While the Anglo-American importation of Santa Claus into cultures worldwide has taken hold and continues to grow in Mexico, it is the coming of the Tres Reyes and the gifts the kings will bear that still holds the most excitement for many children. In Spain, and consequently in Latin America, the arrival and subsequent gift giving by the Three Kings has been the focus of the day for centuries. Historians have also suggested that the festival was a Christian adaptation of 3rd century Greco-Roman Saturnalia, which developed in the eastern provinces of the Roman Empire. The other events are the baptism of Jesus, which some scholars have interpreted to have taken place exactly on the date of his 30th birthday, and finally the Wedding at Cana, the first miracle of Jesus in the Book of John. The most common in the Western European and Latin American churches is that of the visit paid by the Three Kings, Wise Men or Magi, Melchor, Gaspar and Baltazar to the newborn baby Jesus, as described in the Book of Matthew in the Bible. The celebration of Epiphany can be traced back as far as 4th century Greece, and in different Christian traditions is used to mark one or all of three different biblical events. While the Mexican version of the event is in many ways familiar to that in parts of Spain, there are some traditions that have evolved on this side of the Atlantic. This festival, the name of which is often shortened in various ways across the Spanish speaking world, is the celebration of the Catholic festival of Epiphany, or the twelfth day of Christmas. This date marks El Dia de los Tres Reyes Magos de Oriente, or Three Kings Day.
For many Mexicans, especially children, the most anticipated day of the festive season is not Christmas, but instead the 6th of January.
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