3 Kings Day

Today is Epiphany, the day on the church calendar when it is thought that the wise men came to visit Christ. In PR, this is a large traditional holiday, and until recently, was Puerto Rican Christmas. Recently, Christmas, with all it's American materialism, has overshadowed this holiday, though from what we hear, most families will celebrate both holidays. Local tradition is that the children collect grass and put it in small shoeboxes beside their beds on the night before Epiphany. They're told that when the kings come to visit, their camels need something to eat, so they eat the grass in the shoebox and the kings leave behind presents for the children.