Culture of Spain
Easter is celebrated in Spain in different ways depending on the character and traditions of each area. The austerity and silence of the celebrations of the Castilian towns contrasts with the waste of light and color of the celebrations in Andalusia and Levante.
Easter processions take place in many cities of Spain, starting on Palm Sunday and ending on Easter Sunday. The steps and the fraternities are the processions that go through the different streets of our country.
Most of the processions and festivities are cultural now and are attended like one would attend any other parade. Here are some pictures of what you would see during these days. It is also a huge turistic event.
Tortel de reyes
On the 6th January (Los Reyes Day)
A special cake is made and sold all over Spain. Rosca de Reyes (pic below), is a ring-shaped pastry (tasting similar to hot-cross-bun mixture), covered in sugar and fruit flavoured jellies. On biting, beware, the cake will contain plastic toys as presents. The rumor is that you will be blessed if you find a toy. :)
The Three Kings
The next important day is the 6th January or Three Kings Day (Los Reyes). This is the day that the Three Kings arrived in Bethlehem, it is also the most important day for the children as the Three Kings replace Santa Claus in bringing gifts for the children (However in the last decade Santa had come onto the scene strongly and some kids get presents from both). They arrive overnight on the 5th January, riding horses and leave presents for the children. Parents encourage children to write to the Three Kings with their gift requests.
During the night of the parade the streets are lined with families and their kids. A lot of kids will bring little lanterns they have bought or made with a candle in them that lights up the way for the Three Wise Men.
During the Parade the Three Wise Men and a lot of other people throw tons of candy into the crowd.
During the time leading up to this the kids write letters to the Three Wise Men with the list of what they want. These are handed to pages that go to schools and other events and also collect them at the parade.
