OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. – The 20th annual Three Kings Day celebration at Old Town returns on Sunday.
“There’ll be free everything. Free admission, free toy giveaways, free hot dogs, giveaways. There’s entertainment. There’s bikes, bicycles and tablets. We have a raffle for those, so everything’s free,” Osceola Chamber President and CEO John Newstreet explained.
The Osceola Chamber works with sponsors to make the day magical for children.
“It’s a great way to start the year, to see smiling kids and families together. So, it’s really an uplifting event. And for the business community, just give back” Newstreet added. “It’s really a tremendous thing that I don’t think is replicated in many other communities. So we’re glad to have it here in Osceola.”
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Three Kings Day, or Día de Los Reyes, is celebrated in many countries worldwide. It recognizes the Biblical Three Wise Men, or Kings, who brought gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh to baby Jesus. For many children in Latin American cultures, this day is eagerly anticipated for holiday gifts and treats.
“Since I was a very small child, I could remember opening my eyes up on the 6th of January every year and just being able to look under my bed and find a gift that was left behind by the Three Kings,” Osceola Chamber Member Services Manager Iris Colon said.
Colon has celebrated the holiday her entire life.
“I’m actually doing the same with my children, who are 22, 12, and eight, and they find it really amusing, but also just the history behind it,” she said.
On this day, it is believed that the Three Kings visit every good child to deliver gifts. Traditionally, if a child has been well-behaved, they receive toys, while misbehaved children might find a lump of dirt or charcoal.
Instead of leaving cookies out as children do for Santa Claus on Christmas, for Three Kings Day, they put grass in a box for the king’s camels to enjoy on their journey.
“It’s basically to feed the herd that was coming, whether it was the camels that the Three Kings were riding on or the sheep that they were herding with them along the way to leave these gifts for the baby Jesus,” Colon explained.
The 20th annual Three Kings Day celebration will take place at Old Town in Kissimmee, at 5770 W. Irlo Bronson Memorial Highway, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sunday.
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