Palma de Mallorca, 05th Jan 12

THREE KINGS - THE FESTIVITIES CONTINUE!

Just when you thought Christmas was all over and you’ve recovered from the New Year celebrations, the feast of the Three Kings is upon us and it all starts again!

In Spain it is the Three Kings that officially bring gifts at Christmas time and traditionally it was the only time when gifts were exchanged.

Children would leave shoes outside their front doors with a glass of milk and biscuits to ensure that the Kings passed by and left gifts. However, in recent years with more outside influence and more foreign residents living on the island, Father Christmas has played a more important role and in many cases I am sure that children benefit from both!

In Mallorca it seems only natural that the arrival of Melchor, Gaspar and Baltasar in Palma should be by boat. The arrival of the Three Kings on January 5th is celebrated all over Mallorca and obviously the Palma parade is the most elaborate with around 16 different floats with 400 people participating and handing out approximately 5,000 kilos of sweets which are thrown to the crowds as they pass by all the main streets of the city. The tradition is that they tour the city or town and then end up in the town hall.

In some of the villages the Three Kings (thanks to the wonderful hard work and collaboration of the local church and volunteers) will actually pass by the house with gifts. Parents can leave gifts for the children at a “secret” collection place and then the Kings personally visit each household on the night of the 5th handing out the gifts, which obviously makes it very special for little ones.

This is very much a celebration for the children and their excitement and anticipation on the 5th is a joy to watch. So forget about the euro crisis in 2012 because The Kings are coming!

For further information, please contact:
Mallorca Tourist Board, Dominique Carroll / Anna Skidmore,
Tel:(+34) 971 725 396 Fax: (+34) 971 713 540
E-Mail: info@fomentmallorca.org

Further Press Releases:

GOOD NEWS FOR MALLORCA IN 2012 (09th Feb 12)

FESTIVE SWEETS CAN BE HEAVENLY (05th Jan 12)

MORE MICHELIN STARS FOR MALLORCA’S TOP RESTAURANTS (01st Dec 11)