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On January 5, camels can be seen everywhere in the streets of Spain. Ridden by the Three Wise Men from the East and loaded with gifts for children, this marks the official start of the great Epiphany celebration, which takes place the following day. Nowadays, more and more towns and cities are switching to horses instead of camels.
What in the Netherlands is nothing more than a side note, is here one of the most important festivities of the year. There are many striking similarities with our Sinterklaas celebration, but more on that later.
According to the Bible, the Three Wise Men are searching for the newborn baby Jesus. In the more modern version, they are accompanied on their journey through the Spanish streets by beautifully decorated floats (often with a Middle Eastern theme), extravagantly dressed people, many lanterns (to ward off evil spirits), and a whole army of followers throwing candy to the children.
This colorful procession always draws large crowds. Sometimes people gather not in the streets but at the harbors if the Wise Men arrive by boat. Or even on snowy mountains if they arrive in ski resorts on skis.
Apart from being a celebration deeply rooted in religious events, it is especially for the children. They write a letter to the Wise Men with their wish list. On the evening of January 6, they put out a bowl of water and food for the camels. The Wise Men come through the window at night and place gifts in their shoes.
Just like with Sinterklaas, naughty children can be punished, but in Spain, this punishment strangely enough consists of a candy that looks like coal but tastes delicious.
After the focus on the children, January 6 is mainly about good food and exuberant celebrations for the whole family.
