Los reyes magos or (Día de los reyes magos) Three Kings Day is celebrated on January 6th. This is the day that many Latino children receive gifts. For children, this cultural and religious celebration has a magical feel to it just like Santa Claus and Christmas does to many. Many children wait in anticipation for months to find out what the ‘Reyes Magos’ are going to bring them.
This might be a tradition that you grew up with or want to pass on to your bilingual children. Or maybe teach students about in your Spanish class. Or maybe you teach in a school with a large Latino population and have no idea what ‘Los Reyes Magos’ is but hear students talking about it.
Activity Ideas to do in Spanish Class for Three Kings Day:
- Write a letter stating what you want (Kind of like a letter that kid’s write to Santa Clause) but address it to the Three Kings
- Do a skit-Have some kids be the Reyes Magos and have others ask for gifts, toys and answering the Reyes Questions. The Reyes could practice asking questions.
- Hand out random pictures of toys or objects and have students share what the Reyes Magos gave them This could also be a guessing game. You could have students describe what the Three Kings brought them without saying what it was.
- Research how Reyes Magos is celebrated around the world- both in Spanish speaking and non-Spanish speaking countries (compare and contrast) or share information with the class or partner.
- Make a list of 10 questions that you would like to ask the Reyes Magos.
- Compare and Contrast the Three Kings and Santa Claus
- Make a graph or do a survey (or both) ask students which holidays they celebrate or what holiday is their favorite. Analyze the results as a class or in partners.
Books about Los Reyes Magos:
There aren’t too many books available to read about the Three Kings. Below are a few that might be available at your school library or you can purchase them online.
1. Ya llegan los Reyes Magos! (Spanish Edition) By Georgina Lazaro
2. Tres Reyes Magos: Colors – Colores (English and Spanish Edition) By Patty Rodriguez
3. The Three Wise Men: A Christmas Story (ENGLISH) By Loek Koopmans
4. We Three Kings (ENGLISH) By Gennady Spirin
There are several videos on YouTube that are worth watching with your bilingual children or students in your Spanish class.
Great Video on YouTube about ‘Los Reyes Magos’ from Pica Pica.
Great video with the story of the ‘Reyes Magos’ in Spanish:
Song about the Reyes Magos:
I hope you have a wonderful ‘dia de reyes magos’ with your children or students. Hopefully, you found a resource that can use in your classroom to help teach about this cultural and religious celebration on January 6th.
