Learn all about Three Kings' Day
Now Playing: Lesson Audio
Get this lesson’s key vocab, their translations and pronunciations. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.
| Culture Class: Holidays in the Philippines, Season 1, Lesson 18 - Three Kings' Day |
| Hello, and welcome to the Culture Class- Holidays in the Philippines Series at FilipinoPod101.com. In this series, we’re exploring the traditions behind Filipino holidays and observances. I’m Eric, and you're listening to Season 1, Lesson 18, Three Kings' Day. In Filipino, it’s called Araw ng Tatlong Hari. |
| Three Kings’ Day is celebrated during the first Sunday after New Year’s Day every year. It is considered the official end of the long Christmas season, or Pasko, in the Philippines. Though the traditions surrounding this day are slowly disappearing, it is still a holiday that holds cultural significance to many Filipinos. |
| In this lesson, we will learn how Three Kings’ Day is celebrated. |
| Now, before we get into more detail, do you know the answer to this question- |
| How do Filipinos greet each other on Three Kings’ Day? |
| If you don't already know, you’ll find out a bit later. Keep listening. |
| Three Kings’ Day is commemorated by Filipino Catholics as the day on which the Three Magi Kings visited the baby Jesus in his stable in Bethlehem. The Three Kings are known as Melchor, Gaspar, and Baltazar who brought gifts of gold, or ginto, frankincense, or kamanyang, and myrrh, or mira. |
| For many years, Filipino children believed that the Three Kings were the bringers of gifts, regalo in Filipino, and so they would put clean shoes outside their houses in the hope that some candies, chocolates, or money would be waiting for them in the morning. However, due to Western influence surrounding Christmas celebrations, this belief has been supplanted by belief in Santa Claus. |
| As with the belief in Santa Claus, children are taught that they have to be good in order to receive gifts from the Three Kings. Though in other countries gifts are usually received on Christmas Day, for some Filipinos, it’s customary to exchange gifts on Three Kings’ Day. |
| Three Kings’ Day is also commonly called Pasko ng Matatanda, meaning the Christmas of the Elderly, likely because the Three Kings are typically depicted as wise old men. |
| Now it's time to answer our quiz question- |
| How do Filipinos greet each other on Three Kings’ Day? |
| The greeting for this day is quite simple; it’s “Happy Three Kings!” Even though this day isn’t celebrated as much nowadays, it’s still quite common to hear people greet each other with a cheerful “Happy Three Kings” on the 6th of January. |
| How did you find this lesson? Did you learn anything interesting? |
| Do you also celebrate Three Kings’ Day? |
| Leave us a comment telling us at FilipinoPod101.com! |
| And I’ll see you in the next lesson! |
Comments
Hide