King's Day Tradition

In many latin countries, a tradition called "King's Day" is celebrated early January. It is a day we remember the kings, or wise men from the east, who came to offer gifts to the baby Jesus. The night before "King's Day" the children put out one of their shoes, in hopes to receive a gift from the "kings" in the morning. They also put out water and hay/ grass for the king's camels (which are surely hungry from the long ride).

This year, we again put out our rows of 30 shoes. We couldn't find hay, so we all agreed the camels would settle for a carrot and zucchini. In the picture are the boys putting out the water and veggies. Sure enough, the next morning the veggies and water were gone and each shoe had a special gift (thanks to some friends from California).