No 953 Monday 9th - Sunday 15th January 2023
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pain has a strong religious history and as such Christmas is a much more holy festival, a time to spend with the family, although some gifts may be given, but on 25 December Santa Claus is not that important.
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THE VEGA BAJA’S MAGICAL NIGHT
The day on which most gifts are given is Three Kings Day, January 6th (el día de Reyes). This is keeping with the tradition that this was the day on which the Three Kings (Los Tres Reyes Magos) arrived in Bethlehem bearing gifts for Jesus. So, as expected, the magi were extremely busy across the region last week, fulfilling their usual hectic schedule of hospital and town hall visits which, in Orihuela, got underway at the Vega Baja Hospital where Melchor, Gaspar and Baltasar handed out toys to the children, accompanied by the Councillor for Festivities, Antonio Sánchez, who also delivered a games console. On Thursday, the day before Three Kings Day, every sizeable village and town holds a parade, a ‘cabalgata’ at which the Three Kings are paraded through the streets of the town, accompanied by musicians, dancers, performers and bands. The parades are extremely popular and can often draw large crowds, particularly in Torrevieja where their magnificent procession just gets better every year. The day began on Orihuela Costa, though, where there was a healthy turnout to cheer the parade on its way as, according to police sources, approximately 3,000 people gathered between the Playa Flamenca town Hall and La Zenia Boulevard, with the size of the crowds increasing the further it got into the 2km route. There were troupes of dancers, characters, large inflatables from space, an astronaut, spaceship, planet earth, moon, NASA robot, galactic spider and a host of heavenly angels, while bringing up the rear, a selection of Eastern Maidens preceded a crib scene, followed by the 3 Kings, Melchior, Caspar and Balthazar, on 3 very tired looking ‘stuffed’ camels.
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