Today is the Christian feast of the Epiphany were it's said that God revealed Himself in the form of Jesus Christ. This day is celebrated in several Latin American countries as Three Kings Day. Particularly in Mexico and the Spanish-speaking Caribbean, the holiday is celebrated with the giving of sweets and gifts to children (instead of on Christmas Day).Much like the commercialization of Christmas, Three Kings Day has gradually turned into an occasion for shopping. Wal-Mart has led the push this year with a nationwide promotional campaign. Yet smaller retailers are also trying to recoup losses in the midst of a recession as well as take advantage of Latino consumers:
"It used to be that after Christmas, everything was pretty much dead," says Ignacio Hernandez, CEO of MexGrocer.com, which began offering the traditional Rosca de Reyes (King's cake) five years ago. "Now it's still busy.”If you're in New York City and not in the mood for crass shopping the 32nd Annual Three Kings Day Parade will be held in East Harlem. Several prominent politicos will be there honing their broken Spanish but more importantly it will be a celebration with floats, festivities, and even camels.
For the first time, actors dressed as the three wise men began wandering through Florida Mall in Orlando on Sunday and posing with children for photos on a repurposed Santa display. "Now we have three thrones," laughs general manager Brian Peters.
The Three Kings Day Parade starts at 11 a.m. at 106th Street and Third Avenue. The parade’s “three kings”/grand marshals will be New York Secretary of State Lorraine Cortes-Vazquez, Hispanic Federation founder Luis Miranda, and Nuyorican poet Jesus “Papoleto” Melendez.
Image- daylife.com (“Men with large masks representing kings lead the annual Three Kings Day Parade (Dia de los Reyes), 05 January 2006, in the East Harlem section of New York.”)
Online Sources- Gothamist, El Museo del Barrio, New York Daily News, USATODAY.COM MyDesert.com, elboricua.com, Wikipedia
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