Instead of writing a letter to Santa, they write a letter to the three kings asking for presents. They sometimes leave out water and carrots (water for the kings and carrots for the camels).
On the morning of January 6th, everyone holds a huge celebration. Everything is closed and there is a huge parade in town where the three kings throw candy and sweets to the children watching the parade. On the night of January 6th, people have a big dinner with their families. There is no traditional dinner, but there are traditional desserts. The two desserts are called el roscón de reyes and turrón. El roscón is a cake that is in the shape of a circle that is sometimes filled with vanilla cream and has dried fruit on top. Usually, there is a small coin and a bean hidden in the cake. If you get a piece of the cake and find the coin, you get a small prize. If you find the bean, you have to buy the cake for the next year. Turrón is like a block of crushed almonds mixed with sugar. It is very sweet and is only available during this time of the year.
When I asked my co-teachers about why they have these traditions they answered by saying, "es lo que hay," which means "it's what there is." I think that the communities uphold these traditions because they are very proud of the way of life in Spain. They enjoy being affectionate, loving, and proud of their country. They are really concerned about the wellbeing of the body and the mind. The people of Spain really take care of themselves and make sure that their body gets the rest and energy it needs to continue to do great work.
