The King has his own Holiday?

When I asked my host sister why exactly everything would be closed on the 6th she simply answered "Kings Day" I assumed that this meant the King of Spain had his own holiday and it was oddly close to Christmas. After viewing the parade I learned differently.

The first float was a glitering spinning star, followed closly by the first king. Through out the grandiose parade I was wondering why the theme seemed to be Arabian as opposed to Spanish. The dancing was amazing and the music tantalizing. Each and every float was unique and intricate. The amount of candy throw out from the floats was enough that each child left with pockets bulging. The second and third kings were mixed into the parade but were hard to miss with their floats that shot confetti into the air.

I realized that the three kings were the three kings - the ones from a far that came looking for Jesus, following a star. My realizaton was confirmed when my host father told me about the story of the three Maggi that accompanied the parade.

The next afternoon, we were asked if we would like to accompany our host family and our friends from the church to Port Adventura - to which we answered YES!! After a long train ride along the coast of the Sea, we arrived and found out that Port Adventura is a Universal Studios theme park. We rode rides, some more often than others, and we ate typical Spanish park food... churros and hot chocolate. As we were preparing to leave an announcement came on saying there would be a special water show. The name "water show" did no justice to what we witnessed. There were actors and boats adorned with kings and a star. There were fireworks and colored fountains. The most amazing thing of all though, was that the entire show was set to typical Christmas carols sung in English. I was moved to tears by the grandure of the show, and by the overwhelming presence of God that the people seemed to be unaware of. I knew then that we are needed here, if only to live as a Christian example.

May you be loved and blessed wherever you may be.
Sarah