Every January 6th, our entire nation shines with the festive spirit of Los Reyes Magos, the Three Kings. It a cherished cultural celebration that marks the arrival of the Three Wise Men. The tradition blends joy, family, sweets, and spectacular street festivals. It also marks the official end to the Christmas holidays in Spain.
Who are The Reyes Magos?
The Reyes Magos, literally Three Magic Kings, refer to the biblical 3 Wise Men: Melchior, Gaspar and Balthazar. According to Spanish tradition, they followed a star to Bethlehem bearing gifts of gold, incense and myrrh for the newborn Jesus. Today in Spain, January 6th is not just a holiday but the most important day of their Christmas holiday. Why? It is present day!
On the night of January 5th, kids leave their polished shoes by the door so the Kings can fill them with gifts. On the morning of the 6th, families wake up to discover the surprises left overnight. And this is only the beginning, the afternoon is celebrated with impressive and colourful parades. Song fills the streets, as well as christmas lights, confetti and flying sweets!
A staple of this holiday is the Roscón de Reyes: a crown‑shaped sweet brioche decked with candied fruit resembling precious jewels. It is filled with cream and bakers hide a tiny figurine and a dried bean. Finding the figurine makes you “king or queen for the day”, while the bean means you buy next year’s roscón! A fun game amongst friends and family!
Cabalgata: Spectacular Parades
The heart of the Three Kings celebration is the famous cabalgata. These are colourful parades starting in the afternoon, and the party continuing into the evening of January 5th. You can expect dazzling floats or carriages, music, dancers, costumes of bright colours! And the best of all? A river of sweets flying into the crowds. Children, and adults, line the streets with bags ready to collect candies and small toys thrown from the parade.
These processions mark one of the most vibrant moments of Spain’s festive calendar, usually culminating at main squares or beach promenades where the Kings “arrive” in grand style.
Why is Holland mentioned in a 3 Kings Villancico?
The song goes: “Ya vienen los Reyes Magos, ya vienen los Reyes Magos, caminito de Belén. Olé, olé, Holanda y olé, Holanda ya se ve, ya se ve, ya se ve”. This has been a mystery in our Dutch family for many years. We always wondered why the Spanish were so excited about the facts that “Holland was visible” in a 3 Kings song… So, we did some research, and of course there are many different theories as to where this comes from.
One of the most solid theory says that Holanda has been mis-spelled over the years, as really, it is supposed to be “Olanda”, referring to the star that guided the Reyes Magos to Bethlehem. It is unclear whether or not the star was actually given that name. Another theory is that the King Baltasar was a Dutch king, although this hypothesis is not backed up as well since the three kings came from “El Oriente” and not from Europe.
Another possibility of course, is simply that the composer of the song liked the way it sounded and had a nice rhyme and catchiness to it. Will we ever know the truth behind the importance or non importance of Holland? Only time will tell…
Happy Holidays!!
David Verbaan | 6th January 2026
