Shake Up Your Celebrations: Three Kings Day

Shake Up Your Celebrations is a campaign that highlights books featuring a variety of holidays, traditions, and celebrations. Many of these holidays are underrepresented in classroom and library programming, which often centers around Christmas and other Christian holidays.

About Three Kings Day

Three Kings Day is celebrated on January 6, the 12th day following Christmas. It commemorates the day the three wise men, sometimes referred to as Kings or Magi, came to visit the newly born Jesus and bring him gifts. This holiday, also known as the Epiphany, is celebrated in many different countries and cultures throughout the world with food and gifts.

Celebrate With a Book!

Inspired by Clement Clarke Moore’s "The Night Before Christmas," La Noche Before Three Kings Day is a perfect holiday tale.  

It’s almost Three Kings Day, and while the grownups prepare a large meal, the kids prepare their shoe boxes for los Reyes to arrive later that night. Will they stay up late enough to wish the Kings a Feliz Día de los Reyes? Or will the magic pass them by?

Sing along with a great big familia as they fill up their platos, play their favorite juegos, and wait for the three kings and regalitos to arrive.  

This enchanting celebration of a beloved holiday is brought to life through lively rhyming dual-lingual text by Sheila Colón-Bagley with festive illustrations from Alejandro Mesa.

Other Ways to Celebrate

  • Use paper, glitter, and plastic jewels to create your own crowns. You can even reuse wrapping paper scraps to decorate!
  • Bake up some Rosca de Reyes - a cake with fruit and sugar in the shape of a crown.
  • Leave hay and water for the camels.
  • Put out your shoes the night before so the Three Kings can leave you a gift.
  • Exchange gifts with friends and family.
  • Gather everyone to celebrate with a large meal.