I saw this and wanted to share it with the members;
The Puerto Rican Tradition
Three Kings Day, or Epiphany, is one of the most important holidays on the Puerto Rican calendar. Traditionally, the island, and most of the Latin world, marked the eve of January 6 as the day to exchange presents rather than December 25. Kids would also gather grass, hay or straw in shoe-boxes for the Magi's horses or camels -- a charming alternative to cookies and milk for Santa. (Traditionally, you'll find carvings and artwork of the three kings on horses instead of camels; that's because the country folk in years past didn't know what a camel was.)
Good kids were rewarded with presents and candy, while bad kids ended up with charcoal or even dirt (which begs the question: How bad do you have to be to get dirt for Christmas?)
Today, children typically get their main presents on the 25th, but there's always a smaller, humbler, and perhaps even more rewarding gift reserved for Three Kings Day.
The Three Kings are also a mainstay of Puerto Rican arts and crafts. They are among the most popular subjects for the island's santos, or handmade figurines of saints and other religious persons, and practically every souvenir shop worth its salt will carry some homage to them.
What To Expect on January 6
On Three Kings Day, expect parades and festivals, a time of family gatherings and parties with a more spiritual bent. Old San Juan throws an annual festival at the Luis Muñoz Marín Park with live music, food and drink, with free gifts given out to lucky kids. The highlight of the day occurs when the Three Kings come walking into town.
These particular kings hail from Juana Díaz, a town in the south of the island that is the unofficial hometown of the Magi. A statue of the kings greets you when you enter the town, and also adorns the main plaza. From this base, the Three Kings travel around the island, but their stop in Old San Juan is the largest of the island's celebrations
History and Meaning of Three Kings Day in Puerto Rico
Lucky the bad kids don't get Camel Dung. 
Hmmm...perhaps that explains some of my childhood stocking stuffers that resembled coal.
My grandson (5yo) received a small can of sauerkraut this year in his stocking - much to his chagrin, ( I told him it was good on pizza, shoulda seen the look on his face ) - but the rest of the family thought it was hilarious!
ROFLMAO
Sitka wrote:Hmmm...perhaps that explains some of my childhood stocking stuffers that resembled coal.
My grandson (5yo) received a small can of sauerkraut this year in his stocking - much to his chagrin, ( I told him it was good on pizza, shoulda seen the look on his face ) - but the rest of the family thought it was hilarious!
Hey Sitka, give the poor kid some hotdogs to go with it or maybe use it to cook some hammocks like the Germans do.
He was not happy, but got over it.
I recall when we lived in Montana, a pizza restaurant in Anaconda MT, offered sauerkraut on the menu as a pizza topping - no lie. Musta been a German / Italian half breed running the kitchen, but it was good!
That is an awesome story/tradition! I hope it continues for years to come!
We truly don't know the date and for them to hold onto what they have told is awesome!
Thank you for sharing!
Do have to say I'm a little skeptical of the 3 Kings coming from Puerto Rico..
A little to much of a passage, even with how much water & fat they can store.
Those skinny legs just don't seem like they could swim that far...
Just MHO.... What do I know.. I still believe in Santa!
Love the tradition!
When you are born in an island paradise, grow up there, die there without ever going anywhere, you tend to think of it as the center of the universe.
They just vacation there and party. Just they have to be careful that the camels don't get a hold of some pitorro.
A lot of people in the countryside have horses and they go to the bar to do some drinking, after that they get on their horse and the horse knows the way home. So there is always a designated driver.
Sounds like some of the stories I was told about the cowboys in Montana when they went to town to the Mint Bar on Sat nite.
I remember a rather boisterious cowboy actually riding his horse into the bar on a 4th of July night in Three Forks, Montana! Everyone was drunk, the bar tender threw him out, but it was very memorable.
Cabalgatas, These are the folks who ride their horses in groups. Once i saw a guy dressed up just like Zorro. It is a great way to bar hop.
Cabalgatas... we see horse back riders go thru town and on the beach frequently. The horses in PR look to be smaller than the typical horse up north in the states ( Don't know s*** from Shineola when it comes to horses). Perhaps a special breed from Spain?
Did Zorro have a mask, cape & foil? Too Cool.
One famous type or breed of horses is the PASO FINO (fine/fancy step), they have a special gait that is very smooth and there are competitions in PR, Spain, Latin America and in some of the states with these horses, needless to say they are not cheap.
Horses are mostly used in PR for riding and are not as big. Most people with an acre or more has at least one. There are many glue quality ones running around free also so make sure you don't hit one, your car wont like it either.
http://boricua.com/la-isla/paso-fino-ho … -paso-fino
Utube has many videos of these horses.
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