Cavalcade Of Magi
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Cavalcade of Magi is a traditional parade with floats carrying the Three Magi taking place in practically all cities and villages in Spain on the evening of 5 January ( Epiphany's eve). The Biblical Magi –of which tradition holds there were three: Melchior,
Caspar Caspar is a masculine given name. It may refer to: People * Caspar (magus), a name traditionally given to one of the Three Magi in the Bible who brought the baby Jesus gifts *Caspar Austa (born 1982), Estonian cyclist *Caspar Badrutt (1848–1904) ...
, and
Balthazar Balthazar, Balthasar, Baltasar, or Baltazar may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Balthazar (novel), ''Balthazar'' (novel), by Lawrence Durrell, 1958 * ''Balthasar'', an 1889 book by Anatole France * ''Professor Balthazar'', a Croatian a ...
– ride through the streets, as their pages collect the last letters from the children and throw candy to the people in attendance. The cavalcade usually includes dancers and musicians, as well as other assistants to the Magi. The cavalcades are also held in
Andorra Andorra, officially the Principality of Andorra, is a Sovereignty, sovereign landlocked country on the Iberian Peninsula, in the eastern Pyrenees in Southwestern Europe, Andorra–France border, bordered by France to the north and Spain to A ...
,
Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...
, Argentina, Poland, and in some towns in Mexico and Venezuela. According to the tradition, the Magi come from the
Orient The Orient is a term referring to the East in relation to Europe, traditionally comprising anything belonging to the Eastern world. It is the antonym of the term ''Occident'', which refers to the Western world. In English, it is largely a meto ...
on their
camel A camel (from and () from Ancient Semitic: ''gāmāl'') is an even-toed ungulate in the genus ''Camelus'' that bears distinctive fatty deposits known as "humps" on its back. Camels have long been domesticated and, as livestock, they provid ...
s to visit the houses of all the children while they are sleeping, entering the houses through the balconies using ladders to leave the children the gifts they have asked for in their letters. So after greeting the Magi at the cavalcade in town, children are supposed to go home, clean and put their shoes beside the
Christmas tree A Christmas tree is a decorated tree, usually an evergreen pinophyta, conifer, such as a spruce, pine or fir, associated with the celebration of Christmas. It may also consist of an artificial tree of similar appearance. The custom was deve ...
or the
nativity scene In the Christian tradition, a nativity scene (also known as a manger scene, crib, crèche ( or ), or in Italian ''presepio'' or ''presepe'', or Bethlehem) is the special exhibition, particularly during the Christmastide, Christmas season, of ar ...
, and go to bed early. Paper cut-outs are usually also put out to adorn the scene, and the children usually put out some sweets and something to drink for the Magi to sit and enjoy themselves for a moment before moving on to the next house, and a bucket of water for their camels. The following morning, the children find the gifts from the Magi in and around their shoes. Those who have behaved badly during the previous year receive coal rather than gifts, though (as in the case of
Santa Claus Santa Claus (also known as Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle or Santa) is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring gifts during the late evening and overnight hours on Chris ...
) this is not a frequent occurrence. They might get
coal candy Coal candy or Candy coal is a confectionery in the United States, Canada, Spain, Italy, and elsewhere associated with the Christmas holiday and the tradition of giving lumps of coal instead of presents in the Christmas stockings of naughty childre ...
, though. The oldest cavalcade is documented in 1855 in
Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
, and the longest-running cavalcade takes place in Alcoi (
Alicante Alicante (, , ; ; ; officially: ''/'' ) is a city and municipalities of Spain, municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean port. The population ...
), which is first documented in 1866 and celebrated uninterruptedly since 1885. The great cavalcade of
Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...
is broadcast live on every year since 1964, whereas regional television channels broadcast their own parades. Small towns and villages celebrate cavalcades with traditional props, some of which involve Romans, shepherds and camels, while other places have modernized to tractors and fancy cars, though most of the parade goes by on foot and in a few floats. In Poland the first cavalcade took place in 2009 in
Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...
. Since 2010, the Warsaw cavalcade has been broadcast live on . In 2016, over 450 Polish cities held their own cavalcade.


Notes


References


See also

* List of Christmas and holiday season parades *
Liturgical drama Liturgical drama refers to medieval forms of dramatic performance that use stories from the Bible or Christian hagiography. The term has developed historically and is no longer used by most researchers. It was widely disseminated by well-known the ...
*
Medieval theatre Medieval theatre encompasses theatrical in the period between the fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century and the beginning of the Renaissance in approximately the 15th century. The category of "medieval theatre" is vast, covering dr ...
*
Mystery play Mystery plays and miracle plays (they are distinguished as two different forms although the terms are often used interchangeably) are among the earliest formally developed plays in medieval Europe. Medieval mystery plays focused on the represe ...
* Star boys' singing procession * Santa Claus parade
*
* {{Christmas Medieval drama
Drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...
Christmas and holiday season parades Christmastide Christmas in Spain Epiphany (holiday)