on children singing and knocking on doors honoring Three Kings Day in Germany. Three Kings Cake is also served that night to celebrate the occasion.
+Sasha Martin from Global Table Adventures shares a delicious recipe: A Cake for 3 Kings (Dreikönigskuchen).
Spain
+Becky Morales from Kid World Citizen poses the question: How do the Reyes Magos Get to Spain? via Helicopter, Skiis, Boat, Horse…..
Puerto Rico
Celebrating El Día de Reyes in Puerto Rico is huge! They have their own Museo de Reyes! A museum dedicated to the magi. Decorating shoe boxes, and placing them by the bed with some grass in it, and water is also part of the tradition. I myself, continue to nourish this family tradition even if we’re living in the U.S.A. We’ve also had cultural playdates, and playgroups where the kids decorate their boxes.
Poland
+Olga Mecking from the European Mama shares her traditions: “We write the initials of the three kings on the door (K(acper)+M(elchior)+B(altazar) with chalk and then the year (for example now it’d be K+M+B, 2014). I think it is also the time the Christmas Tree is dismantled. They are the names of the Three Kings I’ve learned at church.”
Per Ute from Expat Since Birth the inscriptions above the door is a tradition that can also be seen in in Germany, Switzerland, Italy, and in the Netherlands as well.
México
+Monica Olivera from Mommy Maestra has a wealth of information on celebrating El Día de Reyes! A Mini-Concert, Spanish language books on Los Reyes Magos, and if you’re looking to do some activities she has a free printable here, and lesson plans and more activities here.
If you’re looking for more book suggestions +Carrie P. from Crafty Moms Share offers a ton of suggestions on Multicultural Christmas books that you can’t miss!
Follow Frances @ DTWTMSE’s board Three Kings Day {Día de Reyes} on Pinterest.
What a great resource; thanks for including my post! I'll be back to have a good look around and click through to all the many varied contributions.
Beautiful post Frances! and my children loved your experience with the homeless couple! This is actually one of our Christmas goals this year and reading your blog post got them even more excited about it! Merry Christmas and happy holidays!
Thank you Phoebe for your contribution! Reading your post made me hungry! 😉
Thank you Maria! I am so happy that your children enjoyed reading about our experience with the homeless couple, and I pray that you and your children can too make a difference in someone's life. Merry Christmas to you too!
Frances, Thank you so much for all the resources. We are learning about Three Kings Day and this is definitely a great collection for me to digest and to share with kids.