The Three Wise Men arrive in Catalonia

Barcelona (ACN).- It is the most magical night for Catalan children, the 5th of January. Tonight the Three Wise Men deliver gifts to every single household in the country. On Wednesday night, the streets of every city and town in Catalonia were crowded with thousands of children that, despite the cold weather, came out to greet the three Kings and remind them to come to their house with presents. In Catalonia, it is a tradition for every child to write a letter to the Three Kings explaining them how well behaved they were during the year, and ask for their favourite presents –usually toys and sweets. The Three Kings parades will distribute up to 40 tonnes of sweets around Catalonia, sweets that are even suitable for celiac children.

Barcelona has one of the most spectacular and exciting parades of Catalonia. The Three Magical Kings from the East travel on their respective floats around the city accompanied by up to 1.222 helpers. Their route through the Catalan capital is more than 5 kilometres long. The Three Wise Men were accompanied by a fabulous musical and theatrical production directed by Marta Bou. Like every year, the Kings came to the city by sea. Thousands of children went to the Port of Barcelona to see them arriving. The mayor of Barcelona Jordi Hereu welcomed the Three Kings, Melchior, Gaspar and Balthasar. Hereu gave them the 'key' to the city, that opens all the doors of every single house, so that every child will get the presents. The mayor also asked the magical kings to bring jobs for the parents of the children, as unemployment is very high in the country. In Lleida, the Kings are more sophisticated, and arrived by plane. They arrived at the new Lleida-Alguaire airport, on one of the only long-haul flights in the area, as trips from the East to the lands of the West are not usual in Lleida. From the airport, the Three Wise Men were collected by bus and carried to the city centre of Lleida. There, thousands of children were expecting them in order to beginning the parade and start the magical night.