THE THREE KINGS IN GUAJAR ALTO

In Spain, whereas the celebrations of Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve tend to be family affairs, the parade of the Three Kings (January 5th) is a very public event which generates a good deal of excitement and in every city, town and village the people throng the streets to watch the spectacle.
In Madrid, the cabalgata de los Reyes Magos is a truly magnificent event and this year’s parade, which we watched on television, was a stunning display featuring not only the three kings sitting on their their thrones in lavishly decorated floats but also a cortège of beautiful white horses and men and women dressed in sumptuous, matching white costumes. In the city of Granada, the kings were very politically correct because they were accompanied by their wives, while in Motril, the thousands of children lining the streets were thrilled to see the wise men arrive in a most authentic manner, sitting on camels. In the Sierra Nevada, 2,700 metres above sea level, the highest cabalgata in Spain took place and much lower down, in the little village of Lentegí, which is a short eagle’s flight from Guájar Alto, the municipal dumper was the mode of transport for the kings.
Here in Guájar alto, our vehicle was one of three pick-up trucks which were requisitioned to transport the kings around the village. Each was decorated with a tall canopy of palm branches, tinsel and paper on which the name of the respective king was painted. As in Granada, the kings, plus a few, sundry elves, were attended by their respective wives and with Melchior resplendent on his throne (a white plastic chair) in the pick-up of our truck and various children who had piled into the cabin, Digby led the procession, to the accompaniment of a cacophony of car horns. Negotiating the narrow streets of Guájar Alto, even at the best of times, requires great concentration so how Digby managed under such circumstances I can’t imagine. Every few metres the procession halted so that sweets could be thrown to the following crowds and there was much excitement as children and adults scrambled to pick them up. The supply of these sweets seemed limitless but I saw from the wrappers that they had been sponsored by various banks and big businesses, hence the extravagance.
At last, the kings reached their destination, the village square, where the entrance to the church had been decorated in readiness. Sitting on a specially erected dais, with the aid of megaphones, Balthazar, Caspar and Melchior took turns to call out the name of each child in the village and hand them their present. In Spain, children receive a special present on January 5th and this year, according to shopkeepers in Granada, parents were spending an average of 150 euros per child.
Most of the village had turned out to watch the cabalgata and a fire had been lit in the square where, after the distribution of the gifts, people gathered around to enjoy hot chocolate and churros (thin rolls of dough deep fried and dusted with sugar). In the majority of Spanish households at this time of year a confection called roscón de Reyes is eaten ; it is a large cake, in the form of a ring, filled with cream and decorated with crystallized fruits. In Spain, of all the sweet confections associated with Christmas, this is the oldest and, in fact, originates from Roman times. It was made to celebrate the arrival of spring and the ring shape represented the annual cycle; much later, as with other pagan customs, it became Christianized and, often, the roscón has a cardboard crown, representing the Three Kings, in its centre. Just as in England it was traditional to put coins in the Christmas pudding, a little ‘surprise’ of glass or porcelain was sometimes hidden inside the roscón.